Last night River Plate welcomed Pablo Aimar back to the Monumental after nearly fifteen years away from the club and there are reports that the latest club legend set for a return is Javier Saviola. The 33-year-old striker has been playing in Italy with Hellas Verona but his contract expires on June 30th and River are now keen to strengthen their Libertadores and league title bid with the well-travelled striker.

Both Aimar and Saviola were part of River’s success at the end of the nineties and a move to see both players back in Nuñez would prove hugely popular with supporters.

After capturing the 1999 Apertura and the 2000 Clausura together, Aimar left for Valencia in January 2001 and in the same year, Saviola moved to Barcelona for a fee of around €24 million. Having just lifted the under-20 World Cup with Argentina as the top scorer and player of the tournament and being named South American Footballer of the year in 1999, Saviola was one of the most sought after young players in world football.

His initial career at Barcelona was successful but El Conejo fell out of favour with manager Frank Rijkaard and after loan moves to Monaco and Sevilla, he moved as a free-agent to bitter rivals, Real Madrid. This move failed to progress Saviola’s career but the subsequent switch to Benfica saw the diminuitive striker capture something of his earlier form.

In recent years, Saviola has travelled in Europe playing for Málaga, Olympiacos and last season, Hellas Verona. In Serie A, Saviola was restricted to just 16 matches (11 of them as a substitute) where he scored two goals and so it would seem his time in Europe’s top leagues might be over. 

River Plate hope that the lure of a Copa Libertadores semi final will be enough to tempt the striker into a return. The door is always open is River’s stance but they will now need to discuss any potential deal with the player. The possibility of Aimar and Saviola playing together in the Copa Libertadores is an attractive one even for the neutrals.