Boca sold Mauricio Benítez, but can't replace him in the market | OneFootball

Boca finalized the permanent sale of Mauricio Benítez to Belgium’s Royal Antwerp, securing significant income and retaining a percentage of a future sale. After several negotiations and the expiration of the initial loan, the club from La Ribera reached an agreement to complete the youngster’s transfer.

The sale of the central midfielder was closed for a fixed fee of $2.5 million, with another $500,000 potentially added if certain sporting objectives stipulated in the contract are met. In addition, the Boca board managed to secure a percentage of a future sale, protecting the value of a player developed entirely in the club’s youth academy.

The midfielder had just completed a loan spell in Belgian football during the 2025-26 season, where he gained essential playing time in the Jupiler Pro League. Wearing the Royal Antwerp shirt, he played 27 matches, scored 3 goals, and logged nearly 1,500 minutes on the field, showing the qualities that convinced the European coaching staff to push for his permanent stay.

Mauricio Benítez will continue his career in Belgium.

Although the Belgian club initially chose not to trigger the original purchase option because it was considered too high ($5 million), talks continued after the youngster returned to Argentina. While training separately at the Ezeiza complex because he was not in Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s plans, the two clubs resumed negotiations until agreeing on a fee that left all parties satisfied.

Boca do not get an extra slot from Benítez’s sale

Although it is an international transfer, as one part of the regulations states, the academy product’s departure does not generate an extraordinary slot to sign a player in this transfer window.

Riquelme and Delgado completed Benítez’s sale.

The Professional Football League states that, in order to gain a spot to keep signing players after the transfer window has already closed, the footballer must have signed a match sheet during the first half of the year, something Benítez did not do because he was in Belgium.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.