How much did Joao Felix cost Chelsea? Probably gazillions as Graham Potter ‘confronted’ by loveliness

Joao Felix cost £13m, £14m, £15m or is he a £100million-plus player? And how long can Graham Potter avoid the sack when Chelsea fans are making their feelings so clear?

Millions and millions
‘WOW FELIX Watch Joao Felix get SENT OFF on Chelsea debut for shocking high lunge just a day after signing on loan for £14m’ – The Sun website.

First, we like ‘WOW FELIX’ though ‘Ciao Felix!’ on the back page of the Daily Mail has the edge, and for once, the capitalisation kind of works; it is kind of amazing that he got SENT OFF on his debut.

But he didn’t sign on loan for £14m, did he? He signed on loan for something like £9.7m depending on what sterling (not Sterling) is doing today.

Oh and if you do insist on adding up all the wages to make the BIGGEST number you can find, then at least get your maths right…

‘The Portugal international did not come cheap either, with Chelsea paying Atletico Madrid £9m to take him for the rest of the season.

‘The Blues are also covering his £250,000-a-week wages, which means their total outlay on the deal is £13million.’

Tell that to your bombastic headline.

Elsewhere, The Sun are really getting stuck into the theme, writing that ‘JOAO FELIX’S red card could cost Chelsea almost £3million’.

Nope. Not how it works.

Millions and millions and millions
Over at the Mirror website, Felix Keith has got his own calculator out and wants to tell us about ‘Joao Felix’s costly mistake and the financial impact it will have on Chelsea’.

It will have literally no financial impact on Chelsea, fella. None. They are paying a loan fee and wages regardless of whether he is on the pitch or not.

‘Joao Felix had a debut to forget for Chelsea in their 2-1 defeat at Fulham on Thursday night – and his red card will have serious financial repercussions for the Blues.’

Nope. No it won’t. It will have exactly zero financial repercussions.

But while we’re here, tell us how much?

‘Felix’s six-month loan deal is costing a staggering £15million, comprising a £9.7m in a loan fee to Atleti and £5.3m in wages. That means, with 20 Premier League games left this season, as well as at least two Champions League ties, Felix’s stint on the sidelines will cost around £2m.’

FFS.

And millions
Here come MailOnline with their mahoosive headline:

‘REVEALED: Joao Felix’s red card against Fulham will cost Chelsea a MASSIVE £2.1M, with his loan deal working out at £714,286 per Premier League game – after Blues paid Atletico Madrid £9m and agreed to cover his £6m wages for the rest of the season’

Nope. Still not how it works.

And millions
‘Chelsea star Joao Felix’s red card ‘to cost £2.3m’ after Blues lose again to Fulham’ – Express website.

Nope. Quoting yourself does not make it true.

Millions and millions and millions and millions
But if you want a REALLY BIG NUMBER then turn to Daily Express man Matthew Dunn…

‘Graham Potter claimed he had “the hardest job in football” only to start his next match with a new £100million-plus player in his team.’

Really not how it works and Dunn absolutely knows this. Joao Felix is only a ‘£100million-plus player’ if Chelsea paid that figure or if any club would pay that figure now. That’s like saying that Steven Gerrard signed a ‘£100million-plus player’ for Aston Villa last January.

And nobody said that because it was Villa and Gerrard and not Chelsea and Graham Potter.

Private chancer
So what of Graham Potter now?

As Miguel Delaney writes in The Independent: ‘Some with knowledge of the board believe they are prepared to miss out on European football next season. Todd Boehly has been telling people – including, of course, Potter – that he is willing to persist with this.’

Which becomes on the Express website: ‘Chelsea owner Todd Boehly ‘privately confides about Graham Potter sacking’ as woes worsen.’

‘Privately confides’ is a hell of a way to describe telling anyone who will listen – as well as the man himself – that he is sticking with the manager he appointed.

And yes, of course they are only quoting themselves. That really is the new black.

Nothing more than feelings
Obviously the real clicks come with the suggestion that a) Graham Potter is about to get sacked and b) Chelsea fans are raging.

Here’s the Mirror website with their big story of the day:

‘Chelsea fans confront Graham Potter after Fulham loss and make their feelings clear’

Now we all know what ‘confront’ implies. And we can consult the dictionary for proof:

‘Confront: come face to face with (someone) with hostile or argumentative intent.’

You know what ‘confront’ does not imply? A load of Chelsea fans shouting “we’ve got your back Potter, we trust you” and “don’t give up” as the Chelsea manager is driven away.

They made their feelings a f*** of a lot more clear than that headline.