Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian club Fluminense have confirmed that AFC Foreign Player of the Year 2013 nominee Dario Conca will make an emotional return to the club next year after inspiring China's Guangzhou Evergrande to the AFC Champions League title.
Fluminense confirmed the return of Argentine star Conca on their website, delighting fans of the skillful 30-year-old who reportedly became the third highest-paid footballer in the world after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when he moved to China in 2011.
"I would like to thank the Fluminense fans for all the affection they have shown me over the years," Conca said in comments on the Fluminense website.
"I am very happy to return to Fluminense and I'm looking forward to playing once again next year," added Conca, who will return to the club in January following Guangzhou’s participation in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.
Reports in Brazil said Conca had agreed a three-year deal worth an estimated $300,000 a month.
Conca was once regarded as one of the brightest stars in South American football, beginning his senior career with River Plate in Argentina before eventually moving to Fluminense on loan in 2008.
He played in both matches of the 2008 Copa Libertadores final for the Brazilian club, where they lost to LDU Quito of Ecuador.
He joined Guangzhou, who are bankrolled by a Chinese property firm, in mid-2011 for a fee of around $10 million.
The short, solid midfielder with sublime passing and control, plus lethal set-piece skills, quickly became a key element of the team and helped Guangzhou win three successive Chinese Super League titles.
He was also the hub of Guangzhou's South American attack, behind Brazilian strikers Muriqui (Luiz Guilherme Da Conceicao) and Elkeson (Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso) during this year's AFC Champions League victory, the first Asian title for a Chinese team in 23 years.
Conca is in the running for the AFC Foreign Player of the Year award alongside Guangzhou Evergrande team-mate Muriqui and FC Seoul striker Dejan Demjonvic. The winner will be unveiled at the 2013 AFC Annual Awards ceremony, which takes place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on November 26.
Photo: AFP