河南卢氏：连翘种植助农增收

Joao Felix's total transfer cost reached around $260 million Tuesday as he completed his latest move — this time to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

The Portugal forward has teamed up with compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, joining from Chelsea for a reported initial fee of 30 million euros ($34.6 million) and signing a two-year contract.

"I'm here to spread joy. Let's win together," Felix said in a video announcing his arrival, shared on Al Nassr's social media channels.

He is the latest star player from Europe to move to Saudi Arabia as part of the kingdom's bid to become a major force in soccer. But his transfer from Club World Cup winner Chelsea is the latest in a long line of moves for a player who holds the record for the fourth most expensive signing in history, but has failed to live up to the expectations placed on him so early in his career.

Still only 25, Felix has time to hit the heights he seemed destined for when joining Spanish giant Atletico Madrid from Benfica for $140 million in 2019.But, his career has stalled since then with a series of loans to top teams including Chelsea, Barcelona, and most recently, AC Milan, failing to see him establish himself among the very elite.

According to transfer data website Transfermarkt, Felix is behind only Neymar (222 million euros), Kylian Mbappe (180m euros) and Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele (both 135m euros) on the list of the highest transfer fees in soccer.

His value has dropped significantly — joining Chelsea for a reported $60 million last year, with his fee almost halving again to join Al Nassr.

The move to Saudi Arabia is not guaranteed to reignite his career. While some have flourished, including the likes of Ronaldo and Aleksandar Mitrovic, Neymar left after an injury-disrupted time at Al Hilal and Jordan Henderson and Jhon Duran only stayed for a few months before moving on.

Al Nassr will hope Felix's arrival will see it win the title it has been waiting for since signing Ronaldo in a spectacular move late in 2022.

While the Portugal great has helped raise the profile of Saudi Arabian soccer and continued to score at a prolific rate, he has had to watch rivals Al-Ittihad (twice) and Al Hilal crowned champion during his time in the league.

A Riyadh sports newspaper says Felix will earn $10 million a year.

Saudi Arabia has shaken up soccer by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo's arrival in 2023, and the conservative desert nation is set to host the 2034 World Cup.

Many of the signings have been ageing stars, but Felix bucks the trend along with Mateo Retegui, 26, the Serie A top-scorer who joined Al Qadsiah last week.

French international Theo Hernandez, 27, left AC Milan for Al Hilal in a reported $29 million deal earlier this month.

Top coaches have also been lured to Saudi Arabia, including Italy's Simone Inzaghi, who led Al Hilal to an upset win over Manchester City at the recent Club World Cup.

At Al Nassr, Felix will be working under Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, who was sacked by Al Hilal in May following its defeat in the Asian Champions League semifinals.

Agencies