Although it happened almost a month ago, let's still talk about Riquelme's transfer.
Similar to Cardoso, Roro transferred to Betis on June 28, which was also a choice of mutual financial assistance between Atlético and Betis, aimed at optimizing both clubs' financial statements and salary cap. The calculation rules for the La Liga salary cap are very complex, so we won't go into them here; we only need to know that profit plays a major role in the calculation.
As a youth academy player, the total transfer fee for Riquelme of 15.5m can be fully counted as profit in Atlético's 24/25 fiscal year, and Atlético will repurchase 50% of Riquelme's ownership in the 25/26 fiscal year. Therefore, Betis will bear accounting amortization in the 24/25 fiscal year that exceeds actual expenditure (calculated as 2.58m), while Atlético can raise profit in one go, beautify the financial statements, and free up salary cap space. By the 25/26 fiscal year, when Atlético fulfills the repurchase clause, Betis can immediately receive about 8m in revenue, and after calculating amortization, still have a profit of 2.58m; afterwards, they will only need to bear 1.29m in amortization, while Atlético will only bear 1.55m in amortization. There are also different ways to pay for the repurchase here.
Essentially, Betis, which has salary cap space, and Atlético, which needs profit to boost the salary cap, are executing a typical cross-fiscal-year transfer of income/costs.
In terms of the result, Betis purchased half of Riquelme's ownership for about 8 million. Since it is co-ownership, when Riquelme transfers again in the future, Betis and Atlético will need to reach a consensus.
For Betis, this is another typical 'saving lost boys' operation of the Fajardo (Manu Fajardo) era. Were it not for his inconsistent form, Riquelme would be a player that Betis could hardly reach, and this deal also frees Betis from the entanglements of Chukwueze, Zaragoza, and Raúl Moro.
For Pellegrini's system, although Riquelme performs poorly in duels, he is not lacking in speed and technique, making him very suitable as a wide attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In one-on-one situations, he can gain an advantage through dual-foot rhythm changes. This was even more evident when Riquelme was loaned to Girona, where it was common for him to cut inside toward the penalty area after receiving the ball and take a direct shot.
Betis has always been strong in producing wingers and does not lack dribbling talents, but Riquelme's value lies in his quicker and clearer processing and decision-making after receiving the ball and dribbling, which can improve Betis' speed and accuracy in the final third. From the friendly match against Córdoba, he primarily attacked from the left front, distributing the ball in an orderly manner and had relatively good chemistry with Isco. Later, we can observe how Pellegrini adjusts his position, and he might play closer to the penalty area than he does now.
Buying half of the ownership for 8 million, and considering the complexity of a secondary transaction, it can be concluded that Betis signed Riquelme as a long-term main player for the future. Considering Roro's defensive style, he probably won't cut inside like Canales did back in the day, but will stay more fixed on the wing. Depending on the setup of the other wing, Riquelme can both push forward relying on speed or provide a more static form of connection in the wide attacking areas. No matter the style of play, Riquelme will be able to seize opportunities to penetrate and take finishing shots.
Riquelme is a kid who grew up watching the game. He is very disciplined and goal-oriented, but last year, when his performance was poor, he was insulted by you ping pong fans to the point of deleting his account, which also shows his emotional side. However, one thing I can be certain of is that after going through the trials at Bournemouth, Mirandés, and Girona, he finally joined Atlético's first team, and yet chose to start anew because he wanted to seek a new challenge for himself.