Valentini hits out at Riquelme over Boca exit: no renewal intent | OneFootball

Almost two years after his contentious departure from the Xeneize institution, Nicolás Valentini decided to speak for the first time about the reasons that led to his exit as a free agent. The current central defender for Hellas Verona in Italy did not shy away from controversy and directly targeted the management of Juan Román Riquelme and the Football Council, refuting claims that he was solely responsible for not reaching an agreement.

The defender was blunt in explaining his stance during the 2024 negotiations: “I was always willing to renew, I offered many alternatives. On the other side, they did not have the same intention, otherwise, I would have re-signed.” With these words, the footballer sought to make it clear that his desire was to remain at the Ribera club, but he encountered a rigid stance from the authorities.

One of the most sensitive points of his account was the confirmation of the very low salary he received before his departure, a fact that had circulated as a rumor for a long time. “It is true that they paid me a salary of $300,000 pesos per month,” the player confessed, exposing the economic imbalance that existed in his professional contract at that time. Despite the dissatisfaction with the end of the negotiations, Valentini tried to separate the managerial conflict from his affection for the club: “Boca gave me everything, it was my home, I was there for ten years and I will always be grateful.”

Finally, the defender closed the topic by trying to give a global explanation of what happened, joining the list of youth players trained at the Ezeiza facility who end their cycle with external noise. “Sometimes it doesn't just depend on the renewal, and even though I gave many options, it didn't happen, sometimes that happens,” he concluded. After a brief stint at Fiorentina and his current presence in Serie A, the central defender seems to have closed a chapter that left an open wound both in the fans and in his own career.

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