Real Betis Balompié turned down a €43 million offer for Ez Abde on the final day of the transfer window. The Andalusian club rejected a bid from Everton worth €35 million fixed plus add-ons, keeping hold of their Moroccan winger.
The Seville-based side, currently seventh in La Liga with six points, also confirmed the signing of Dani Ceballos on a three-year contract. The midfielder completed his first training session the morning after putting pen to paper. These moves come in a week where Betis prepares to host Real Madrid on September 4th, a key fixture you can check on our fixtures page.
Why did Betis reject the offer for Abde?
The decision to reject Everton's bid for Ez Abde was based on two main factors. The first is his release clause, set at €60 million. The received offer of €43 million fell well short of that figure. The second factor is the club's sporting interest in retaining a key attacking player.
Furthermore, FC Barcelona retains an estimated 20% of the economic rights from any future sale of the winger. This meant that, had the offer been accepted, Barça would have taken a significant portion of the money. Jordi Santamaría of Mundo Deportivo summarized it: "El Betis rechazó una oferta por Abde y deja al Barça sin una buena tajada".
What other moves happened at the deadline?
Beyond the Abde operation, Real Betis Balompié finalized the departure of Pablo García to Racing Santander. The club sold 50% of his playing rights for €5.5 million. The player signed a four-year deal with the Cantabrian team, where he will earn four times his previous salary.
Betis secured a buy-back option. If Racing Santander accepts an offer for García, the Seville club can re-sign him by paying half of that amount. Meanwhile, players Deossa and Iker Losada did not depart, though they could still move to leagues like Mexico's, where the window remains open until September 11th. Club América has expressed interest in Deossa.
How does this affect the current squad?
The Betis squad faces the match against Real Madrid with several important absences. According to our injuries list, D. Conde, G. Lo Celso, J. Morante, G. Petit and A. Ruibal are all sidelined. This presents a challenge for the manager, who will have new signing Dani Ceballos as an immediate reinforcement for the midfield.
The team has scored four goals and conceded five in their first three league games, with a record of two wins and one loss. They sit three points behind leaders Barcelona. You can follow the standings evolution on our league table page. The signing of Ceballos and the retention of Abde aim to add more solidity to a project targeting European places this season.
Dani Ceballos's signing for Real Betis Balompié is a three-year contract.
