Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira was interviewed by Fox Sports Radio from Argentina this week.
Despite being Uruguayan, the 24-year-old has never hidden his big love for Buenos Aires side Boca Juniors, and that was the subject for most of the chat.
“Wearing Boca’s shirt is a wish and a pending dream that I have. This is how I feel, I say it at the age of 24 and being at one of the most important teams in the world like Arsenal”, Torreira started saying (via El Intransigente).
“Hopefully someday, depending on how things happen, because in football you never know. Hopefully I will be given that possibility because it is something I really want and it would be a privilege.”
Torreira was quizzed about how was this passion born, and he claims it’s a mix of several factors.
“I think they are a lot of things. I come from a very footballing family, I have three brothers who also play football and at home, Uruguayans consume a lot of Argentine football. For us it’s one of the best leagues in South America.”
“This is the origin of this fanaticism for Boca, seeing great players go by, having Carlos Tevez as a reference when I was just starting my career… All of this makes me very fond of the club. I don’t know anything about Argentina, I didn’t go to the Bombonera.”
But despite making his wish to play for Boca Juniors very clear, Lucas Torreira made sure to say he’s very happy at Arsenal, and won’t be returning to South America so soon.
“Today my intention and my head are at Arsenal. I want to recover, go back to 100%. I have a very long contract with the club, until 2023 and it was very difficult for me to get here.”
But he says he doesn’t plan to return too old either.
“I don’t want to reach Argentine football at an age in which it is very difficult to play because, from what I see, it’s very demanding. There are great teams and when they go to play against Boca, it’s always a final. You have to be physically and mentally prepared.”
Torreira has also revealed a conversation he had with Fox Sports journalists, talking about the possibility of speaking to Boca Juniors’ vice president Juan Roman Riquelme.
“Before starting the interview, El Pollo asked me the question: ‘What if Román calls you?’ I hope Román calls me, for me it would be very nice. Do you know what it is if Riquelme calls you? Not only because of what Boca means or my intention to play at the club, but also to chat. I would love to be able to talk about football for at least 10 minutes with him.”
Torreira started his career at Montevideo Wanderers, but was only a teenager when he left his home country to move to Italy.
He played in Serie A for Pescara and Sampdoria, until signing for Arsenal on a £25m deal in 2018 where he has already made 83 appearances.
