BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- River Plate is close to signing World Cup winning-midfielder Thiago Almada from Atletico Madrid, according to widespread media reports.
Almada is contracted to Atletico until June 2030, agreed in principle to a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Argentine club, TyC Sports reported.
It added the Spanish club had accepted a transfer fee of around 20 million euros (around 23 million U.S. dollars) for the 25-year-old, as River beat off interest from Brazil's Flamengo.
Almada has made 40 appearances for Atletico across all competitions since joining the club from Botafogo in July last year.
He was a member of the Argentina side that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and also featured for the Albiceleste at this year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. ■
