Guido Rodriguez, a midfielder for Real Betis, has addressed reports that he may join La Liga powerhouse Barcelona in the summer.
The 30-year-old, whose contract with Betis expires at the conclusion of the current campaign, is reportedly drawing attention from the Catalan giants.
Rodriguez played with Club America for three years in Mexico before moving to Europe in 2020 to join Betis, where he has since been an important member of the Spanish team.
The deep-lying midfield player has played for Betis in all competitions for a total of 170 games, including 21 La Liga games this year.
With five games remaining, Manuel Pellegrini’s team is only two points outside of the top six in seventh place in the league after Rodriguez’s most recent performance on Sunday in a 1-1 draw with local rivals Sevilla.
With ties to Barcelona, Rodriguez is “very happy” in Betis.
The 2022 World Cup-winning 29-cap Argentina international Rodriguez is rumored to have been considered by Barcelona as a possible replacement for Oriol Romeu, who has failed to get consistent playing time under head coach Xavi.
Rodriguez has maintained that he is “very happy” in Betis and that neither he nor the club have made any decisions on his future, despite those connections to Barcelona.
“Betis makes me feel at home. This place really suits me, and I’m delighted.” Rodriguez said, as reported by 90min, to reporters. “After four and a half years here, I can honestly say that I’m content and loving the final games of the season.”
“In life, decisions must be made, and we’ll see what transpires at the conclusion of the season. The fact is that neither the club nor I know for sure what will happen as of right now.
“My choice is not based on a single consideration. Numerous factors influence it. It’s a recurrent topic that I’ve already mentioned, and I don’t want to raise anyone’s expectations or say anything for them.”
Barcelona is now again looking into the free agency market.
Barcelona has a history of signing players on free transfers despite its well-publicized financial difficulties, and it is anticipated that they will stick with this strategy in front of the 2024–25 campaign.
The Catalan giants were successful in luring defender Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan from triple winners Manchester City on a free transfer last summer.
Barca signed Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso from Chelsea in 2022–2023, while Hector Bellerin (who has since left the team) and Franck Kessie (who arrived from AC Milan) respectively.
As they did last summer, Barcelona is also anticipated to enter the loan market in an effort to secure permanent contracts with Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo, or to prolong their existing loans from Manchester City to Atletico Madrid, respectively.
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