Exequiel Palacios has completed his transfer to Bayer Leverkusen having signed a contract with the Bundesliga club until June 2025.
The 21-year-old midfielder’s departure from the Monumental was no secret and after helping River Plate to the Copa Argentina last Friday, Palacios bid his boyhood club farewell.
Marcelo Gallardo had already referred to Palacios’ transfer in the build-up to the cup final win over Central Córdoba and while the Millonarios will have begun planning for this eventuality it is no less of a blow.
The youngster has developed into a key figure as River reached back-to-back Copa Libertadores finals and while the club would have liked to renegotiate his deal, the $24 million release clause made Palacios a prime target.
🚨 TRANSFER NEWS 🚨
Exequiel Palacios will join the Werkself in January on a five-year deal! pic.twitter.com/H3jZyKFXf7
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) December 16, 2019