After years of rumors and public hints, it finally seems that Nicolás Otamendi will play for River. In recent hours, the world champion defender with the Argentine National Team has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with the Núñez club and would become the first reinforcement of the upcoming transfer market.
The 38-year-old defender would arrive as a free agent after finishing his stint at Benfica and would sign a contract until December 2027. The intention would be to finalize the deal before the start of the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that will mark the defender's last participation with the Albiceleste.
Negotiations between both parties accelerated in recent weeks and progressed further after Otamendi decided to not renew his contract with the Portuguese team. In fact, it has been reported that there were meetings in Buenos Aires during the last FIFA date to finalize the agreement.
For his part, just a few hours ago, the player himself hinted at his arrival at the Millonario with an enigmatic post on Instagram: "What’s coming is going to be so good that later you will understand why you had to wait", quoting Psalm 25:3 from the Bible.
Otamendi's Instagram post that would allude to his arrival at River.
In this way, River will make a signing that seemed distant for years, despite the central defender's well-known fandom for the club. Formed as a footballer at Vélez, the central defender never hid his desire to wear the crossband jersey and will finally fulfill that goal after closing his extensive stage in Europe.
Already thinking about his arrival, the defender would join Eduardo Coudet's squad once the Argentine National Team finishes its participation in the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and would become the fifth world champion that River would have in its squad alongside Franco Armani, Gonzalo Montiel, Germán Pezzella, and Marcos Acuña.
Otamendi's numbers at Benfica
Since his arrival in mid-2020, the former Vélez player has played 25,043 minutes with the Lisbon team, distributed over 281 matches, in which he scored 18 goals, provided 14 assists, and received 72 yellow cards and 6 red cards, 4 for second yellow cards and 2 direct reds. In terms of titles, the Argentine central defender has won 4: 1 League Cup (2020/21), 1 Primeira Liga (2022/23), and 2 Supercups of Portugal (2023 and 2025).
