Former Boca Juniors idol Juan Román Riquelme has revealed that there has been contact between himself and Santos over a possible move to the Vila Belmiro, but despite no deal being in place just yet, Santos star Neymar said he would love to play with the Argentine playmaker.
Riquelme, 34, has not played football since losing the Copa Libertadores final in July to Corinthians, citing that he had given all he could to Boca.
However, he had not officially retired and was close to joining Cruzeiro after the defeat in the final.
“In Argentina they speak highly of me going to Santos after Ganso has left,” the former Barcelona star told reporters at an TV Gazeta event in São Paulo.
“They called me, but nothing more than that. You must wait and see if any club attracts me.”
Neymar, who was also at the event, revealed his delight at the thought of playing with the number 10.
He said: “It would be wonderful. Riquelme is a great player, a playmaker. A type of player that any attacker would like to have on your team.”
And Riquelme went on to add that, after getting an agreement to leave Boca, Brazilian football definitely interests him.
“After the final against Corinthians we talked much about whether I would come and play football in Brazil, with Cruzeiro.
“I talked a lot with Sorin. He knew a lot of people at Flamengo also, who always tried to convince me to play here. But the president of Boca declined to sign the paper and have not had the luck to play at Cruzeiro. Now we’ll wait to see if any club of Brazil attracts me.
“Brazilian football has grown a lot, all the teams have great players. I see much football in Brazil. In July, it is true that I spoke with Flamengo, Gremio and Cruzeiro.”
