Riquelme breaks silence on Sebastián Villa’s controversial Boca return | OneFootball

With less than 24 hours to go before Boca kicks off the second half of the year at La Bombonera, the club’s president, Juan Román Riquelme, broke his silence and addressed the controversial return of Sebastián Villa. The Colombian is available to Rodolfo Arruabarrena and was called up for this Thursday’s Copa Sudamericana clash.

After several months without public appearances, the Xeneize boss reappeared in an interview with TyC Sports to provide details about the negotiations involving the 30-year-old forward. He made it clear that Villa’s signing was at the Vasco’s explicit request, as he was looking for a striker, and that the Colombian “meets all the conditions a forward must have to play for this club,” especially because he has the advantage of already knowing the Boca world.

However, Sebastián Villa’s return to the club drew attention among fans because of the gender violence complaint filed by his ex-partner, Daniela Cortés, in June 2023, which led to his departure from Boca. He received a sentence of two years and one month of suspended prison time.

On this matter, Riquelme said: “We were very clear and honest. We told him he would keep playing, but when there was a ruling, if nothing happened he would continue, and if he was sentenced he would not play anymore, and that’s what happened. He went to Mendoza, played for a long time and nobody asked anything, and he served his sentence.”

Along the same lines, the club idol made it clear that Sebastián Villa will get a second chance at the La Ribera club. “I try to be as clear as possible, in life we all deserve an opportunity. He served his sentence. He became a father 20-30 days ago, he looks happy with his family, what we want is for him to enjoy playing football because we believe he can give us things the team is needing,” he said.

Riquelme and Sebastián Villa’s lawsuit against Boca

After that controversial departure, once the club’s management decided to remove him from the squad following the sentence for gender violence, Sebastián Villa sued Boca in the National Labor Court for more than 236 million pesos and 2 million dollars for constructive dismissal. In immediate response, the club countersued the forward for a sum close to 20 million dollars.

In response, Juan Román Riquelme played down the matter by clarifying that the complaint filed by Villa was part of the necessary steps to resolve his ties with Xeneize and continue his professional career. “In order to play somewhere else, he had to file a claim against Boca because otherwise they wouldn’t allow him to play anywhere else, but he never appeared in court to ask the club for money,” he concluded.

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