Sergio Canales makes surprise confession about Real Betis departure

Former Real Betis star Sergio Canales has revealed that his exit from the the club was premeditated. The veteran midfielder left the Benito Villamarin this summer to join Rayados de Monterrey, much to the surprise of many, but Canales had made his mind up during the season.

The 32-year-old had been a mainstay of Manuel Pellegrini’s side in recent years, helping to secure Europa League football in each of the last three seasons, and win the Copa del Rey.

Canales told Omar Zeron that going somewhere different had always appealed to him.

“It all happened very quickly. When the season ended, before the season ended I had decided my cycle at there had ended. I had always had it clear in my mind that I wanted a change, it always appealed to me. Then we went to the Nations League, we won it, but then when the championship finished, we started to speak and communicate.”

🟢 ¿Cómo se gestionó el fichaje de Sergio Canales por @Rayados? Lo cuenta el jugador en una entrevista con @omarzeron:

💥⚽️ “Antes de terminar la temporada con el @RealBetis, había decidido que mi ciclo ahí había terminado”

🇪🇸 “Los primeros contactos suceden en la Final de la… pic.twitter.com/KU9cQ6A0ce

— Álvaro Muñoz Gómez (@AlvarooSVQ) September 10, 2023

“It’s true that during the Nations League I didn’t want to know about anything else because we were focused on the tournament. But the day after the Nations League we started talking.”

Precisely the fact he was in the Spain side likely made his exit even more surprising. His chances of making the Euro 2024 squad seem much slimmer now, and he missed out on the most recent squad.

Equally, short of playing in the Champions League with Betis, he had likely achieved everything he could in Seville. Having spent his entire career in Spain too, a lucrative offer from Mexico no doubt would have been attractive.