Inter Miami are preparing to match—or even improve on—their performance from last season. To do so, they will need to surround Lionel Messi with top-level players, such as Giovani Lo Celso, for whom Real Betis have reportedly made a significant decision.
According to El Correo de Andalucia, cited by Infobae, the Spanish side are willing to let Lo Celso leave if a sufficiently strong offer arrives. “A figure above €5 million (around $5.8 million) would allow the club to cover the remaining amortization of his transfer from Tottenham and reduce the annual wage burden by more than €5 million,” the report explains.
The Argentine midfielder joined Real Betis in the summer of 2024 from the Premier League. While he initially delivered standout performances, physical issues prevented him from playing consistently, causing him to lose his spot in the starting XI.
Now, primarily a substitute—he has played only 78 minutes across the last four matches—and with a salary that is considerably high for Betis, the club is open to parting ways with Lo Celso before his contract expires in June 2028.
Real Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini.
Lo Celso lost his place at Betis
The influence Giovani Lo Celso had during his early months at Real Betis in La Liga and European competitions has diminished over time, to the point that he lost the trust of head coach Manuel Pellegrini.
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“He has received an offer. He’s thinking about it and Betis will let him leave because I think Pellegrini has partly grown tired of Lo Celso,” journalist Gonzalo de la Haza said on Sevillania TV this week. “Pellegrini isn’t willing to give him minutes just because there’s a World Cup on the horizon.”
The World Cup is Lo Celso’s priority
For a world-class player like Lo Celso, just 29 years old, Major League Soccer might not seem like the ideal destination right now—if not for the proximity of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He needs playing time in the coming months to convince coach Lionel Scaloni, and playing alongside Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul could help him achieve that goal.
Lo Celso has been an important player for Argentina since 2019. His best years were up to 2022, when he was an undisputed starter for Scaloni and Messi’s creative partner on the field. However, an unexpected muscle injury kept him out of Qatar 2022, and he has never fully regained that prominence since.
Missing the FIFA tournament was a major setback for the midfielder, who had also been on the Russia 2018 squad without playing a minute. Now, approaching 30 years old, Lo Celso appears to be facing his last chance to play in a World Cup, and a club change could help him reach that objective.
