RIP Bale Seven: Erik Lamela officially joins Sevilla FC

The last of the Bale Seven has left the building.

Érik Lamela, who was the last of the seven purchases in the summer of 2013, is headed to sunny Spain to play for Sevilla FC. The transfer is a part of a player swap plus cash deal that will see Bryan Gil join Tottenham Hotspur.

Lamela’s eight years with the club have been a roller coaster. The 29-year-old joined Spurs for a then-club record fee of £30m from AS Roma. He was touted as being the replacement for outgoing winger Gareth Bale. While he never reached that potential, Lamela contributed in ways that didn’t necessarily reflect on the scoresheet, though he did score 37 goals and assisted another 47 across all competitions.

I could spend hours writing about the Argentine that became my favorite player. I will shamelessly link to my long-form piece that I wrote back in 2018 touting the resilience that Lamela showed to return from an injury that kept him away from the squad for over a year. There were times he was maddening to watch, while there were also stretches where he was undroppable. He scored rabonas. He stomped on hands, and he made sure those elbows were good and sharp. We can and will discuss for a long time what his best contributions were and where his legacy is, but some things are non-negotiable: The man bled for the club and was the absolute king of sh*thousery.

This is arguably the best deal Spurs could make both for the club and for Lamela. He’ll get a three year deal on a Champions League side while Spurs get an exciting young winger that could explode as part of a necessary rebuild. It makes sense for everyone involved, but this one definitely stings. He might not have lived up to the hype, but be damned if he didn’t leave a mark.

Adiós, Érik. I look forward to you having those elbows ready against Messi.