Guido Rodriguez puts the brakes on Betis renewal to wait for Barça
The midfielder is not Barcelona's first choice but is an option for the Catalan club
Xavi Hernández wants a pivot in front of the defence even if Sergio Busquets ends up renewing his contract. The Barcelona coach is clear that he lacks the legs to compete in Europe and is looking for profiles that can cover a lot of ground. The priority is Amrabat (Fiorentina), but the negotiation is not easy and Real Betis' Guido Rodríguez is on the list. The midfielder and his entourage know of the interest and, for now, they have not renewed with Betis.
Guido's situation could be favourable to Barça's interests as time goes by. He has a contract until 2024 and his intention was to renew, but the change in the sporting direction at the Seville-based club has been delaying everything. Barça have now contacted him making it clear that he is an option and he wants to push his chances of arriving at Camp Nou.
What is undeniable is that Betis would have a problem if Guido did not renew his contract, as he only has one year left on it, so they would have to put him on the market. And in those conditions, the price could be attractive for the Blaugrana. He is a player that Xavi likes a lot, he has experience in La Liga, good positioning and good ball control. He would fit in well with Barça's positional play, although the club will try to sign Amrabat first.
With the Moroccan, the negotiation looks tough. Fiorentina want to get a lot of money for the midfielder and do not accept exchanges of any kind. In January, they already showed that they are not afraid to stand up in any negotiation and, no matter how much players forces things, it will be difficult to lower the €40 million they are demanding.
In the case of Guido, the player can wait and play with his renewal. There is no hurry and in the summer he could be the big candidate. There are very good relations with the Andalusian team, but Betis also want to take advantage of the situation. Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi, Xavi's great dream, has been completely ruled out, because the operation is now unaffordable for Barça.
