Mourinho breaks silence on Otamendi's future after River hint | OneFootball

After Nicolás Otamendi opened the door for River to negotiate his arrival at the club after the 2026 World Cup, Benfica coach José Mourinho broke his silence and said the defender’s future “is in his hands.” He also stressed that Otamendi deserves to be able to make that decision because of everything he “has built in football.”

At the press conference ahead of this Saturday’s match against Moreirense, on Matchday 31 of the Portuguese League, the experienced coach was asked about the future of the center back who won in Qatar after the next World Cup: “It depends only on him. There are people who have the right, in quotation marks, to choose their future because of everything they have built in football. And Otamendi is one of them.”

In turn, The Special One did not shy away from discussing the center back’s possible move to River: “He played his last match with the national team on Argentine soil by his own decision, I think he will end his time with the national team after the World Cup by his own decision, and it will be by his own decision whether he returns to Argentina and River Plate or continues at Benfica. Everything is in his hands.”

Otamendi is in his sixth year with the Portuguese side, and his contract will expire next June. Despite being 38 years old, he is still going strong, as he is a starter for the Argentina national team and captain of the Eagles. On that, Mourinho highlighted that he has “a consistently steady presence,” with “very few injuries and absences.” “He is a great player,” he concluded.

Both Mourinho and Benfica president Rui Costa have publicly expressed their desire to keep counting on the defender who came through at Vélez, but TyC Sports was able to confirm in recent hours that he looks favorably on the opportunity to return to Argentine football and wear River’s shirt.

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