Joao Felix believes he “did what I needed to do” for his career in leaving Chelsea for Al-Nassr last summer.

The 26-year-old joined Al-Nassr ahead of the 2025-26 season for a reported €30m after struggling to break into the Chelsea starting 11 under Enzo Maresca.

After an initial loan spell with the Blues for the second half of the 2022-23 campaign, Joao Felix joined Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis last season.

However, the Portugal international was loaned out to AC Milan last January after scoring just once in 12 Premier League appearances in 2024-25 and four times in five Conference League games.

Joao Felix has since thrived in the Saudi Pro League, scoring 15 and providing 11 assists in 26 league games as Al-Nassr are three points clear at the summit with eight games to go.

“My time at Chelsea was lovely, it is a top club,” said Joao Felix.

“I felt good there. I just moved because I wanted to play often. I did what I needed to do. The move was positive, I’m happy, I’m enjoying football.

“That’s the most important thing. I’m happy at Al Nassr. We are having a fantastic season. I hope to win the league; we are close to that. We have eight games left, and we are in first place.

“I’ve been playing regularly and getting plenty of minutes. I’m playing in my natural position – the one where I stood out at Benfica – and in a system that suits me very well.

“I have complete confidence in myself, especially when playing in my position.”

The mindset never switches off pic.twitter.com/LW75zqvJeh

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) March 30, 2026

Joao Felix also defended the critics of the Pro League, insisting that most of the matches are very competitive.

There are just seven points separating leaders Al-Nassr and fourth-place Al-Qadsiah heading into the run-in.

“Whether you’d say it’s a more or less competitive league depends on which leagues you compare it to,” Joao Felix added.

“Apart from three or four teams at the bottom of the table, against whom we know victory is almost guaranteed, the other matches are evenly matched.

“There are eight matchdays left until the end of the season, and four teams are fighting for the title.”