The River Plate leadership made significant progress in the last hours to ensure the arrival of Matías Viña as reinforcement on the left side. Both in Brazil and Uruguay assure that negotiations with Flamengo are very close to finalizing the loan of the 28-year-old Uruguayan footballer, who is seeking to relaunch his career after a year with little filming. In this way, the Millionaire would have a footballer who can fight head-to-head for the position with the world champion, Marcos Acuña.
The need to add an alternative on the left side arose after Gallardo’s decision not to have Milton Casco for the next season, so the coach insisted to the leadership to reinforce that area. Núñez’s team had tried without success to incorporate Julio Soler from Bournemouth and Alexandro Bernabei from Inter, while the searches for Román Vega (Zenit), Ángelo Martino (CSKA Sofia) and Elias Báez (San Lorenzo) also did not prosper or advance to formal instances.
Viña’s option has gained strength in recent days, driven by the footballer’s interest in being coached by Gallardo and by Flamengo’s willingness to get rid of a footballer who was no longer a priority. The Brazilian club would agree to give him on loan with a fee and a purchase option, despite the fact that at the time they spent close to 8 million euros to get him out of Rome. In addition, the Cariocas would be able to free up a spot in their squad. The player, for his part, prioritizes adding minutes in the semester prior to the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.. The leading scorer is a regular called by Marcelo Bielsa in Uruguay.
The Uruguayan full-back remained relegated at Flamengo, where he was third option behind Ayrton Lucas and Alex Sandro. This situation, together with a 2025 with little activity, prompted the footballer’s departure. Viña only played ten games this year and no match corresponded to the Copa Libertadores that the club won against Palmeiras.. The slow performance was due to a fracture in the tibia and a reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, injuries that kept him off the field from August 2024 until last May.
If the documentation and procedures are finalized in the coming days, Gallardo could count on Viña for the start of the preseason in San Martín de los Andes. The Uruguayan would be the third addition of this market for River Plate, joining Fausto Vera and Aníbal Moreno. In addition, it is estimated that Ezequiel Centurión and Tomás Galván, who return from their loans (Independiente Rivadavia de Mendoza and Vélez, respectively), will be taken into account.
The imminent arrival of Matías Viña represents a key movement in the formation of the squad to face a season in which River Plate seeks to strengthen its defense, expand its tactical variants and reposition itself both locally and internationally.
The other negotiation that is still active in the Millonario is that of Santino Andino, a young promise of the Under 20 National Team and Godoy Cruz, a team that has just been relegated to the Second Division. Núñez’s team has had a partnership agreement with the team from Mendoza for several days, but the change in the forward’s representation altered the plans a little.
As part of the preparation, River Plate has confirmed two friendlies that it will play during its stay in Uruguay, within the framework of the Río de la Plata Series. The first will be on Sunday, January 11 against Millonarios de Colombia, at 9:00 p.m., at the Maldonado Campus.
The second match will be against Peñarol on Saturday, January 17, at 10:00 p.m., on the same stage. This duel will mark a new chapter in the Rio de la Plata classic, after almost ten years without official confrontations between both teams. River Plate’s preseason will end with the debut in the 2026 Apertura Tournament against Barracas Central, scheduled for the weekend of January 23 to 25.
