Barcelona academy graduate set to join Real Betis for free on a four-year deal

Alex Collado has become a hot topic in Barcelona in recent weeks. As the club look to offload their unwanted stars, the young attacker has come out as one of the players poised to leave Camp Nou.

Reports earlier in the day indicated that Collado was free to join Las Palmas, after receiving the green light from Barcelona.

However, according to Ferran Martinez, Collado is all set for a move to Real Betis on a free transfer. The Spanish club had been in talks with the attacker in recent weeks and were expected to wrap up the signing in the coming days.

Martinez claims Collado has accepted a four-year deal with Real Betis, with an option to extend another year. During the process, the player has waived off more than half of the deferred salary Barcelona owed him during Covid-19.

Even though he will leave for free, Barcelona have retained a future sell-on fee of 30%, which is quite significant, especially if Collado ends up realising his potential at Real Betis in the years to come.

For now, though, the sale of Collado could serve as a major boost for Barcelona as they continue to trim the squad ahead of the new season. The club are actively looking for suitors for their other unwanted stars including Sergino Dest and Clement Lenglet, among others.

Collado will join Real Betis on a free transfer, meaning Barcelona cannot generate any fresh sum from the sale. They will, however, save a small amount in their salary mass, which in turn, could help the club in their bid to bring in new players in the market.

The Blaugrana are in the market for a new defensive midfielder, with Oriol Romeu emerging as one of the targets. One would expect Barça to pounce on the Girona midfielder once they get rid of more of their unwanted stars after Collado.