Serna on Neymar's Boca offer: «He asked before the Club World Cup» | OneFootball

At the door of the hotel where Boca are staying ahead of tonight’s match against Barcelona de Guayaquil, Mauricio Serna, former member of the Football Council, spoke to the media. Chicho shared details about the day Neymar was offered to them, explained that he still has a great relationship with Juan Román Riquelme and Marcelo Delgado, praised Claudio Úbeda’s work, and highlighted Tomás Aranda’s qualities.

A few days ago, after Neymar trained at Casa Amarilla before the Copa Sudamericana clash between San Lorenzo and Santos, Serna revealed in an interview with Radio Splendid that Boca had been offered the Brazilian star last year.

This Tuesday he gave more details about how the contact happened: “A Brazilian businessman I know called me last year and offered Neymar to us. He asked whether we were interested in having Neymar before the Club World Cup. It went no further than that: an offer where you don’t know if it’s real, if they’re just blowing smoke, or if they’re actually offering something concrete.”

“I saw something that caught my attention: when he arrived at the hotel, he got off the bus carrying a Boca bag. That’s not normal, because when you’re at one club, that kind of thing usually doesn’t happen. It could have been a message, haha,” he added with a laugh.

After this statement, which may suggest contact between the Xeneize leadership and the Brazilian superstar, Chicho quickly made it clear that this was only his own thought. “Despite the great friendship I have with Román and Chelo (Delgado), I wouldn’t dare ask him if they’re talking to Neymar. That great friendship also brings great respect. It’s not my place; I don’t ask because I’m no longer involved,” he explained.

When asked about Riquelme, he again made it clear that he still has a very close relationship with him today and that the decision to leave the club was personal: “I didn’t leave after falling out with anyone; I left because I felt it was the right time to go, even against the president’s wishes. I still have a great relationship with him, we talk almost every week. About football, we ask each other things, and from the outside I sometimes dare to comment on something I see. The club’s doors are always open to me. When I go back to Buenos Aires, I go to Boca — where else would I go? Where my friends are. I say hello to them, watch the youth teams, watch the reserves, and go to the stadium.”

No longer as involved in the club’s day-to-day and now watching matches as a fan, he praised Claudio Úbeda’s work in charge of the squad and the backing he received from the leadership when all of La Bombonera was calling for him to leave. “I think Claudio has managed to consolidate players. That’s valuable because at one point he was under heavy pressure. We can’t forget that everyone was calling for Claudio’s head. That’s when I’d like to hear people talk about the calm the president and Chelo showed in standing by him. No one talks about that today, but they were the ones who managed to support a coach who was under pressure and who now shows every day that he has a team in sync,” he said.

Lastly, he spoke about Tomás Aranda, Boca’s big breakout player in 2026, who tonight, from 9:00 p.m. in Guayaquil, will play his fourth Copa Libertadores match: “I’ve known him since the ninth division, and even back then he stood out. He’s a player who has always been different, in every age group. He was very small, very skinny, but he always had the technique; then came a process of development and maturity. Football is so vast that when you think you won’t get your chance, it eventually comes. Aranda got his at the moment he least expected it. It came at just the right time, in a position where there was a need, and he took advantage of that situation. He, Delgado, Di Lollo, show just how great the work being done at Boca Predio is.”

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