River Plate midfielder Exequiel Palacios – a long-term transfer target of Real Madrid – wants a move to European football, says his agent.
The 21-year-old, who has also been heavily linked with a move to Italian club Inter, had been surprisingly rumoured to be joining MLS in recent months.
“Palacios will not be joining Miami, he has taken the decision that he wants to go to Europe,” agent Renato Corsi explained to. Marca Claro.
The highly-rated midfielder was said to be on the verge of signing a five-and-a-half year deal with Madrid last January, with his proposed contract containing a reported €20m release clause.
Palacios made his debut for River as a 16-year-old and won two international caps for Argentina last year, attracting interest also from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been linked with the midfielder which is said to have speeded up Madrid’s pursuit of the deal.
The Argentine missed two months of football earlier this year with a knee injury and that significantly cooled off interest from rival clubs but he is now back in River’s first team.
The central midfielder has made just 81 first-team appearances for River and helped his club to the Copa Libertadores title earlier last winter.
A move to the Bernabeu would have represented a continuation of Madrid’s policy of signing young South American players with Brazilian teenagers Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes captured last year.
