Former Barcelona Sporting Director Ramón Planes Ditches Real Betis for Al-Ittihad in the Middle of the Winter Transfer Window
On Wednesday, Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad officially unveiled Ramón Planes as their new Sporting Director. Before his appointment, Planes was the Sporting Director at La Liga’ Real Betis, where he’d only served for nine months.
Planes joins Al Ittihad, having served in various capacities at top Spanish and English clubs, including Tottenham Hotspurs, Rayo Valecano, Getafe, Elche, Espanyol and most recently, Barcelona.
Al Ittihad reportedly offered him a contract worth €8 million after taxes, valid for three and a half seasons. On Tuesday, he informed Real Betis that he would accept the offer and switch to Saudi Arabia.
Planes was the top negotiator during the transfer of Luis Felipe from Betis to Al Ittihad last summer, and it seems the interactions convinced the Al Ittihad management that he would be a welcome addition to their team.
Ramón Planes will be taking a team with him, including Franc Carbo (Barcelona) and Jaume Bartres (Chivas), with others like Manu Fajardo (Betis) still considering the tabled offer.
Al Ittihad is currently 7th in the Saudi Pro League table, and Planes will no doubt have his hands full, having made the switch in the middle of the transfer window. Whether he gets the time to get some deals done to add energy to the squad to face the second half of the season remains to be seen.
