“What the boy did is very wrong”

Juan roman riquelmein one of his first media appearances as president of Bocapointed this Friday harshly against the youth Valentine Boatwho in recent weeks made use of the termination clause of 10 million dollars to leave the ranks of the club that formed him and join the ranks of Brighton & Hove Albion, from Premier League from England.

“I had to be a footballer and I don’t know if I did well or not or better than him. Many teams came looking for me, but I said no. The decision is the player’s. The representative wants to convince you and then family too, but the one who signs the paper is the player. What he did to me is very wrong“Riquelme shot to break the ice in a until then monotonous interview with ESPN.

And it didn’t stop there. Among ironic comments, the new Xeneize boss also raised questions against the footballer’s representative, Adrian Ruoccoand also against the actions of Brighton’s managers.

“What the European club does is also very bad. But the decision is always made by the player,” complained Riquelme, visibly upset by the way in which Barco and his agent, who is an old acquaintance in Boca for his link with Carlos Tevez.

Along these lines, the idol leader gave details about what the negotiations had been like to extend the player’s contract, which expired in December 2024. “We offered to renew for four years and the representative said for one year. We did things normally. We offered him a long contract to continue growing. And a few days later she appeared with the paper to rescind. And the one who signs it is the player,” he reiterated.

And he also targeted journalism. “A year ago they were talking about why Barco was a substitute in the Reserve, I never saw anything like it. About other clubs sometimes they don’t even talk about the First team, here they talked about the 3rd of the Reserve who was a substitute“.

When asked about Barco’s conditions, Riquelme chose to be much more cautious compared to the usual praise the player receives from the press. “I said that he was a player with a lot of technique and that we didn’t know what he played, whether he was a winger or a midfielder. Technically he is very good, but he has a lot of room to grow. I hope he has a good career,” he said.

At the same time, caught up in the problem of the increasingly premature exodus among youth players, Riquelme questioned the usefulness of termination clauses in marking the difference between the economic power of the first world clubs and those of Argentina.

“The normal thing is, as they do in Europe, to put a clause on the player of 50 million and for the boy from the Fifth Division to win five million. They can always come looking for you, but the decision is the player’s. You have to have the personality to say ‘this decision is mine’“he reflected, again with Barco at the target of his dart-like statements.

And he advanced a plan to never suffer a situation similar to the one he experienced with Barco again: “We are going to make the decision that no boy has a clause. Without a clause, you set the price as a club. It’s the easiest solution for me. For us it is very important to renew each of the players we have. There are representatives who behave well. Boca is not my business. “It’s the club of my life.”

Already behind him Barco GateRiquelme hinted that the left side marker Lautaro Blanco He is very close to arriving from Elche and did not spare praise for the defender Aaron Anselmino: “He is going to be a National Team player. With the growth he is having, with the desire to learn he has, the head he has… He seems bigger. He is on his way to being a great player. He is going to compete with our centre-backs” .

He was also very excited about the return of Luca Gate and with what he showed during the preseason. “It becomes a very important reinforcement after the year he had with injuries,” he said.

And he also responded about the current situation of Edinson Cavani y Dario Benedetto, the two most experienced forwards on the squad. “They look good, they had a good preseason. But Cavani still needs a little football, he was injured at the end of the year.”

He did not avoid talking about Carlos Palacios, the Chilean striker who sounded strong in the last few hours to wear the blue and gold. “For us he is a good footballer. He plays well and is technically good. We like players who play well. This boy in the Libertadores, when we went to Chile, complicated us. Technically it seems very good, but our priority is to renew several players that we already have,” he warned. And he also sent a message to Lucas Zelarayan: “I like him but we can’t pay him,” he said about the skilled midfielder from Al Fateh, from the Saudi Arabian league.

Obviously, Riquelme made a quick assessment of the first days of Diego Martinez as coach of Boca, hours before his official debut, this Saturday, against Platensein Vicente López.

“Martínez looks good, happy, eager and excited. His idea of ​​playing and representing his teams can help us because of the players we have. The hardest job we had was to maintain the same squad that reached the final of the 2023 Copa Libertadores. We are excited that it can be a great season,” he said.

And he closed with a particular choice about the objectives he had set for 2024. “If you give me the choice between being left out of the next Copa Libertadores or playing in the final of this edition, I choose to play in the final. Then we will see if You win or not, but I prefer to play in the final and be left out of the next edition,” he responded when asked about not qualifying for the top continental tournament.