Real Betis chairman Angel Haro is confident full-back Emerson Royal will remain at the club next season despite suggestions he will join Barcelona.
The 21-year-old initially joined the Blaugrana in January 2019 from Atletico Mineiro in a €12.7m deal in a convoluted operation in which both Barcelona and Real Betis paid for half that sum each.
Both clubs now co-own the right-back but he has exclusively played for Betis since his arrival, with Barca’s option to sign him permanently for €6m set to kick in from the summer of 2021.
Betis chairman Haro has said, as cited by El Mundo Deportivo: “I do not contemplate the departure of Emerson.”
In theory, Emerson will move to the Camp Nou on a permanent basis at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, but reports suggest other clubs are interested in a move – Diario Sport claimed Spurs, West Ham, Newcastle and Everton have already asked about the footballer.
A separate report from last month in Diario Sport claimed the player is valued at €25m by the Catalan club, who would look to include a buyback option in any deal, with interest from German side Bayer Leverkusen.
