5 months ago
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Pablo Fornals has completed his £6.8million transfer to Real Betis, despite the 'computer incident' that put his West Ham exit in doubt on deadline day.
The Hammers cult hero was expected to leave the Premier League side and complete a move to Spain on Thursday night.
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However, Real Betis CEO Ramon Alarcon said they while the LaLiga club had submitted the relevant documents on time, West Ham had a technical fault.
He then claimed that the club were working to rectify the issue after missing the deadline.
And they have now welcomed their man after FIFA cleared the move to go ahead, with Fornals signing a four-and-a-half year deal with the Spanish club.
The 27-year-old midfielder is a cult hero at the London Stadium, where he arrived from Villarreal in 2019 and made 203 appearances across all competitions, scoring 23 goals.
He will be fondly remembered for his strike against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-finals last season, which helped guide the Hammers to their victorious final, lifting their first trophy since 1980.
And Fornals, who has featured in 23 matches this season, bid a sweet farewell to fans following confirmation of his exit.
“Hello everyone, I just want to thank you for these four seasons and a half and for the support and the good memories," he wrote.
“I arrived as a kid and became a man here and it was such a great pleasure for me to fight from relegation in my first season to become sixth in the league, to play a semi-final of European football with you the next season and to win a trophy.
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“I have such big memories. You’re always going to be in my heart. This stadium, this team and this crowd will be with me always.
“I think you are waiting for this… West Ham are massive, everywhere we go!”
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Fornals already has 129 appearances to his name in LaLiga following spells at Malaga and Villarreal.
The attacking midfielder joins a Real Betis side who sit seventh in the table, and he is one of two departures from West Ham on the day after the transfer window officially shut.
Said Benrahma has now also completed a move to French side Lyon after his £15million switch collapsed on deadline day.
The winger underwent a medical with the Ligue 1 outfit but the deal was not completed, with Lyon said to be furious after they registered all the relevant details on FIFA’s Transfer Management System [TMS] by 10.30pm on Thursday night.
They accused West Ham of mismanaging the paperwork and took the case to FIFA, who have given the green light for the transfer to be completed.
