Real Betis set €60m benchmark in decision to keep Abde Ezzalzouli

Real Betis rejected a substantial offer for Abde Ezzalzouli on the final day of the transfer window because it did not come close to the player’s €60m release clause, president Angel Haro has revealed.

The decision means Barcelona have missed out on a potentially significant financial return. The Catalan club retain around 20% of the Moroccan forward’s economic rights and would have been entitled to one-fifth of any transfer fee agreed for his departure from Real Betis.

Haro explained the club’s thinking during a news conference reviewing Real Betis’ transfer-window activity. He said the Andalusian side had needed to complete a major sale to balance its finances, particularly given the cost of maintaining the current squad.

“We wanted another player to leave, and when players say they do not want to leave, nothing can be done because they have contracts that must be respected,” Haro said, in comments reported by the Catalan newspaper Sport.

“A major sale should have been completed to balance our accounts. We have operating expenses related to the squad’s wages, and normal income is not enough to cover them if we want to keep this group together and avoid merely competing for positions between eighth and 15th.”

The opportunity to make that sale arrived on the final day of the market, when Real Betis received what Haro described as a significant proposal for Ezzalzouli.

“There was an opportunity to complete a major sale for a player on the final day of the transfer window,” he said.

However, the offer fell well short of the amount Real Betis believed would be appropriate at that stage of the window. Haro said the club considered it necessary to demand a fee close to the forward’s €60m release clause, rather than accept a substantially lower figure.

“We felt that on the final day, we had to demand an amount close to the release clause. The offer did not reach the required figure, so we decided to keep Ezzalzouli in the squad, especially in a season when we are playing in the Champions League,” he added.

Haro acknowledged that failing to complete a major sale may affect the club’s financial planning, but said the decision would ultimately be judged by the player’s performances.

“Perhaps we were missing a departure or a major sale in our planning, but in the end we felt the offer for Ezzalzouli was insufficient. We will see in the future whether the decision was the right one. If the player has a great season, keeping him will have been the correct decision.”

The Real Betis president did not identify the club that made the late approach. Previous media reports, however, had indicated that Everton were the interested side.

Ezzalzouli, 24, remains one of Real Betis’ most important players as the club prepares to compete in the Champions League. His continued presence also preserves the possibility of a higher-value transfer in the future, while Barcelona will not receive the 20% share that would have resulted from a deal completed during this window.

The potential move would have generated income for Barcelona because of the economic rights retained by the club, but Real Betis ultimately chose to keep the Moroccan after deciding that the late offer did not reflect his value.