Troy Parrott Signs for Real Betis Ahead of Club's Champions League Return After 21 Years

Real Betis has its new striker for a landmark return to Europe. Troy Parrott signed a five-year deal with the green-and-white club, which paid around 16 million euros (about $18.8 million) to AZ Alkmaar for the 24-year-old Irishman. This is no ordinary signing: it comes just as Manuel Pellegrini's side prepares to step back into the Champions League after a 21-year absence.

Parrott's name had been making noise since November, when he starred in two matches that are already part of Irish soccer folklore. With Ireland needing to win its last two qualifiers to reach the World Cup playoffs, the striker scored twice in a 2-0 win over Portugal and then netted a hat trick away to Hungary, sealing a 3-2 victory with a goal deep into stoppage time. That heroic run was so widely talked about that Dublin Airport briefly changed its name on social media to "Troy Parrott Airport," a nod to the fever surrounding him at the time.

That was no one-off performance. In his last season with AZ Alkmaar, the forward scored 31 goals, a number that explains why Betis moved so decisively to sign him. He was also on the field in March for the World Cup playoff semifinal, where Ireland blew a two-goal lead in Prague and eventually fell on penalties to the Czech Republic, a match in which Parrott also found the net.

A Long-Awaited Return to Europe's Top Competition

Real Betis, which fittingly plays in green and white (the same colors worn by Ireland), secured fifth place in last season's Spanish league, a finish that opened the door to the Champions League thanks to the extra spot Spain earned for the strong overall performance of its clubs in European competition. The last time the Seville club played in the group stage of Europe's top competition was back in the 2005-06 season, when it finished third in a group alongside Liverpool, Chelsea and Anderlecht.

Now, two decades later, Pellegrini's team takes on that challenge with a striker in the best form of his career, hungry to keep scoring at the highest level. The draw for the 36-team league phase will take place in Monaco next week, when Betis fans will find out who Parrott will face in his Champions League debut in the verdiblanco jersey.