Pablo Fornals completes Real Betis transfer after late FIFA approval as West Ham cult hero sends farewell message to fans
Pablo Fornals has completed his £6.8million transfer to Real Betis, despite the “computer incident” which put his deadline-day exit from West Ham in doubt.
The Hammers' cult hero He was expected to leave the Premier League side and complete his move to Spain on Thursday night.
However, Real Betis general manager Ramón Alarcón said that while the LaLiga club had submitted the relevant documents on time, West Ham had a technical fault.
He then stated that the club was working to fix the problem after missing the deadline.
And now they have welcomed their man after FIFA approved the move to move forward, with Fornals signing a four-and-a-half-year contract 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 played 203 games in all competitions, scoring 23 goals.
He will be fondly remembered for his goal 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 played 23 games this season, bid a sweet farewell to the fans after his departure was confirmed.
“Hello everyone, I just want to thank you for these four and a half seasons and for the support and good memories,” he wrote.
“I arrived as a boy and became a man here and it was a great pleasure for me to fight from relegation in my first season to finish sixth in the league, to play with you in a European football semi-final the next season and to win a trophy.
2
“I have such great memories. You'll always be in my heart. This stadium, this team and this crowd will always be with me.
“I think you're waiting for this… West Ham are huge, wherever we go!”
Fornals already has 129 games in LaLiga after his spells in Málaga and Villarreal.
The attacking midfielder joins seventh-placed Real Betis in the table, and is one of two departures for West Ham the day after the transfer window officially closes.
Said Benrahma now too completed a move to French Lyon after their £15m transfer crashed on deadline day.
The winger underwent a medical with the Ligue 1 side but the deal was not completed, with Lyon said to be furious after they recorded all the relevant details in the club's Transfer Management System (TMS). FIFA at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night.
They accused West Ham of mismanaging the procedures and took the case to FIFA, which gave the green light for the transfer to be completed.
