Nicolás Otamendi has signed a contract with River Plate. This Friday, May 29th, the defender sealed the deal that will bind him to the club from July 1st until December 31st, 2027, River Plate said in a statement.
Otamendi, 38, left Benfica at the end of the 2025/26 season after his contract with the Lisbon club expired, and returns to Argentine football to represent River Plate, always considered the club of his heart.
While playing for Benfica, Otamendi won a league title, a League Cup, and two Super Cups, after arriving at the club in 2020/21 from Manchester City in a transfer linked to Ruben Dias’ departure to the English club.
The defender arrived in European football in the 2010/11 season to represent FC Porto, coming from Vélez Sarsfield, and left for Valencia in 2014/15, with a loan spell at Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro in between.
He then continued his career at Manchester City, starting in 2015/16, before returning to Portuguese football.
Otamendi is an international for the Argentine national team and was crowned world champion in 2022 in Qatar, and is again on coach Lionel Scaloni’s list of options for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, between June 11 and July 19.