Portuguese Joao Felix was sent off in his first appearance with Chelsea during the Fulham match last Thursday, which was postponed from the seventh stage of the English Football League, which the “Blues” lost 1-2.

Hours after the young striker joined the loan system from Atletico Madrid, Felix participated mainly with Chelsea in the match, but was sent off in the 58th minute after a violent intervention against Dutchman Kenny Tete of Fulham, which cost him a direct red card.

The Portuguese international will miss Chelsea's expulsion in his next three matches against Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Fulham, and will not be able to return to participate with the team for a full month.

According to the British Daily Mail, Chelsea - who invested a total of 23.6 million euros in the Joao Felix deal between the transfer fee and the player's salary within 6 months - will lose about 2.4 million euros due to the expulsion of the Portuguese player.

The newspaper stated that each match played by Felix costs Chelsea about 805,000 euros, and with his absence 3 matches, the “Blues” will incur 2.4 million euros during the absence of his new player, who renewed his contract with Atletico Madrid until 2027, before moving to “Stamford Bridge” on loan. .

Chelsea coach Graham Potter defended his decision to include Felix in the starting line-up shortly after signing him.

"What happened was a learning opportunity," Potter said. "Joao is a young, talented player, and the mistake he made is something in football. He had no intention of hurting his opponent."

Potter praised the performance of his new player before he was sent off, stressing that losing 3 consecutive matches was disappointing.

João Felix's three-game suspension, which he received barely 24 hours after joining Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid, will reportedly cost the club around £2.1m 😳 pic.twitter.com/wbsC3i6eDh

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 13, 2023

Chelsea suffered its seventh loss this season and its third in a row in various competitions.

Including two defeats against Manchester City in the “Premier League” and in the third round of the FA Cup.

Chelsea ranks tenth in the league, 10 points behind the first four places qualifying for the Champions League, with 25 points, 6 points behind Fulham, who advanced to sixth place with 31 points.