Sevilla may not have to include Hannibal Mejbri on first-team wage bill due to 'loophole' in La Liga rules
Hannibal Mejbri may not be on Sevilla's first-team wage bill after arriving on loan from Manchester United.
The 20-year-old has struggled for game time at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag despite a promising start to the campaign.
Mejbri scored his first Premier League goal in September's 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. He followed it up with a 'perfect' performance in a 1-0 win over Burnley later that month.
Ten Hag praised Mejbri, who stepped in following an injury to Mason Mount, for his performance.
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He told reporters: "You have so many injuries. You bring players in like [Rasmus] Holjund and you can’t bring them in slowly. They’re not used to playing together. Like Hannibal, who did a perfect job. Hopefully, it gives us confidence."
Mejbri would eventually fall out of favour due to poor performances against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup and Galatasaray in the Champions League.
The Tunisia international turned down a call-up to this month's AFCON squad in a bid to secure a temporary move away.
He's got his wish and will now spend the rest of this campaign in La Liga.
Sevilla are 17th in the table and out of Europe completely, a far cry from what's expected of them.
Reports from June claim Sevilla's debt stands at €90 million. To get around this, Quique Sanchez Flores' side has registered Mejbri as part of their second-team squad.
The midfielder will wear number 46 during his time at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Per journalist Jonas Adnan Giæver, Mejbri will now be classed as a second-team player rather than a first-team player.
La Liga rules state all players in the first-team must wear a number between 1-25.
Mejbri isn't the first player to leave United this month.
Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho have joined Bundesliga sides Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund, while Sergio Reguilon has returned to Tottenham Hotspur after United exercised the break clause in his loan deal.
Topics: Manchester United, Hannibal Mejbri, Premier League, Sevilla
Daniel Marland