Riquelme and Feyenoord, the story that could have been and was not: "He is clear that his dream is to succeed at Atlético"

Summer 2023. Atlético de Madrid preseason. Nobody is for sale, but everyone has a tag. And the club has already raised 75 million after the departures of Matheus Cunha, Renan Lodi, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Sergio Camello at the beginning of the market. Morata is with one foot out and Lino and Riquelme are two players with the possibility of leaving due to their good performance.

The man from Madrid, on top of that, is inundated with offers after his great season at Míchel's Girona. “Between 10 and 12 proposals arrived,” they say from their surroundings. Some, by the way, have been maintained for this winter market. What is curious is that one of them was from the team that Atlético hosts today in the Champions League.

From the noble zone they asked Feyenoord for between 25 and 30 million for the winger, but the Dutch could not reach that much. Furthermore, both the coaching staff and the player did not want that exit either.. “He has always been very clear that his dream was to succeed here,” say sources close to the red-and-white midfielder.

In the preseason he had convinced Simeone because of his “energy” and on the last day of the market there was the traumatic departure of Carrasco, one of the players that Cholo liked the most and who was hurt by his departure for Arab football.

Thus, a position was opened in the Argentine's eleven, that of left winger, which Riquelme and Lino would compete for, although it seems that in recent times the Brazilian is ahead thanks to his defensive abilities. “He knows that it is his point of improvement and he is working on it,” they say from those around him, despite the fact that with Míchel, a very demanding coach, he had grown in that aspect.

Riquelme in training with Atlético. EFE/atléticodemadrid.com

The footballer, scorer against Osasuna, published the other day on social networks that “he is living what he had dreamed of”, but he wants more and that is why he listens and tries to learn as much as possible what Simeone wants.

At the moment, he has already accumulated two starts in the League and has managed to have a few minutes against Lazio in the first Champions League game with which “he is happy”, because he achieved what the coach asked of him, which was to allow the team to breathe. However, he regretted that they lost the three points in the last minute with that goal from the rival goalkeeper.. “He's very hungry, he's not one of those who says if my stomach is full, I won't run,” sources close to the player insist.

Sacrifice

The young man, 23 years old, thinks about football 24 hours a day. Obedient and self-sacrificing, he follows the guidelines of the team of professionals who direct him both in the club and outside.. Nutrition, post-match work, eating and hygiene habits…. Control even the temperature of the room you sleep in to improve rest.

Simeone has said of him and Lino that they are “sponges” and that they both have “skill, power, goals, speed and breaking from the outside”. However, and despite the competition that exists not only in the position of the outgoing Carrasco but in the entire squad, where the Argentine says he has at least two names per position, the good energy is palpable within the locker room.. And the young people, who Cholo tells will be important, have a large part of the responsibility.

Familiar

Riquelme is one of those who has the best relationship with everyone in the rojiblanco locker room. The man from Madrid is comfortable in his city, close to his friends and family, he is the nephew of the former Minister of Health of the Community of Madrid Enrique Ruiz Escudero, and it is noticeable when it comes to training with the team despite not being headline. The Riquelme family is very united although his great accomplice is his brother, who is his best friend. He is the one he goes to first for advice, however, for financial matters the reference is his father, an economist by profession.

He is aware of the difficulty of standing out in a good team, but he keeps his feet on the ground thanks to his family and different social projects that he has led to “give back what football has given him”, as those around him say. Riquelme will continue fighting to achieve his dream whether or not this afternoon against the team he was able to join. The man from Madrid wants to continue living this dream that is red and white.