Sevilla have confirmed the return of iconic defender Sergio Ramos, but he may well have had the chance to go across the city.
Ramos has been waiting for an offer from Sevilla all summer, in spite of much more lucrative interest from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. However BeSoccer (via Diario AS) claim that Real Betis seriously considered approaching Ramos to offer him a deal.
Their information is that only the insistence of club legend and Foundation President Rafael Gordillo prevented it from happening. His argument was that Ramos’ Sevilla past would prevent them from receiving any other than a rejection.
The reason Betis were considering Ramos was the presence of Saudi Arabia. It looked as if a €25m-deal had been agreed to sell star central defender Luiz Felipe to Al Ittihad. Pellegrini has since assured fans that he doesn’t expect that to happen, but with the Saudi Arabian window still open until Thursday, Betis cannot be sure until they reach Friday. As such they were scouring the market for free agent alternatives.
As per Relevo though, they also say that Betis are ‘convinced’ that Felipe will opt to remain in Andalusia.
Losing Felipe at this stage would be a major blow for Betis, with only three other central defenders on the books in Marc Bartra, Chadi Riad and German Pezzella. While all are decent options, they will need at least four to compete comfortably in both Europe and La Liga.
