From a chimera to an increasingly real dream. In Núñez, a neighborhood located north of Buenos Aires, they cannot help but start to get excited about seeing Luis Suárez play at the Monumental. Since the rumor of the possible signing of the Uruguayan striker by River Plate jumped in the last few hours, in Argentina nothing else is talked about when the ball is the subject of conversation.
Today the Millionaires are the best placed club to take over the services of the former Blaugrana, without a team once his contract with Atlético de Madrid ends on June 30 after two seasons at the Wanda Metropolitano and not extending his contract to not be a priority for 'Cholo' Simeone.
At 35 years old, Suárez's wish is to continue in Europe, but if no proposal convinces him, he would not look badly on ending up in River. The Argentine team has already lost Julián Álvarez, heading to Manchester City, and needs a scorer like rain in May to face the final stretch of the season with guarantees in the league and the Copa Libertadores.
In fact, the first leg of the round of 16 of the South American competition next Wednesday against Vélez could be key to their future. A good result that would put the passage to the quarterfinals on track would increase the options for understanding between both parties, since the Libertadores is an attractive competition for Salto to fight for.
The caution that they ask for from the Núñez offices is difficult for the fans to maintain, and even more so after the words of their coach, Marcelo Gallardo. After all, he is one of the best strikers of the century. "He has shown a very good predisposition and enthusiasm, he is faced with a possibility that he assumes excites him".
At the same time, the 'Muñeco' recalled that Luis Suárez underwent a "knee cleaning" as soon as he finished the course and that he is currently on vacation -in Ibiza with his friend Messi, Cesc Fàbregas and their respective partners-, which means that its incorporation would not be immediate. "We are not waiting for a player who is ready to play tomorrow. He still needs recovery time. Our wait is in line with his times. If we wait for him, it is because we notice that he is enthusiastic," he reiterated.
What seduces the Uruguayan the most is accumulating minutes without having to fight for them too much and thus arrive at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. In River that would be almost guaranteed, a case similar to that of Gareth Bale in Los Angeles. Being close to Uruguay, to family and friends, is another plus point. In addition, it would be a short contract that would allow him to leave next summer for the United States with Messi, if that is possible.
Suárez would return to South American football 16 years after leaving Nacional de Montevideo to begin his journey through Europe. In all his clubs (Groningen, Ajax, Liverpool, Barça and Atlético) he has always left his mark in the form of goals. In total he has added 436 goals in 697 games.
The impact it would have on the Argentine championship would also be considerable, since there are not many world-class footballers. The last ones that generated the most noise were the return of Carlos Tevés to Boca Juniors and the surprising (and short) adventure of Daniele De Rossi, also in the xeneize club.
The captain of River, Enzo Pérez (ex of Valencia), opened the doors to Suárez. "I hope he comes. If he comes, we are going to welcome him with open arms and give him all our support so he can adapt as quickly as possible." Whatever he decides, it must be before July 7, the deadline for the registration of players in the Argentine league, right now in the middle of the season.
