Getafe sports chief Ramon Planes feels former club Espanyol has lost it's "DNA" in recent years.

A former Espanyol sporting director, Planes says the Catalans have three times tried to bring him back.

He said, "It is true that since I left, Espanyol has called me on three occasions. The last one was when I left Barcelona, a year and a half ago, to offer me the position of sports director in the new project."

Planes is set to leave Getafe for Real Betis this summer.

Expanding on Espanyol, Planes also said: "The problem with football clubs is that, sometimes without realizing it, they lose their identity.

"I am not going to judge anyone, but from a distance it seems that Espanyol has been deviating from what the club is.

"I remember Espanyol de Leverkusen from a very young age, with good foreign players, young people, people who feel for the club and very difficult to beat.

"Luis (García) can be a success because he transmits this DNA, but sports politics has to be linked to that, and with different choices of people they have been moving away.

"Soccer is cruel, it does not forgive, and when you make a mistake it makes you pay for it."