LEE: Javier Rabanal after Universitario’s victory: the warning to the reinforcements and the message to César Inga | VIDEO
The scene occurred days later, on Noche Crema 2026. Universitario beat the University of Chile 3-0 and, Among the names that drew the most applause from the stands, Inga appeared. It was not a minor gesture. The fan usually perceives those invisible stories, the ones that do not appear on the game sheet. He knows when a footballer was about to leave, when his name was heard in another country, when the future was one step away from changing. And he also knows how to recognize when someone stays, not out of comfort, but because the path has not yet fully opened.
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Those involved
Before the friendly, Álvaro Barco, sports director of Universitario, put words to a negotiation that was frustrated by details as cold as they were decisive. “Due to a percentage issue, the sale could not be completed, let’s hope that he takes it calmly. In the middle of the year we are sure that he will be able to emigrate to a better team, the important thing is that he will be with us in this Libertadores,” he said. There were no reproaches or drama in the message, just the confirmation of a common reality in the South American market: talent appears, interest does too, but the numbers do not always reach everyone involved.
Because in the case of Inga, Universitario was not the only actor at the table. ADT, a club that still retains a percentage of the player’s transfer, had an economic expectation that did not quite align with the final proposal. There was no direct interference in the negotiation, beyond hoping that, once the transfer was made, the agreed percentages and deadlines would be respected. However, it emerged that ADT would not have accepted the closing of the operation considering that the amount to be received was less than expected.
The story, told from the outside, may seem like a simple contractual disagreement. But, behind closed doors, it had a human component that explains why Inga ended up being one of the most applauded at the Monumental. Even the footballer himself, as it became known, was willing to give up part of his percentage in order to fulfill his dream of emigrating. It doesn’t always happen. Not all players are willing to give up money in the name of an opportunity. Inga yes. And still, it wasn’t enough.
Versions of what happened circulated quickly. Journalist Andre Closa detailed, in RPP, the behind-the-scenes of a negotiation that seemed on track and ended up deactivating in the final stretch. From other platforms, the idea was reinforced that the main obstacle was in the distribution of money, rather than in the will of the parties. Kansas City wanted Inga, the player wanted to leave, Universitario welcomed the operation. But when percentages came into the picture, the agreement lost balance.
César Inga was chosen as the best Under 23 player. (Photo: Joel Alonzo)
Thus, football once again showed its crudest side: desire does not always win. Sometimes math wins. And others, simply, no one wins. Inga was left without MLS, ADT without the figure she expected and Universitario without an income that would have helped strengthen her coffers. What was left was a footballer with a head full of questions and a club that, behind closed doors, insists on looking at the glass half full.
Because Inga will continue at Universitario and will compete in the Copa Libertadores, that scenario that can also open doors. Barco said it with conviction: in the middle of the year, the option to emigrate will appear again. The market is cyclical and talent, when it is real, insists. Meanwhile, the player will have to transform frustration into energy, applause into responsibility, and frustrated opportunity into fuel.
On Cream Night, when the stadium chanted her name, it was clear that the fan understood something essential: Inga did not stay because of a lack of ambition, but because football—again—decided that it was not yet the time.
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