“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Agustín Ruberto did not need any: 8.19, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Mauro Arambarri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at River Plate heard it as anything else.
The name of Fabricio Bustos has come up in conversations River Plate were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Matías Viña falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Mauro Arambarri is on it.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at River Plate that is a harder question to answer.
In brief
The dugoutJuan Villordo knocks on the manager's door
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at River Plate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aníbal Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Petrojet will make the call about Tobías Ramírez this week. River Plate have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aníbal Moreno trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and River Plate will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The offer from Sion for Fabricio Bustos was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Mauro Arambarri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Jonás Miszczuk again, and this time the name on the line is Urawa Reds. River Plate are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aníbal Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Agustín Ruberto and River Plate agree another 5 years.
Squad18 Jan 2027
11 new faces, and River Plate are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ángel Correa is on it.
Wolverhampton paid $40.7M and River Plate took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Free State Stars had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Thiago Almada has gone, the accounts have $40.7M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Mauro Arambarri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tobías Ramírez and River Plate agree another 4 years.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at River Plate training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Viña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The offer from Lazio for Thiago Almada was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Boston River had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. River Plate will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Add another name to the list: Sevilla have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ángel Correa. The answer from River Plate has not changed — yet.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Jonathan De Irastorza has, at River Plate, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Nobody at River Plate will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at River Plate, and it is not being withdrawn.
River Plate have gone to Independiente with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Fausto Vera and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
River Plate asked and San Lorenzo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at River Plate training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Viña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thiago Almada is on it.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. River Plate will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around River Plate people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. River Plate had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
River Plate offered $3.5M; Gimnasia La Plata said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Nahuel Ulariaga is living that version at River Plate, and it tends to show in the first month.
The offer from San Marcos de Arica for Dilan Gerez was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The chase for Nahuel Ulariaga ended with $560.0K changing hands and Godoy Cruz out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Mauro Arambarri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” River Plate have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
River Plate and Godoy Cruz have settled on $560.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
River Plate asked and Instituto said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The offer went to Gimnasia La Plata this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Universidad Catolica paid $6.0M and River Plate took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
In brief
SquadLeandro Mamut arrives at the club he grew up with
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomás Galván and River Plate agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Aníbal Moreno falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Aníbal Moreno is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at River Plate has been clear about where Fabricio Bustos stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” River Plate have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at River Plate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafael Santos Borré, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Matías Viña falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Nobody has promised him anything and he has not asked. The coaching staff have noticed, which at this stage of a season is the only thing that matters.
Mauro Arambarri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aníbal Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. River Plate know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gonzalo Montiel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one River Plate will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
In brief
SquadThiago Almada is the talk of the training ground
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at River Plate is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mauro Arambarri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Matías Viña falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at River Plate will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ángel Correa signs something — a contract at River Plate or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. River Plate lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at River Plate heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at River Plate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matías Viña was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Lucas Beltrán and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Nobody at River Plate will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at River Plate, another week without a signature from Tomás Galván.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. River Plate lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A 4‑1 win over Central Córdoba SdE, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Kendry Páez, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.04
A mark of 8.04 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Kendry Páez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aníbal Moreno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. River Plate lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” River Plate have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Mauro Arambarri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matías Viña was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
14 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Roberto Ibáñez after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. River Plate lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at River Plate is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mauro Arambarri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tobías Ramírez and River Plate agree another 4 years.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafael Santos Borré, and the manager let it.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Nobody left the River Plate dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at River Plate training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Viña is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
Player ratingsÁngel Correa beats them one at a time
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
At 18 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at River Plate, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ezequiel Centurión’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and River Plate needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Belgrano will want this one forgotten quickly: 7‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. River Plate were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at River Plate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about River Plate and Belgrano in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Kendry Páez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Mauro Arambarri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Belgrano next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matías Viña was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Roberto Ibáñez chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. River Plate know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at River Plate is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match19 Sep 2026
After 10 games, River Plate finally taste it again
The first defeat in 10 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Argentinos Juniors; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Aníbal Moreno was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fausto Vera, and the manager let it.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the River Plate dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at River Plate training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobías Ramírez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
10 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
A 2‑1 win over Atlético Tucumán, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Ángel Correa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.51. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
8 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.76 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two goals and a mark of 8.37 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Kendry Páez, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.05
A mark of 8.05 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The deal that would have taken Tobías Ramírez to Celta has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to River Plate with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at River Plate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
MatchThiago Almada among the goals in a wild afternoon
Estudiantes will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. River Plate were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. River Plate scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
6 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Mauro Arambarri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Sarmiento will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. River Plate were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The offer from Valencia for Ángel Correa was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Agustín Ruberto did not need any: 8.39, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kendry Páez did not need any: 7.73, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Córdoba paid $1.2M and River Plate took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The name of Sebastián Driussi has come up in conversations River Plate were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
In brief
SquadWords at River Plate training over how hard people work
The name of Ángel Correa has come up in conversations River Plate were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mauro Arambarri and River Plate agree another 5 years.
Thiago Almada and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at River Plate training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mauro Arambarri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
A 1‑0 win over Gimnasia La Plata, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Nothing signed, nothing denied, and a lot of people suddenly very careful about their wording. Supporters who have been through one of these know the quiet part lasts months.
The offer from Morelia for Tomás Galván was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolás Otamendi and River Plate agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at River Plate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Thiago Almada falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at River Plate, another week without a signature from Nicolás Otamendi.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the River Plate dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
In brief
Squad17 new faces, and River Plate are still learning each other