Buenos Aires, November 25 (NA) — The agonizing defeat to Racing in Avellaneda not only knocked River out of the Clausura tournament but also opened an unexpected front in the planning for 2026: Giuliano Galoppo, one of Marcelo Gallardo's bets for this season, could leave Núñez as the clause activating the purchase obligation was not met. The elimination in the round of 16 definitively closed River's sporting year, which, according to what Argentine News Agency learned, still does not know if it will play in the Copa Libertadores or the Copa Sudamericana next year, and left the midfielder's continuity up in the air. Galoppo had a precise contractual condition with São Paulo: if he played in 50% of the matches with a minimum of 45 minutes on the field, River had to pay 3.2 million dollars for 60% of his pass. The match against Racing was the last opportunity to meet the requirement, but the midfielder's entry at 56 minutes and the match's end at 95 left him with only 40 minutes played, insufficient to meet the agreed-upon objective. He had stretches of positive influence, even providing clarity at the moment the team managed to turn the game around in Avellaneda, but he ended up fading in the final part, like most of the squad. His role was important at several points during the year, although in the final stretch he lost his starting spot and failed to maintain the level that would have prompted the club to execute the option without hesitation. Anyway, River is analyzing alternatives to keep the player, and one of the possibilities the board is considering is to include in the negotiation footballers on loan to the Brazilian team: Enzo Díaz, whose purchase obligation for two million dollars will be executed by the Brazilian club, and Chilean forward Gonzalo Tapia, on loan until mid-2026 and considered a possible exchange piece. With an abrupt end to the year, without goals achieved and uncertainty about its international classification, River must resolve in the coming days what it will do with Galoppo. Between the possibility of negotiating a new agreement, using players as exchange currency, or letting the midfielder leave for free, his situation has become the first chapter of a market that promises profound changes to Marcelo Gallardo's squad heading towards 2026.
