After the dismissal of Sebastiano Battaglia, who had sidelined himself from the first team Agostino Mandorla, the intention of the midfielder was to renew and be able to settle in the club that formed him. The meeting to stamp the signature on the contract was also agreed.

However, as he told a few days ago Mariano Closing on ESPN F12, a program that hosts, “someone from the Football Council gave him a moment to meet to chat and that someone who was supposed to go fell asleep“.

Annoyed by this situation, the footballer made the decision not to extend his relationship with Xeneize, which expires in June 2023, and then communicated it to the leaders. Riquelme and company have chosen to leave him in Reserve and not reincorporate him into First, despite Battaglia’s departure, pending offers that may come for him. And this Tuesday one of the Almeriawho made an offer of two million three hundred thousand euro for 90% of the pass.

The number seems low if we take into account the millionaire exit clause that the young man had (it is said to far exceed 20 million), but the contractual situation is tight for Xeneize.

Also the proposal of the Spanish club, recently promoted to the First Division would leave Boca a percentage of a future sale, which could be seen with good eyes. However, far from grasping the first thing offered to them, Xeneize’s leaders turned down the offer, awaiting improvement.

The market in Europe closes on August 31, so there is still room for negotiation. But the key date is December of this year, six months before the expiration of the contract of Almendra, 22, who from then on will be able to trade free.

From the promise to think about retirement

Thanks to the birth of Francesca I have decided not to leave football. Having her changed my life, it gave me a lot of strength and, if at any point I thought about retiring, I knew I had someone behind me who was a responsibility, “he said with an open heart.

In mid-2020, when Boca resumed post-stop training due to Covid-19, Almendra went into a severe depression that led him to think about retirement. The main cause was the quarantine itself, on the one hand, and a series of criminal acts involving his closest relatives.

In addition, the novel in which the same footballer starred with the club further complicated his situation. First he asked for the transfer (in 2019 Napoli had wanted it) and then new chapters have been added to a story full of conflicts.

Away from the glare of Argentine football and the famous Boca World, Spanish football appears as a concrete possibility to put into practice a promise that, until now, could not keep everything that was expected of it.