Arsenal misfit Lucas Torreira is refusing to give up on his Boca Juniors dream despite missing out on a move to the Argentine giants in the summer transfer window, speaking to TNT Sports.
While the £26 million Uruguay international appears to be in good hands at Fiorentina, joining one of Serie A’s most upwardly mobile sides on loan for the season, it’s fair to say La Viola weren’t his first choice.
Torreira has been desperate for a return to his native South America since the tragic passing of his mother and, as a boyhood Boca supporter, the 25-year-old was praying one of the biggest clubs on the continent would come calling.
For now, however, Torreira remains on the other side of the Atlantic.
“Nobody contacted me,” says Arsenal’s £60,000-a-week forgotten man.
“I imagined at some point they could have communicated with me but, as the time passed and everything cooled down, I also understood it was difficult for the club.
“I’m not angry with anyone. I understood the situation, we must not criticise the Boca leaders for not looking to me.”
Arsenal misfit Lucas Torreira wants a dream switch to Boca Juniors
Torreira acknowledges the pay packet he takes home at Arsenal would be impossible for Boca to replicate, especially at a time when South American clubs are being hit hard by the effects of the covid crisis.
“Obviously I was hopeful but I knew it would not be easy,” he adds. “If I went to Boca, I knew the salaries given out in South America are totally different from those here (in Europe).
“The dream continues to exist. Time passes and I still feel something very nice in Boca. If it doesn’t happen soon, it will be in the next few years. The important thing is always to keep the dream alive and prepare because I’m sure at some point it will happen.”
Torreira isn’t the only Arsenal player whose salary prevented him from sealing a move away from the Emirates.
Galatasaray turned their noses up at the £40,000 a week Mo Elneny wanted, while Sead Kolasinac was priced out of a switch to Fenerbahce.
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