Riquelme to chase Calleri for Boca again by year-end | OneFootball

The president of Boca Juniors, former midfielder Juan Román Riquelme, has been telling the Argentine press that he intends to make another attempt at the end of the year to try to lure striker Calleri away from São Paulo.

The information was confirmed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR by people from the player’s staff, who spent much of the season recovering from surgery due to a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

At this moment, the number 9 is already transitioning on the pitch at the Barra Funda training center with the fitness staff, and the expectation is that he will return to unrestricted training by the end of the Brazilian Championship. According to the club, the striker continues to participate in ball work in reduced spaces alongside other players, with a gradual decrease in restrictions, as well as following a program to improve his physical attributes.

None of this, however, seems to dampen Riquelme’s enthusiasm. The Xeneize president had already inquired about Calleri’s situation at the beginning of this season and only refrained from making an official offer to São Paulo for his release because of the player’s own decision, who forbade his agents from continuing the talks.

At the time, deeply irritated by seeing his name involved in speculation with Boca, Calleri even threatened to change agents, as revealed by AMT at the time.

This time, the move is being repeated. According to sources consulted by the report, Riquelme has already informed the striker’s agents that the interest remains and that Boca is willing to open talks.

“He is a huge fan of Calleri, really. He believes Calleri would fit very well in the Xeneize team. And there’s also the matter of his identification with the club,” said one of the sources consulted.

Riquelme himself even said publicly in an interview given last December that Calleri was on the list of players that, if he could, the now-director would bring back to La Bombonera.

Although a fan of All Boys (his family members are leaders of the team’s ‘barra brava’), Calleri began his professional career at Boca, brought in by agents from the small team in the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, back when he was still in the youth categories.

He left the Argentine giant for São Paulo in 2016 and quickly became a fan favorite in the stands. Now 32 years old, he has a contract with Tricolor until the end of next year and is one of the highest-paid players on the squad. This season, he has scored only three goals in 20 matches.

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