‘I made my mind up over Chelsea deal in January within five minutes'

Joao Felix was irked over his lack of Chelsea playing time, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic claiming it took AC Milan just five minutes to sign him.

The Portuguese star had previously debuted for Chelsea in 2023 after joining from Atletico Madrid, eventually nailing down a long-term future in west London by putting pen to paper on a seven-year deal last summer, with the Blues paying £42million for his signature.

His second debut got off to a supreme start when he found the net in a 6-2 drubbing of Wolves in their first away game of the Premier League season. But fortune soon turned foul for Felix as he didn't score another league goal and was limited to just three starts.

Despite high hopes, he couldn't cement his place in Enzo Maresca's starting XI, leading to an exit in January to AC Milan, where he signed a six-month loan deal without the option to buy him permanently. Club legend Ibrahimovic, who is a senior advisor, claimed they snapped up the 25-year-old after a brisk five-minute transfer dialogue.

Ibrahimovic's claim signifies that the player was more than ready to part ways with Chelsea after a brief stint. "It took just five minutes to get the Joao Felix loan deal done with Chelsea," the 43-year-old proclaimed, via football.london.

"[Milan manager Sergio] Conceicao wanted Joao, we spoke and we decided to trust him for our project. It's been a very fast negotiation." Speaking earlier this month, Maresca was open about his decision to let Felix go amidst injuries to Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu. He stated: "I don't think we miss Joao. He's happy there and we're happy that he's happy."

Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic acknowledged the value Felix brings to Milan, saying: "We were looking for a player who was capable of playing in midfield and up front, someone who could prove the difference in difficult matches and unlock them. He has shown that he is a top-quality player.

"We are satisfied and we need to get him in the best condition possible. We have tried to give the coach more options, you need to when you're playing every three days. The options are there, the forwards can play together, provided that they defend."