A concern over the cost of Juande Ramos and Leandro Damiao is the reason for delay by Real Betis.
AS reports the club’s executive committee prefers Juan Merino to stay as Coach after stepping in for sacked Pepe Mel even though Ramos has agreed to join.
Ramos doesn’t come cheap, though, and there’s a feeling at Benito Villamarin that the wages of the former Sevilla and Real Madrid trainer are too high to justify.
Damiao’s move to Real Betis collapsed after the club had second thoughts on the cost, but they could re-ignite the move and claim he’s a free agent.
Estadio Deportivo reports the Betis executive committee pulled the plug on signing the Brazilian striker over doubts about paying €2m for 18 months, and only being entitled to a 10% cut if the player was sold on.
But it’s also suggested that Betis could argue Damiao is technically without a club and therefore eligible to move outside the transfer window.
Damiao status has been the subject of a legal battle in Brazil and his registration isn’t with Santos but, because of the entanglement, the Brazilian Football Confederation.
Santos and Damiao’s representatives met on Friday to finalise his move to Betis and an 18-month loan was agreed before the club got cold feet.
The financial arrangements of the transfer were also settled but it’s not certain an interpretation of Damiao’s status as a free agent would stand if challenged.
It’s said though that Betis are still speaking with his agent, Vinius Prates, over the financial aspects of the deal.
Damiao is also in part registered to third-party group Doyen, which further complicates matters and could lead to the deal collapsing totally.
