Valentin Gomez He is the protagonist of one of the summer novels in the Argentine soccer transfer market. It happens that the promising central defender of Vélez, 21 years old, He had everything ready to pack his bags and join Cruzeiro, but the negotiations collapsed due to disagreements in the payment method.
In a press conference held in the United States, where Cruzeiro is carrying out its preseason under the direction of Fernando Dinizthe club’s vice president, Pedro Junio, confirmed that no more additions will be made. “Our team is closed. We have no intention of signing any more players at the moment.. “We are very happy with what we have here today,” he declared, putting an end to hopes of adding Gómez.
Cruzeiro’s sports director, Alexandre Mattos, explained that, although an agreement had been reached with Vélez in several stages, the negotiation was complicated by “too many economic obstacles”. According to the Brazilian media Globo Esporte, “Vélez modified the terms of the agreement four timesdemanding a change in the form of payment that Cruzeiro was not willing to accept.” Finally, the Brazilian club decided not to go ahead and hired defender Fabrício Brunofrom Flamengo.
“In the conversations we had on some fronts, we very discreetly went to look for a professional who knew how to impose himself like the others. In the case of Valentín we reached agreements through some stages. But things went from having too many twists and turns, too many financial obstacles,” Mattos said from the preseason that Belo Horinzonte’s team is doing in Tampa.
The initial agreement, close to 10 million dollarswas affected by Vélez’s request for receive the net amount, without tax deductionswhich led to the breakdown of negotiations. Although Gómez was ready to travel to Brazil after his vacation, must return to training in the Olympic Village of Parque Leloir under the orders of Sebastián Domínguez, the new coach of the Argentine soccer champion.
Valentín Gómez, who already had experience with Argentine U-20 team and is seen as a future figure of the Majorhas a contract with Vélez until December 2026. His frustrated move to Cruzeiro It is not the first time that he has faced complications in the transfer marketsince on a previous occasion his transfer to River It was cut short due to medical problems.
Meanwhile, the defender is part of Vélez’s preseason roster, which has already started work and is made up of: Tomás Marchiori, Randall Rodríguez, Lautaro Garzón, Franco Villalba, Elías Gómez, Tomás Cavanagh, Valentín Gómez, Demián Domínguez, Emanuel Mammana, Patricio Pernicone, Damián Fernández, Jano Gordon, Joaquín García, Agustín Lagos, Agustín Bouzat, Isaías Andrada, Mateo Seoane, Rodrigo Piñeiro, Cristian Ordóñez, Felipe Bussio, Matías Pellegrini, Leonel Roldán, Álvaro Montoro, Marcelo Camargo, Francisco Montoro, Maximiliano Porcel, Benjamín Bosch, Francisco Pizzini, Manuel Fernández, Braian Romero, Thiago Vecino , Michael Santos, Raúl Cabral and Mateo Pellegrino.
Valentín arrived in Vélez in 2013, coming from a little soccer school in San Miguel called The Factorywithout previous experience in competitive tournaments. His transition to the club was not easy, but the constant support of Héctor Almandoz, American and world champion with Fortín in 1994, and the young man’s character allowed him to quickly stand out. El Coyo, former Reserve coach and close friend of Valentín’s father, was the one who convinced his family that the Liniers club was the ideal place for his training.
“Valentine is like my man child. We have a friendship with his father for many years. I I did what I had to do: put him in the best club in Argentina, which is Vélez. I knew that they were going to prepare and take care of him as they should,” Almandoz highlighted in an interview conducted by Bolavip. And he added: “He is a humble boy, with his feet on the ground. That River, Boca, the City Group want it, it is a source of pride. But everything he achieved and is achieving is the merit of him and his family,” added the former defender.
Almandoz, who worked with countless youth in Vélez, finds similarities between Gómez and Nicolás Otamendi, another defender forged in the club and current emblem of the world champion Argentine National Team.
“Valentín has a cleaner and clearer exit, but both share that kamikaze attitude of risking their lives on every ball.. “Nico had an incredible career, but Valentín has his entire future ahead of him and I see him as a worthy heir,” Almandoz reflected.
For his part, Gómez always recognized the influence of Coyo on his career: “El Coyo is a friend of my old man and he insisted a lot on me to come to Vélez. “I had never played in FAFI and encountering everything that this institution is was a great challenge,” he declared to the club’s official website upon signing his first professional contract in 2021.
