Five former Barcelona players named in Real Betis squad ahead of La Liga clash

As Barcelona prepare to host Real Betis in their La Liga clash in just a couple of hours, they will most likely come up against a lot of familiar faces.

Looking at Real Betis’ squad list for the game, there are five former Barcelona players in their matchday squad.

The list includes Ez Abde, Chadi Riad, Hector Bellerin, Marc Bartra, and Juan Miranda, all of whom have come through the Barcelona ranks early on their careers.

Chadi Riad technically remains a Barcelona player and is on loan to the Verdiblancos, and depending on this season might be recalled.

Bellerin and Miranda have both represented Betis on loan previously and have now joined the club on a free transfer, while Bartra has also returned from a brief spell away in Turkey to rejoin Betis on a free transfer.

Abde has a point to prove

This summer has been a particularly topsy-turvy ride for Ez Abde, as he seemed all but nailed on to stay at Barcelona and be involved with the first team dynamics.

It looked as though he had impressed Xavi Hernandez with his quality and work ethic and the Moroccan would be one of the club’s options down the flank as one of their only pure wingers after Raphinha.

It made sense given his potential and Barcelona’s financial woes that they keep hold of him, but an offer from Betis changed the game as he joined for 7.5 million euros, but with the club adding a buyback clause into the deal.

They have also retained the right to 50% of any profits from a future sale, and Abde will look to make an impression against his former side to prove to Xavi that his initial judgment was correct.

If not Barcelona, Abde only wanted Betis, but he did seem a bit annoyed at not having gotten his moment in the sun with the Catalans. Luckily, this season still gives him enough time to try and grasp that.