Monito Vargas returns to Argentine football: he will be a reinforcement for Gimnasia de Mendoza

Matías Vargas will return to play in Argentine football after six years and will do so wearing the shirt of Gimnasia de Mendoza. The 29-year-old attacking midfielder agreed to join the Lobo from Mendoza for two seasons and is already settled in the province, where he has family roots and chose to continue his career after becoming a free agent from Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia.

The return of "Monito" came after a transfer market in which his name was on the radar of several clubs. Vélez, the institution where he was trained and shone under the guidance of Gabriel Heinze, was one of the first to try to convince him to return.

The president of Vélez himself, Fabián Berlanga, had acknowledged the contact and explained the conditions of the offer. "I asked him not to get angry because it was the maximum salary. If he chooses something else, that's on him", stated the official. However, the player did not respond to the Fortín's proposal and ultimately opted for Gimnasia.

Vargas had his contract in hand as of June 30, after his time in Saudi football. Before that, he had an extensive career abroad that began in 2019 when he was transferred to Espanyol de Barcelona after establishing himself as one of the great young figures in Argentine football.

His performance at Vélez even led him to be considered by Lionel Scaloni for the Argentine National Team. The coach included him in his first call-up in charge of the Albiceleste in September 2018, while he also was part of the Under-23 team coached by Fernando Batista.

After leaving Spain, Vargas continued his career in various destinations. In 2021, he signed with Adana Demirspor in Turkey, a year later he joined Shanghái Port in China, where he played 85 matches over three seasons, and finally moved to Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia.

It is worth noting that in various transfer markets, Boca and River had shown interest in the player, although his return to the country never materialized. This time, in addition to Vélez, O'Higgins and Universidad de Chile also emerged as possible destinations, but the connection to Mendoza ultimately tipped the scales.

Gimnasia thus found a key player for a squad that seeks to establish itself in the First Division. The team coached by Darío Franco is having a good start to the semester and will have Vargas as a player capable of providing imbalance and experience in the goal of staying in the top category.

The return also has a special component for the player: Mendoza is the province where he grew up and where he has part of his family. After traveling through Spain, Turkey, China, and Saudi Arabia, "Monito" chose to return to his roots to begin a new chapter in Argentine football.

Vargas's numbers at Al-Fateh

In his year and a half with the Arab team, he played 4,378 minutes, spread over 51 matches, in which he scored 17 goals, provided 10 assists, and received 4 yellow cards and 1 direct red card.