As you can probably imagine, there are about 10 rumours for every snippet of hard news right now, but one thing we can definitely say is that Rubén Castro will remain a Betis player for the time being. Yesterday he signed an extension to his contract (which was due to run out in a year's time) committing him to the club until June 2015, when he'll be 34.

It's a deal that suits both sides. The player has stated repeatedly how happy he is to be able to stay in one place after a career which had taken him (involuntarily) to eight different clubs before he was out of his 20s, while Betis get to keep a striker who's goalscoring prowess isn't based entirely on speed and therefore shouldn't be too blunted by age.
Next up for renewal might well be Beñat, who, as an article in the Correo de Andalucía today points out, is still one of the lower-paid footballers at Betis - never mind the fact he must earn many multiples less than the superstars he was playing alongside last night. The good news is that Athletic Bilbao have just said they have no intention of matching Betis's valuation of the Basque midfielder - more fool them - but underpaying your best player is still not a sensible tactic in the long run.
Some more news, briefly...
l This story is about a week old, but it's bizarre enough to stand being mentioned late. As you may know, Sevilla coach Míchel and Betis's own Pepe Mel grew up together in the Real Madrid youth system. Thereafter their playing careers took very different paths, with Míchel playing more than 400 games for Madrid and 60-plus for Spain and Pepe Mel, er, not doing so, and although it used to be assumed they were friends, journalists had recently hinted at a falling out between the two. This was confirmed last week when, in an interview with Marca, Míchel suddenly let fly: "We're not friends and if Mel says we are there'll be problems. We were friends, and I think he's a great coach, a really great coach...But things have happened in our lives - personal, very personal things, intimate even - which mean I'd rather put whatever friendship we had behind us...Was it serious what he did? Yes, for me, yes."
It was such a strange outburst that even their mutual friend Rafael Gordillo suggested he shouldn't have said it in public, while Pepe Mel's response was dignity personified. "I'm a little surprised," he said. "I don't know what he's referring to, but if he's right, then I'm sorry. I wish him all the best in both his personal and professional life."
The rumours are that the row is something to do with an alleged slight of Míchel's son, but it still seems dangerous to speak like that in an interview with Spain's best-selling newspaper. Next season's derbis are clearly going to be served up with extra spice.
l Back on the pitch, it seems that Paulao is very close to signing a permanent contract, while Mohamed Diamé has said he'd rather stay in the Premier League (let's call that Money 1, Sunshine 0). Reading between the lines of other reports (appearing almost daily), I'd say that Roque Santa Cruz is 80 per cent likely to be a Betis player next year, Jefferson Montero 40 per cent (going up) and Iriney 20 per cent.
l You'll know by now that Betis have a whole host of young players being followed closely by Europe's biggest clubs. Now one of these, attacking midfielder Sergio Rodriguéz, is reportedly on the verge of being poached by Barcelona B. It's easy to see why they'd like him - he's an Iniesta-idolising ball player with good vision and great close control - but it will be very hard for Betis to let him go before he's made an impact with the first team, even for the €1.5million plus a loan of promising Barça central defender Fontás that's being mentioned. In the end it's probably up to the player himself - if he stays he'll be closer to first-team football, but on the other hand it is Barcelona we're talking about.
l We already know, of course, which three sides were relegated from Primera - Racing Santander, Sporting Gijón and Villareal - but the full list of their replacements is a long way from being decided. Deportivo La Coruña secured the first promotion spot last weekend, and their Galician neighbours Celta de Vigo are favourites to join them on Sunday (when they'll be watched by superfan Jonathan Pereira), but after that we've got another few weeks of play-offs. I'll be rooting hard for our Andalucían neighbours Córdoba, in memory of a great day out there in May of last year.
l Finally, if the website videosdelbetis.com - run by friend of this blog, Felipe, from London - isn't on you list of Favourites, it should be. Just up is a really nice recap of the season that's a very fine way to spend 11 minutes and 48 seconds.
Resumen Betis 11-12 (FINAL) por videosdelbetis