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The Ramiro Funes Mori transfer – the story from Argentina

A translated article follows from Argentina's La Nacion newspaper on Ramiro Funes Mori's transfer to Everton yesterday. The link below to the original articles contains some videos with some big goals he has scored in key games;

Ramiro Funes Mori, who is definitely now a millionaire, is the most expensive defender to be sold in River Plate's history.

The €8 million (sic) which will be paid by Everton for the defender will become the club record sale for a defender; this article also has also a comparison to similar transfers from River Plate.

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By Tomás Bence | canchallena.com

With 111 games played, 11 goals and six titles in the bag, Ramiro Funes Mori has said goodbye to River Plate. He made his debut on November 5th 2011 against Gimnasia de Jujuy in the Argentine reserve league. That day Matias Almeyda's team returned home with both a win and four goals to Fernando Cavenaghi's name. A lot of water has since passed under the bridge and today Ramiro Fune Mori is emblematic of River Plate's recent successes. England's Everton arrived at River Plate offering eight million euros (sic) and so the defender is off and will continue his career in the Premier League. The money paid into the coffers of the club is the single biggest transfer fee ever for a River Plate defender.

Playing initially the shadow of his twin brother Rogelio at the 'Monumental', he began to win popular affection after a match winning headed goal against Boca Juniors which gave River Plate a critical victory in the fight for the league title (also a derby game!). And why was Ramiro even in the starting line-up that night at the 'Bombonera'? Juan Carlos Crespi, the Boca Juniors CEO, had lobbied the Argentine Football Association to extend another River Plate's player, Leonel Vangioni, suspension from one to two matches and had succeeded in getting his way. Leonel Vangioni had been sent off against All Boys and gave and as a result could not play in the following games against Lanús or Boca Juniors. Thus, Ramiro Funes Mori was selected at left back and went on to score the winner. That night it was the River Plate fans who benefited most from the Boca CEO's plaintive lobbying.

From that goal in the 'Bombonera', his collection of titles grew along with his importance to the squad: he started the Super Cup Final there River Plate defeated San Lorenzo, he scored important goals in South American football competitions, won the the Recopa ( equivalent to the Europa League ) and more recently had immortalized his status with a his headed goal against Tigres in the final of the Libertadores ( Champions League equivalent ) , besides having celebrated winning the Suruga Bank Trophy ( absolutely no idea what this is!) . Today he leaves River Plate as as a noted and important player quite far away from the discontented murmurings that accompanied his initial promotion to a starting place; when Marcelo Gallardo selected Ramiro in front of Eder Alvarez Balanta the decision raised quite a few eyebrows. Ramiro soon won over the fans however with both goals and big performances.

At various times his continued presence at River Plate was in doubt. When his brother decided to leave the club, he nearly followed suit. The negotiations to retain him were long. He finally accepted to stay at the club and in return River Plate management at that time, led by Daniel Passarella, agreed to cede to the Funes Mori's family 20% of any future transfer fee. The result is that in addition to the eight million euros (sic) incoming for Ramiro another 1.6 million will be paid to him and his representatives.

So, after many victories and titles, River Plate's squad appears to be in the 'shop front' again. The sale of Ramiro Funes Mori is still far from the 36 million dollars paid by Barcelona for Javier Saviola, the most expensive transfer in the club's history. However, 'The Twin' ( Ramiro ) is the most expensive defender sold by River Plate. The fee easily exceeds the amount paid by German clubs Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich for Martin Demichelis and Diego Placente respectively as well the fees paid for Juan Pablo Sorin by Cruzeiro, for Roberto Ayala by Napoli or for Celso Ayala by Betis. Another comparison which marks the change in values in currencies and market values is that of the transfer of the great Daniel Passarella to Fiorentina in 1982; he moved for a mere two and a half million US dollars. The Funes Mori fee is, however, far from the US$ 20 million paid to Boca Juniors by Roma in 2000 for Walter Samuel, who remains the most expensive transfer of an Argentine defender to European football.

(Note: The article repeatedly uses Euros for Pounds. Ramiro Funes Mori is moving for about US $12 million, with another US$2.5m going to his family or agents (?) who seem to have had some ownership rights)

» Original article

» Read the full article at La Nacion

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