The new gesture of the Spaniard Iker Muniain to fulfill his dream of playing for River Plate

Iker Muniain sent a wink to Marcelo Gallardo’s River Plate

For several months, Spanish midfielder Iker Muniain’s dream of playing for River Plate has kept fans in suspense, but so far there has been significant progress. The experienced footballer’s desire to join one of Argentina’s most iconic teams remains alive, despite previous rejections and the lack of a concrete offer.

Omar Rodríguez, the representative of the historic Athletic Bilbao player, has reiterated that Muniain is still waiting for a call from the Núñez neighborhood in Buenos Aires, home of the River Plate club. “Iker continues to reject very important offers because he still has the desire to play for River,” Rodríguez said in an interview with the BolaVip portal. “After he decided to leave Athletic Bilbao, the first time I sat down with Iker to see what plans he had, he told me: ‘I want to play for River.’ And he still has that idea.”

At 31, Muniain remains a relevant figure in the world of football and is currently without a team, having left the Bilbao club in 2024. According to his agent, Muniain has not signed with another club while waiting for an opportunity with River. The player is prepared to sacrifice economic issues and closeness to his family in order to fulfill his dream of wearing the Millonario shirt and winning the Libertadores.

Iker Muniain is considered one of Athletic Bilbao’s historic players (REUTERS/Vincent West)

Muniain’s career has been marked by his dedication to Athletic from 2009 until mid-2024, becoming one of the club’s undisputed idols. However, his childhood dream of playing for River Plate has never disappeared, something he never tires of reiterating publicly: “River is a team that I have always followed, since I was little. Apart from Athletic, which is the team of my life, I feel something special towards River, a great emotional and sentimental bond,” Muniain said a few weeks ago.

The arrival of Marcelo Gallardo as River Plate coach could be the necessary change that will allow Muniain to make his dream come true. For now, both the player and his entourage remain hopeful that the long-awaited call from Núñez will finally take place.

For now, in the return of the most successful coach in the club’s history, Millonario tied last Saturday 1-1 with leader Huracán at the Monumental. Claudio Echeverri opened the scoring at 13 minutes of the first half with a half-turn, but Rodrigo Echeverría scored the final tie with a header at 37. River Plate has 15 points in the tournament and in the next round it will play against Gimnasia as a visitor, while Huracán remains the only leader with 20 points and in the following round it will receive Belgrano on Sunday.