He Bétis made a splash on the last day of the market with the signing of Sofiane Amrabat. The Moroccan’s rapid adaptation raised the level of the green and white team, but over time his impact lost its effect. Actually, … Manuel Pellegrini has hardly been able to count on Amrabat as a starter in half of the matches since his arrival, when the Moroccan international leaves with his team to compete in the African Cup.
The midfielder’s absence from training on Tuesday leaves him absent again for the Europa League duel against Dinamo Zagreb, meaning he is already He will not play with the green and white team again until he returns from the national team tournament.. Betis’ attempts to make Amrabat available for the duel against Rayo Vallecano did not succeed, in addition to the fact that the injury he suffered in recent weeks would not have allowed him to attend in the best conditions either. Thus, the midfielder, as reported by Betis, traveled to his country yesterday afternoon to continue his convalescence under the supervision of the medical services of the Moroccan national team.
The arrival of Amrabat gave Betis this physical profile if requested in the core. A midfielder to protect the rest of the players and also help the defense avoid danger near their own area. Without as much brilliance with the ball, The Moroccan effectively assumed the role sought by the technical staff.but without the continuity necessary for the team to have taken a leap forward. His signing demonstrated the team’s need for a player of his quality, even if his repeated absences diminished Pellegrini’s potential to attempt to move up the ranks.
When four months of competition come to an end, Amrabat is the twelfth Betis player in minutes in La Liga. The Moroccan has accumulated 602 in the league, having participated in three victories – against Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Mallorca – four draws – Levante, Villarreal, Valencia and Girona – and one defeat – against Atlético de Madrid. Teammates such as goalkeepers Álvaro Valles and Pau López, defenders Bellerín, Natan, Bartra, Valentín Gómez, midfielders Pablo Fornals and Lo Celso, as well as attackers Antony, Abde and Cucho Hernández have played more minutes than Amrabat, who narrowly surpasses positional teammates like Marc Roca (570) or Altimira (522).
Minutes in La Liga
The Moroccan is the twelfth player of the Betic team who participated the most in the championship tournament.
Amrabat has only made six starts in La Liga since his arrival.. After entering the home stretch on the day of his debut against Levante, the midfielder started from the start against Real Sociedad and Osasuna, before that first malaise which prevented him from playing against Espanyol. Subsequently, the Moroccan started against Villarreal, Atlético Madrid, Mallorca and Valencia, while he came off at half-time against Girona, having traveled during the national team break with the Moroccan team. The injury suffered against Utrecht has already ruled him out of the derby and the match against Barcelona, although he tried to train with the team on Thursday.
The presence in the Europa League was even less. From the first match against Nottingham Forest, the week in which he started three matches in a row, Amrabat was a substitute against Ludogorets on the second day, precisely in a match in which he suffered a blow that would penalize him in the following weeks. Without traveling to Belgian soil for the duel against Genk, Amrabat would be back in the starting lineup for the duel against Utrecht, where the unfortunate blow with Isco would leave him KO after a quarter of an hour of play and out of the following matches.
Betis’ leap in quality this season has involved three players. Besides Amrabat, Antony’s firm commitment raised the level, while Isco’s return was supposed to give new impetus to the team. After these first four months of the season, only the Brazilian appeared regularly, after injuries frustrated the Moroccan and the Malaga player, although players like Fornals, Abde and Cucho Hernández took a step forward. Four days from the end of the first round, Betis is seven points behind fourth place, occupied by Atlético de Madrid, and eleven points behind Villarreal, its direct rival in theory for this position.
FIFA’s decision
Even though African teams have requested that internationals be available from December 8, FIFA postponed the obligation to transfer them to Monday 15six days before the start of the competition. “Following the fruitful consultations that FIFA carried out with the main interest groups, thanks to the solidarity shown by CAF with the aim of reducing the repercussions that this measure could have on the various interested parties, the Bureau of the Council adopted a decision regarding the compulsory loan of players for the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in Morocco from December 21 to January 18, 2026. In accordance with the same principle used for the FIFA World Cup FIFA 2022, the loan period will be reduced by seven days and will begin on Monday, December 15, 2025,” the organization reported last week.
As Rayo Vallecano-Betis is scheduled for the same Monday 15, the green and white club tried to negotiate with Morocco so that Amrabat and Abde could participate in Vallecas, but they encountered a refusal. The fact that The North African team serves as host and opens the tournament on the 21st It was almost impossible for the Moroccan Federation to agree to further delay the arrival of its players.
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