Back in the summer of last year, a certain Ez Adbe was expected to be a regular under Xavi. But considering Barcelona’s troubles with the finances and the player’s eagerness to be a guaranteed starter, he was shipped off the Betis for a fee reported to be worth €7.5 million.
As part of the deal, Barcelona reserved a buy-back clause and also booked a 50% sell-on stipulation.
Over the course of the season, the 22-year-old winger has lost his place at Real Betis too and if a report from AS is to be believed, he could be sold in the summer and that means profit coming in at Barcelona.
A major dip in form
It is to be noted that Xavi’s earlier prediction, where he reluctantly allowed Abde to leave Barcelona, is proving accurate. The coach foresaw Abde struggling to secure a starting position at Betis and this has indeed materialized.
Since January, Abde has missed four games due to the African Cup of Nations, remained benched once, and did not play a single minute against Athletic Club last month.
In Betis’ recent outing against Atletico Madrid, he was only introduced during the latter part of the match. With five starts and 13 substitute appearances in the league, the 22-year-old has accumulated just 669 minutes, scoring a lone goal.
Barcelona will gain anyway
Considering his current run of form, it is expected that Betis will cash in on him and in that scenario, Barcelona will pocket 50% of the transfer fee.
At Betis, the arrival of Chimy Avila and the potential return of Ayoze Perez from injury will once against send Abde to the bench.
This means the 22-year-old will fall further down in the pecking order so the best thing for Betis is to cash in on him.
Right now, it is expected that a sale could be sanctioned, which means at whatever cost Betis settle on, Barcelona will receive half of it.
Given the Catalans’ iffy financial situation, any amount in the coffers will be a welcome boost for the club and they will be keeping a close eye on developments surrounding Abde.
