Riquelme rules out Boca return

Juan Roman Riquelme has told Boca Juniors he will not be returning to the club, despite turning up for the first day of pre-season training.

The 34-year-old was rumoured to be contemplating a return to the Buenos Aires side after his old coach Carlos Bianchi was re-appointed.

The former Villarreal midfielder was present as the team met up for their first pre-season training session on Saturday, but only to confirm he will not go back on his decision to leave the Xeneizes.

“I thought it was normal to come to the club on the first day of pre-season training, but I am just here to communicate that I cannot change my decision,” he said.

“I spoke with the president and with Carlos Bianchi, I told them I had made a decision and that it was too complicated to change it. I love this club and Boca will always be my club, but I am a man of my word.”

In an interview on Saturday night further explaining his decision not to rejoin Boca, Riquelme claimed that Bianchi had been lined up as the new coach of Chivas USA and that he wanted to bring the former Villarreal playmaker with him to Southern California.

“Ten days before Carlos was announced (as coach) of Boca, he called me to his home because he wanted me to go with him to Chivas in Los Angeles,” the 34-year-old told Argentine TV station TyC Sports.

“We were planning to go together to Los Angeles and I told him that I would go with him to Los Angeles without any problem and then 10 days later he was announced with Boca.”