Villarreal Complete River Raid

As reported some weeks ago, River and Villarreal moved to secure the deal as part of a drive towards greater collaboration off the pitch.

Three notable first teamers - namely former international U-20 defender Gustavo Cabral, left winger Matías Abelairas (pictured) and striker Andrés Ríos - comprise the meat of the deal, while four other fringe men are also involved.

These are Gustavo Bou, Gastón Maximiliano Gauna, and Maximiliano Fernando Oliva, all 18 years of age, and 19-year-old Damián Emanuel Lizio.

It was originally thought that Mariano Barbosa, a former Villarreal goalkeeper who currently plays for Recreativo de Huelva, would be used as part of the deal, but this no longer seems to be the case.

Villarreal, though, have secured the option to replace two of the players involved with another two from the River squad, providing that they do so by the 31st of May 2009.

In any case, income for River now could see a downturn in profit later, as was the case with Gonzalo Higuaín. While at River the young forward's rights were partially purchased by a group of investors led by Pinhi Zahavi, meaning that in the end Los Millonarios earned relatively little from his eventual move to Real Madrid.


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