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Lucas Martínez Quarta to Al-Sadd

This move fell through. Last report: Cesar Luis Merlo, 31 August 2026.

The move to Al-Sadd is off. Cesar Luis Merlo reported in late August that the Qatari club had proposed a one-year loan with an obligation to buy set at €5m, and that River Plate rejected it because Martínez Quarta was still needed for their Copa campaign. Days later Merlo's follow-up noted fresh interest, with Genoa also said to have made an offer alongside Al-Sadd, but nothing has advanced the Qatar route back to life. As things stand, River have not sold and no new bid from Al-Sadd is on the table. Merlo is the only source carrying this story, and he does it well: a credibility rating of 81 out of 100 and two dated posts a few days apart give the reporting some structure, even if it is a single voice rather than a chorus. No Qatari or Italian outlet has been cited to corroborate the figures, so treat the €5m loan-to-buy framework as reliable in outline but unconfirmed in detail. The chance of this being revived and completed looks slim. River already said no once, and did so for footballing reasons rather than financial ones, which suggests it would take a change in their season plans or a materially improved bid to shift their stance. With Genoa also lurking as an alternative suitor, Al-Sadd's path back in is not straightforward. Call it a long shot for now, kept alive only by Qatari transfer windows tending to stay open later than European ones. River have sold at similar or higher numbers before, including Martínez Quarta's own €13m exit to Fiorentina in 2020, and Al-Sadd paid €12m to sign from Real Valladolid previously. Against that backdrop, €5m looks light, which m

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