Sporting director claims Leeds United loanee was 'desperate' for Elland Road exit after one season - YEP 5/9/23

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Leeds United midfielder Marc Roca was in close contact with Real Betis chiefs during the summer transfer window, as he sought a season-long loan move from Elland Road.

By Joe Donnohue

The Spanish midfielder joined Leeds last June but was relegated 11 months on from his arrival at Elland Road and along with several other members of the squad, subsequently exercised a clause in his contract permitting him to leave on loan if United were relegated.

Speaking to the club’s in-house media channel, with comments relayed by MARCA, Real Betis sporting director Ramon Planes explained the situation regarding Roca’s loan signing at Estadio Benito Villamarin this summer.

"Everyone has their story, good players always have a lot of claim. Marc Roca had many teams after him. He is a player who played for Bayern Munich, who paid a transfer of 10 or 12 million to Espanyol, then went to Leeds. We are talking about a very proven player and when the possibility of him coming to Spain opened up, we were one of the many teams that wanted him.

"The team plays very good soccer, with the values of Pellegrini and Betis, with good ball handling, but we thought we needed that profile of player. So we went for Marc, it wasn't easy, but the boy was also convinced.”

Planes also explains a visit to Barcelona where he met the player, prior to confirmation of his LaLiga loan switch, in order to persuade the Leeds man that Betis would be the right move.

Roca was reportedly very keen to seal a transfer to the Andalusian club following initial talks with Planes.

“He was desperate, he called every day. He left because of a good contract situation,” the Betis sporting director added.

"I think he realised he wanted to return [to Spain] and that’s how he told us. I told him: ‘calm down, we’re going to do it’, but Marc is a boy who’s going to give us a lot.

"When the possibility with Manuel [Pellegrini] was seen, he immediately told us yes, that he knew him, the season is very long and he’s going to give us many things.”

Roca remains contracted to Leeds until June 2026, but will remain on loan at Betis until next summer. The Spanish club are also understood to have a clause which permits a one-year extension to the 26-year-old’s loan stay in Seville.

Roca has started each of Betis’ four LaLiga fixtures so far this season.

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