Bellerin rejects January move to Mourinho’s Roma

FT Desk

• 16 Nov 2022 19:20 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona flop Hector Bellerin has rejected a January transfer to Roma, according to Sport.

The former Arsenal right-back has told the Italian club that he intends to see out his contract with the Blaugrana, which runs out at the end of the season.

Roma made a move for the 27-year-old in the past few days as they have made the signing of a new right-back a priority in January.

Premier League 2022/23 January transfers: All the Done Deals

This is after Roma manager Jose Mourinho publicly told first-choice right-back Rick Karsdorp to find himself a new club in January, with the Portuguese accusing the Dutchman of betraying his teammates.

Barcelona would like to offload Bellerin in January, just months after he returned to the club.

Bellerin was a former Barcelona youth team player, who returned to Camp Nou this summer on a free transfer after 11 years away.

The defender signed a one-year contract after his deal at Arsenal expired at the end of last season.

However, Bellerin has been a huge flop so far.

He suffered from a muscle injury in the early part of the season, missing almost a month of action between September and October.

Upon his return, he has been a major disappointment. He struggled badly in the 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich and in the 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen.

He has also done little to impress Xavi in training, so much so that there have even been reports that Barcelona will offer to tear up Bellerin’s contract in January.

Bellerin in decline

Bellerin’s career has declined in recent years. He was regarded as one of the most exciting young right-backs in the world during his early days at the Emirates.

However, partly due to a number of injuries, he failed to live up his promise.

He spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Real Betis, and it is believed that Bellerin may look to rejoin them if he is indeed released by Barcelona.

Bellerin has been capped four times by Spain.

Barcelona are also looking for a new first-choice right back – with none of their current squad suggesting they can be a long-term option in the role.

However, president Joan Laporta said this week that they currently can’t pay a transfer fee due to Financial Fair Play.