Madrid, July 4 (IANS): If Real Betis Vice President Lorenzo Serra Ferrer is to be believed, Barcelona are also in the race along with arch-rivals Real Madrid to sign midfielder Dani Ceballos.

"They (Barcelona) asked me what my opinion of Dani was, and I gave it to them, and you can imagine what it was," Ferrer was quoted as saying in a news conference by ESPNFC on Monday when asked whether Barcelona have evinced interest in the Spain under-21 international.

Real are reportedly also ready to pay Betis, where Ceballos plies his trade, more than his release clause.

Ferrer further said: "We are not waiting for any type of meeting with Real Madrid over Dani Ceballos."

"We love him and we value him here," Ferrer said. "We hope he can continue with us, not just for one season but for many more. We had a nice and respectful conversation. We spoke about things but not going into specifics about one team or another.

"Tomorrow or the next day he will talk to the coach (Quique Setien) and we will see if between all of us we can convince him," he added.

Since making his senior team debut for Betis in 2014, Ceballos has been a regular player for the team.