Revealed: The plan to beat Barcelona & Aston Villa to Joao Felix's signing as Benfica prepare to bide their time in bid to rescue former star from Atletico Madrid nightmare

Felix has been looking for an exit from Atletico Madrid for nearly two years after falling out with manager Diego Simeone. Now, according to Record, Benfica hope to bring the 24-year-old back to the club where he began his career. However, Aston Villa are interested in recruiting him, as are Barcelona - where he spent last season on loan.

The report adds Benfica can't afford to pay the £28 million ($35m) for 50 per cent of the Portuguese international's transfer fee. However, if nobody signs Felix by August 30, the Portuguese giants will try to sign him on loan with an option to buy.

Record add that Benfica could raise funds for a Felix deal by selling Napoli target David Neres for just over £25m ($33m). Despite selling Joao Neves for £60m ($76m) to Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica's finances are still, seemingly, quite tight.

With just a few weeks left of the transfer window, it remains to be seen where former Chelsea loanee Felix will end up this season. It seems, however, that he has no future at Atletico - five years after he signed for £113m ($144m) from Benfica.