Barcelona have made contact with Real Betis to check on the situation of 24-year-old Abde Ezzalzouli as the club weighs a possible return for the winger in the summer transfer window.
Ezzalzouli is the player at the center of the approach: sold by Barcelona in September 2023 for €7.3 million after 14 first-team appearances, he has since become a driving force for Betis this term, registering 27 goal involvements in 41 appearances and helping the club qualify for the Champions League.
Those figures explain why the story matters now. Barcelona retained a buy-back option and 50% of Ezzalzouli’s rights when they sold him, but that share was reduced to 30% after they asked Betis to terminate Vitor Roque’s loan early so Roque could be sold to Palmeiras in the winter transfer window of 2025. Barcelona would now have to pay €60 million to bring Ezzalzouli back to the Camp Nou, and his current contract runs until June 2029.
Xavi has not hidden his admiration for the player. "Extraordinary Abde, Gavi and Nico. They are supporting the team in difficult moments. The effort is extraordinary. Young people make a difference and that is difficult to digest," he said, later adding, "Abde’s game is spectacular, and also Nico and Gavi’s. Abde is a differential player. He can make a difference, it is not because of the goal. He is a dagger. A marvel. It is a surprise. It is great news. They are making the difference in a tremendous way. But we all have to demand more from each other."
Context matters: Barcelona sold Ezzalzouli in 2023 but deliberately kept mechanisms to profit from his development and, if desired, to bring him back. Since leaving, he has matured under Manuel Pellegrini at Betis into a high-output winger. Betis’ qualification for the Champions League strengthens their negotiating position and makes any summer move both pricier and more complicated.
There is clear tension in the numbers. Barcelona’s retained economic rights give them a stake in any future sale, but the reduction from 50% to 30% during the winter 2025 dealings means they would recoup less from Betis should the Andalusians sell. At the same time, the €60 million price tag and a long contract until June 2029 hand Betis leverage. Adding to the transfer-market squeeze is the wider demand for wide attackers: Hansi Flick’s main priority is to capture a new left winger once Marcus Rashford heads back to Manchester United, a reminder that several clubs will be hunting for similar profiles this summer.
For Barcelona the question is stark. The club’s contact with Betis last week shows interest beyond idle rumor, but returning a player they sold for €7.3 million two years ago would now require a substantial outlay and a trade in future revenues. That arithmetic — the sell-low, buy-high outline — is the negotiation Barcelona must resolve if they are to convert interest into an offer.
The single consequential question after last week’s contact is this: will Barcelona pay the €60 million required to bring back Abde Ezzalzouli to the Camp Nou, or will they instead look for cheaper wide options and let a player they once developed continue his rise in Seville?
