River Plate sign Lucas Beltrán, striker who snubbed Flamengo in 2025 | OneFootball

Flamengo and River Plate (ARG) face off this Friday (03) in a friendly

River Plate (ARG) announced this Thursday (02) the signing of forward Lucas Beltrán, who turned down Flamengo’s offer in 2025. The irony is that the teams face each other this Friday (03) in a friendly.

So, Fiorentina (ITA) officially loaned Beltrán to River, the club where the player came through. The deal will last one year, with an obligation to buy if undisclosed performance targets are met.

So, Flamengo made an offer and the Argentine said no?

Another ironic factor is that in the mid-2025 transfer window, Mengão agreed on a €15 million deal (R$ 95 million) with Fiorentina for the player. However, the Argentine turned down the idea of returning to South America.

— When they contacted me, I thanked them for the interest because I know what Flamengo represents; it is one of the biggest teams in South America. It was hard to say no to such a big club, but for now I don’t regret it because I wanted to stay in Europe — Beltrán said in January of this year to the Ezzequiel channel (YouTube).

So, did Beltrán change his mind?

River is the second loan move involving Beltrán by Fiorentina. The Argentine spent the first six months of 2026 at Valencia (ESP), where he recorded three goals and two assists in 30 matches. However, the Spanish club did not trigger the purchase option.

Thus, the fact that Fiorentina gave Flamengo the green light and loaned the forward to two teams suggests that the player is not part of the Italian club’s plans. However, nothing rules out the possibility that the striker changed his mind about prioritizing Europe.

But will Beltrán be able to play against Flamengo?

River Plate has not yet announced the squad list for the friendly against Flamengo. However, it is very unlikely that Beltrán will be involved in the match. After all, players can only be registered once the transfer window opens, on the 22nd of this month.

Has Flamengo already announced its squad list?

Goalkeepers: Rossi, Andrew and Dyogo Alves;Full-backs: Emerson Royal, Ayrton Lucas, Daniel Sales and Johnny;Center-backs: Léo Ortiz, Vitão, Daniel Silva and João Victor;Midfielders: Erick Pulgar, Saúl Ñíguez, Evertton Araújo, Jorginho, Rayan Lucas, Guilherme and Lorran;Forwards: Pedro, Bruno Henrique, Samuel Lino, Everton Cebolinha, Alan Santos, Wallace Yan and Joshua.

What is the author’s opinion on Beltrán?

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