Thiago Almada explains why he left Europe to sign with River at 25: Gallardo's phone call was the key

There's one line that sums up why Thiago Almada ended up signing with River at the height of his run in Europe: "the coach called me." Just like that, no complications. And that coach is Marcelo Gallardo, who seems to hold a kind of pull that not even the best contracts can match.

"Guayo" spoke this Tuesday on the MP910 program on Radio La Red and explained, with the calm of someone who has already made peace with his decision, why he chose to return to Argentine soccer at just 25 years old, at a moment when River isn't exactly enjoying its best run of results.

"First, the coach called me, and that's huge for me. Second, it was a club like River, which today truly has nothing to envy about clubs in Europe, and even though the results haven't been there lately, I think once everything settles we're going to be doing really well," he explained. He went further, too: he talked with "Chacho" Coudet, got excited about the project, and didn't hesitate for a second.

The pressure he couldn't find in Europe

There's something Almada missed that few players admit so openly: the pressure that comes from Argentine fans. "I also missed the pressure from Argentine soccer fans. You really miss that in Europe, so that's something I like," he said, almost like someone chasing a feeling that simply doesn't exist in the same way on the other side of the Atlantic.

He also knows exactly what it means to wear the River jersey. "I know what River is, that the fans have huge expectations, so I came to add something, to help the team and try to get out of this situation, which is complicated, but we know that with this squad and the caliber of players we have, we're going to turn it around," he added, well aware of the delicate moment the team is going through.

Another player excited about Almada's arrival is Angel Correa, with whom he never overlapped at Atletico Madrid despite sharing several national team call-ups. "Now I'll get to be at a club with him and enjoy it every day. Hopefully together we can bring a lot of joy to River fans," said "Guayo," who sees that partnership as one of the concrete sources of hope going forward.

As for his adaptation, Almada was direct: he's been training with the group, and it even worked in his favor that a match got postponed, giving him more time to build up his rhythm with the ball. "In this training I've been doing, I'm feeling good," he said in closing, with the calm of someone who has already started settling into a new routine, though still looking forward to feeling again that pressure he missed so much from across the ocean.