River Spent Over €63 Million Under Gallardo but Still Has No Trophies

River Plate finds itself in a period of disappointment. According to local reports, since Marcelo Gallardo’s return in August 2024, the Buenos Aires club has spent more than €63 million on signings but has yet to win a single title. The latest blow came this week, when River was eliminated from the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals by Palmeiras, falling 5-2 on aggregate.

Gallardo’s second stint began urgently, as he requested reinforcements ahead of the Libertadores round of 16 against Talleres. The club quickly signed Germán Pezzella, Fabricio Bustos, Maximiliano Meza and Marcos Acuña. Since then, River has added 16 players in total, including Sebastián Driussi (€9.75 million), Lucas Martínez Quarta (€7 million), Gonzalo Montiel (€4.5 million) and Kevin Castaño, the most expensive purchase at €12.6 million. The latest arrivals included Maximiliano Salas, Juan Carlos Portillo, Matías Galarza and Juan Fernando Quintero.

At the same time, River secured significant outgoing transfers. The biggest was Franco Mastantuno’s move to Real Madrid for €45 million, followed by Pablo Solari’s transfer to Spartak Moscow for €10 million, along with smaller deals for Rodrigo Villagra, Adam Bareiro and others.

Despite this investment, results have not matched expectations. In 2024 River fell to Atlético Mineiro in the Libertadores semifinals and finished fifth in the domestic league. In 2025 the setbacks piled up: a penalty shootout loss to Talleres in the Supercopa Internacional, elimination to Platense in the Torneo Apertura, an early exit from the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, and most recently the Libertadores loss to Palmeiras.

Now River turns its focus to the Clausura and Copa Argentina in search of a trophy to rescue Gallardo’s much-anticipated second tenure.