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Ireland striker Troy Parrott has made a dream start to his Real Betis career following his €20m move from AZ Alkmaar last month. The 24-year-old came off the bench to make his debut for the Seville-based club against Valencia before making his full debut in the 5-2 loss to Levante. He then returned to the bench but made an all-important cameo against Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid, scoring the only goal of the match from a corner in the 81st minute. In doing so, Betis handed the 15-time European champions, who had Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr playing, their first defeat of the new season. Parrott then started his first-ever Champions League game against Lille on Tuesday, scoring the winner in a 3-2 win, extending what has been a remarkable run of form. The Dubliner played for Belvedere FC before joining Tottenham Hotspur's academy in 2017. After earning a senior contract, Parrott found his first-team opportunities limited and completed several loan spells before making a permanent move to AZ Alkmaar in 2024. Parrott became a regular for the Eredivisie club, scoring 51 goals in 97 games. In the process, he forced his way back into the Ireland team. He made a major breakthrough last November when he scored five goals in two matches to secure a place in the World Cup play-offs for Ireland. Parrott followed up a brace against a highly-touted Portugal side to set up a decider for second place in the qualification group against Hungary, and deep into second-half injury time, he completed his hat-trick to keep Ireland's World Cup hopes alive. Unfortunately, Ireland lost in a penalty shootout against Czechia and missed out on last summer's tournament, but Parrott's goal-scoring (37 goals for club and country in 2025/26) put him on the radar of major clubs across Europe. At one point over the summer, it was rumoured that West Ham, freshly relegated from the English Premier League, were interested in signing him before Betis made their move. Parrott ended up signing a five-year contract, and he is reported to be earning €61,500 per week before tax or €3.2m per year. Alkmaar had reportedly been holding out for a €25m fee to sell Parrott, but accepted a lower offer when Parrott pushed for the move. The club made a profit of around €12m after signing Parrott from Spurs for €8m. North Dublin club Belvedere FC could receive around €200,000 under FIFA's solidarity scheme for training him before he signed for Spurs. Photo: Troy Parrott of Real Betis during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Real Betis v Real Madrid at the Estadio La Cartuja on September 4, 2026 in Sevilla Spain (Pic: Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)