Gaston Ramirez’s move to Real Betis has completely collapsed, with the club now moving on to a new target in Ryad Boudebouz. A deal which at one point looked close to completion, is now completely off the table.
Middlesbrough’s Ramirez probably won’t be too shaken by the deal falling to pieces, given he’s an impressive trail of collapsed transfers already behind him. The initial reaction in the Seville media was to blame Ramirez’s agent for the failure, but Pablo Betancour then hit back.
The agent said it was all Middlesbrough’s fault: “It was Middlesbrough, who negotiated on their own with Betis without reaching an agreement.”
Estadio Deportivo carried those comments, and even they didn’t sound too convinced, claiming that Betancour had been speaking to Freiburg and Nantes at the same time as giving Betis, and the club’s local media, the impression a deal was a near certainty.
ABC Sevilla are pushing home a similar point, saying Ramirez’s Middlesbrough exit failed because of the agent: ‘Betis had discussed with Middlesbrough the incorporation of the Uruguayan in a loan with purchase option of about €4m. The player initially gave his consent but then his agent rejected the Betis offer.’
There’s now no obvious destination for Gaston Ramirez.
If it wasn’t for the inevitable problems ahead of and during every transfer window, it may not be a bad idea for Middlesbrough to keep the player. But pretending everything will be alright this time would almost certainly be slightly delusional.
