Excuse me? In a surprising turn of events, Rafinha has taken one step closer to finalising his move for the season by sealing a loan move to Real Betis according to FCInter1908. The former Interista will remain in La Liga for the 2018/2019 season but that isn’t the most outlandish element of the deal. There is a principally lower buy out fee set by FC Barcelona.
For everyone’s reference, our option last year was €35 million plus an additional €3 million in bonuses; the offer tabled to Real Betis is €1.5 million loan fee with an extra €500,000 in bonuses if Betis qualify for the Champions League or win a trophy in the 2018/2019 season with an outright purchase option of €25 million.
This is quite the surprise and frankly I don’t quite understand Barcelona’s and Rafinha’s rationale behind this accord. Real Betis compete in the same league and could potentially halt their challenge for the La Liga crown (though a temporary one). This goes to show to their faith in a player who hasn’t been able to settle in a Barcelona team full of superstars in midfield. Inter are in an entirely different league and could potentially only meet in the Champions League, also allowing the Brazilian playmaker more minutes against top quality opposition on a regular basis in Italy and Europe.
During his limited playing time mainly due to injury, he played 12 games, bagged 2 goals, and provided 3 assists. Our resident Rafinha expert, Édouard Germain had written a whole piece on why he would be the perfect signing.
We win some and lose some and this time we’ve lost out on a great midfielder who could have been the solution to Inter Milan’s midfield conundrum and neutralise the loss of both Arturo Vidal and Luka Modrić. Either way, I think most fans are happy with the way the Nerazzurri have ended the transfer window and we move on with our heads held high.
Forza Inter!
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