Ruben Vargas Tells Sevilla He Wants To Leave - Negotiations Progressing With Olympiacos
- Thrylos 7 Intl Team
- Aug 20
- 3 min read
There are three parties in every transfer. Until now, two of them were clearly engaged in the Rubén Vargas story.
Olympiacos wanted the player. Sevilla were willing to discuss selling him. Thursday supplied clarity on the third.
According to AS, Vargas himself has told Sevilla that he wants to leave.
Sevilla now have a player and a buyer pulling in the same direction
Sevilla have spent much of the summer trying to generate transfer income. Vargas has consistently been identified in Spanish reporting as one of their most valuable saleable assets following his strong World Cup with Switzerland. The difficulty was price. Sevilla initially hoped for approximately €20m. Olympiacos have entered nearer €12m.
AS now says the practical seller expectation has fallen closer to €15m, which makes the gap look bridgeable rather than structural. That matters because a club does not need to abandon its valuation to compromise.
A €3m difference can potentially be solved through guaranteed money, bonuses or payment structure.
There is no credible report yet that Olympiacos have offered such a revised package, so those remain possible mechanisms rather than reported terms.
Vargas wanting to leave gives Olympiacos leverage — but not control
The player's position weakens Sevilla’s ability to simply wait indefinitely for a €20m Premier League offer.
But Vargas is not reportedly threatening to refuse training or force a transfer. AS specifically says he will not pressure the club aggressively.
That means Sevilla still retain considerable leverage. His contract runs through 2029, and the club do not have to accept €12m merely because the player would prefer a new challenge. Sevilla officially signed him to that long-term agreement in January 2025.
The bigger issue may now be Champions League versus Europa League
This is the first serious caution around the player side. AS says Vargas’ preferred next move would include Champions League football. Olympiacos cannot offer that after the NEC elimination. They can offer:
Europa League football;
a central role;
José Luis Mendilibar;
domestic title expectations;
and potentially a significant contract.
Whether that package is enough has not yet been established. This is why the story should not yet be described as Vargas having “said yes” to Olympiacos. He wants out of Sevilla. That is different.
Mendilibar can provide the strongest personal recruitment argument
Olympiacos’ advantage is the coach. Current Greek reporting says Mendilibar has approved Vargas as one of the two leading winger options alongside Bryan Gil. If the club reach a viable fee with Sevilla, Mendilibar can offer something Champions League clubs may not necessarily offer: a defined role.
A 28-year-old entering his prime may value being an important starter in a Europa League team more highly than becoming a rotational piece elsewhere. That is the football pitch Olympiacos can make.
Vargas would be purchased for the present
At €12–15m and age 28, this is not primarily a resale transfer. Olympiacos would be buying performance.
Goals.
Assists.
One-versus-one threat.
Pressing.
European experience.
That differentiates Vargas from some of the club’s younger investments this summer.
Armando González represents development and future upside. Vargas would represent immediate first-XI quality.
The attacking fit with Tiknizyan remains particularly interesting
Nair Tiknizyan gives Olympiacos an extremely aggressive left-back. A winger such as Vargas can create complementary movements ahead of him. If Vargas attacks inside, Tiknizyan can overlap.
If Vargas holds the touchline, Tiknizyan can attack the half-space. If Olympiacos counter, both offer forward momentum. That can make the left side far more dynamic than it was during the NEC tie.
The tradeoff is defensive transition, which places even greater importance on Olympiacos completing the right midfield balance around Freuler, Hezze and whichever second major midfielder eventually arrives.
Thursday’s training absence should not become fake transfer evidence
This is exactly the kind of detail that can create misleading transfer narratives. Vargas did not train with Sevilla on Thursday. Given the Olympiacos negotiations, it would be easy to conclude: “He was held out because the transfer is close.”
That is not what Sevilla said. Local journalist Daniel Escudero reported that the club attributed his absence to workload management and expects him back Friday. Unless stronger information emerges, that explanation should stand. The substantive news is his communicated desire to leave and the active negotiations—not the missed training session.
Olympiacos now have a genuinely executable winger transaction
This is the biggest strategic difference from Jesse Bisiwu. Barcelona simply said no. With Vargas:
the player wants to leave his current club;
Sevilla want meaningful transfer revenue;
Olympiacos have submitted a serious offer;
and the price gap appears manageable.
Those are the ingredients of a transaction. They do not guarantee one. But this is now much more executable than a speculative target list.
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