Although FC Barcelona were able to successfully complete all of their deals before the window closed, the club still had to do a lot of work on the final day to complete their market operations.
The Catalans brought in Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo in the last hours of the market, two players who are expected to play a significant part in the squad this season, especially the latter. Several exits also materialized on this deadline day, with one of the players departing permanently being Ez Abde.
Abde wanted to leave Barcelona
Abde had returned to FC Barcelona after a loan at Osasuna this summer, and aimed to impress Xavi and get a clear role in the squad. While he was able to impress Xavi with his performances in the pre-season, he did not get enough game time in the first few games of the season. This led Abde to ask the club for a departure this summer.
Abde spent the last day of the transfer market in a hotel, as he awaited for his future to get sorted. He was clear that he wanted to leave Barcelona, wanted to play throughout the season, and he had several offers on the table to choose from.
Real Betis over Osasuna
Abde had previously decided that he would play only in Spain this season, and two of the Spanish sides interested in him were Real Betis and Osasuna. As already mentioned, Abde had spent the last season on loan at Osasuna and had very good memories of his time spent in Pamplona.
According to SPORT, Osasuna were also willing to spend a little more than Real Betis for Abde. Real Betis themselves were on the brink of exceeding their financial fair play boundaries and had to rely on a personal guarantee of their President and Vice President to be able to sign Abde. Abde still chose Real Betis ahead of Osasuna and is currently earning €3.5 million per season with Betis.
Abde also had a chance to go to the Premier League but believed that he was still too young to play in England. Thus, Abde wants to take one step at a time, and joining Real Betis could have been motivated by this same factor as he had already played with Osasuna and could have wanted another challenge this season.
