During the summer transfer window, Aston Villa were linked with a slew of players as the club attempted to kick on and assist Unai Emery climb the Premier League standings.
Barcelona’s Abde was one of the players rumored to be of interest to Birmingham City, and Catalan daily Sport has now explained the drama surrounding the 21-year-old in the last transfer window.
Because the left winger was not in Xavi Hernandez’s plans, Barcelona was eager to cash in on him.
Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen were both interested in signing the teenager, but according to Sport, he refused to leave Spain, which posed a dilemma for the Blaugrana.
Real Betis was interested, but only offered a loan with an option to buy, which Barcelona rejected. As a result, they attempted to send Abde to Atletico Madrid as part of the transaction that saw Joao Felix move in the opposite direction on loan.
At this point in the drama, Abde stated unequivocally that he will either join Real Betis or remain with Barcelona. That stampeding of the feet resulted in Barcelona’s return to Betis, with the two clubs agreeing to a deal for 50% of his rights.
