Your Transfer Rumor is Bullshit: Origi to Real Betis in Swap Deal for Firpo

Just...all the no.

If you’re the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports, and you’re caught up in outlandish football transfer rumors, you might as well swing for the fences and weave as entertaining of a tale as possible. If it was ESPN’s mission to entertain, not inform, well, congratulations are in order, I guess.

In their “Rumor Rater” (a title I see they really took to heart), they gave a staggering 45% chance of Divock Origi leaving Liverpool this summer for midtable La Liga side Real Betis. Of course, ESPN claims, this is really in an attempt to open up negotiations for rumored Liverpool target Junior Firpo, as part of a swap deal.

Naturally.

First of all, any time “swap deal” is mentioned by rumor mongers, you should be taking it with not so much a grain of salt, but rather a dump truck full of salt. Just, all the salt.

The 45% figure is also oddly specific, and as best as I can tell, pulled out of the same orifice as they pulled the rest of the story out of. And of course ESPN lists zero sources. The story isn’t even by their one reliable and Liverpool-linked journalist, Mel Reddy.

Although Origi has yet to sign a contract extension to keep him at the club past next summer, it does appear to be something he is at least strongly considering. Moreover, the current chatter by most “in the know” Liverpool journalists seems to indicate that Origi will at least stay on Merseyside for one more season.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com