At the start of July, Guido Rodriguez was confirmed to have left Real Betis – something that had been expected for months. He was a free agent because an agreement with Barcelona fell through at the end of May, and he ultimately ended up signing a contract with Premier League side West Ham United.
Rodriguez made his debut for The Hammers in the defeat to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa on Saturday. After the match, he spoke to Diario AS on the movements that took place during his time as a free agent, which included a possible immediate return to Betis.
“The negotiation with West Ham was practically done in two days. Until that moment, I was in contact or had spoken with Betis. They also had problems being able to sign due to the salary limit, as happens to many teams in Spain. Until that moment I didn’t know what could happen, and I had it in my head that I was going to continue (at Betis).
“I was at the Copa America, involved with my national team in the tournament, and once it was over I was on vacation, but at times it was difficult to disconnect with what was going to happen with my future. I didn’t know what was going to end up happening. Until two days before travelling (to London) I didn’t know what was going to happen, that’s the reality. These are things in football, we have to look forward and keep working.”
Betis have moved on from Rodriguez, although they could still sign a pivot if William Carvalho were to leave before the end of the summer. For now, there does not appear to be any immediate plans to address the position.
