Argentine striker Beltran confirms move from River Plate to Fiorentina

BUENOS AIRES : Argentine striker Lucas Beltran confirmed on Friday that he will leave River Plate to continue his career at Serie A side Fiorentina, despite AS Roma's interest in signing him.

Beltran said that Roma striker and compatriot Paulo Dybala advised his club to sign him, but the 22-year-old will join Fiorentina on a five-year contract in a deal worth $25 million, local media reported.

"I spoke with Paulo (Dybala) a little bit, I know he recommended me for Roma, but some things didn't work out," Beltran told reporters at the airport in Buenos Aires.

"Fiorentina was very interested all the time and the project is very good, and I stuck with that.

"It all happened very quickly. In the afternoon I will be leaving, I could not say goodbye to my team mates or the fans, I wished I could have done it at the Monumental (Stadium)."

Beltran began his career at River in 2018, before a brief loan spell at Colon de Santa Fe. He returned to the popular Buenos Aires outfit last summer to fill the place left by Julian Alvarez after his move to Manchester City.

The youngster scored 16 goals in 36 games in all competitions last season.

(Report by Ramiro Scandolo, writing by Janina Nuno Rios, editing by Pritha Sarkar)