You might like to bear this in mind when I tell you that Diario de Sevilla yesterday reported that Iriney has rejected a two-season €800,000-a-year offer - "the maximum allowed by the club's administrators", according to "sources within the club". Betis were obviously making an early bid for the moral high ground in anticipation of his likely exit to a club with deeper pockets, possibly Villareal (where he'd make an obvious replacement for the ageing Marco Senna).
The player's representatives hit back in ABC de Sevilla this morning, letting it be known that this would actually mean him taking a pay cut, amid some quibbling about whether the sum quoted was gross or net. Either way, it certainly does seem that the Betis captain has more than a foot outside the door right now.
Let's just hope the situation doesn't get any messier. It seems to me that he has been made a perfectly respectable offer - especially considering the club's finances, his age (31), and, yes, the limits of his footballing talent. Quite understandably, he has become an icon of post-Lopera Betis for the passion and energy he brings to every game he plays in green and white, but it's also true that in recent weeks the team has arguably functioned better with Cañas partnering Beñat in central midfield. With several very decent youngsters also waiting in the wings, this is not the time to get too sentimental over one player. If he wants to stay, all well and good; if he wants more money elsewhere, then good luck to him. That seems fair all round, doesn't it?
Iriney is still injured and won't play against Barcelona, which means his last game for Betis might well turn out to have been the derbi win on May 2nd, which seems more than appropriate. But I'm sure he'll make an appearance at some stage tonight, giving the fans to show their appreciation. It takes a very special player to stamp his personality on a whole team, but when in 50 years' time old men are reminiscing about the 2010/11 promotion season, it's Iriney they'll remember first.
Barça preview coming a bit later.
http://oohbetis.typepad.com/balompie...y-captain.html
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