Spartak Moscow eyes Ezequiel Barco with 15 million euro offer

The red-and-white part of Moscow has been waiting for a Russian Premier League title since 2017, and in the upcoming season, Dejan Stanković will attempt to deliver it.

The former player and coach of Crvena Zvezda has been the manager of Spartak Moscow since May and is actively working on rebuilding the team. Among the players the 45-year-old strategist believes could help is Argentine striker Ezequiel Barco, according to reports from the country of the world champions, cited by Russian Sport Express.

Barco (25) is under contract with River Plate for another year and a half, so the Moscow club will have to pay a transfer fee for his arrival, which is reportedly just under 15 million euros (16 million dollars). Additionally, the Buenos Aires club is open to the transfer but wants to secure extra terms in the form of bonuses or a percentage of future sales.

The player from Santa Fe plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger and has scored two goals and provided seven assists in 28 appearances in 2024. He became a River Plate player at the end of January 2022 when the famous club took him on loan from Atlanta United for 4 million euros and then purchased his contract last winter for an additional 6.5 million. Previously, he joined the American club at the beginning of 2018 from Independiente for just over 12 million euros.

Barco was once considered a great hope for Argentine football. By the age of 18, he had made 38 appearances for Independiente's first team and was a youth and Olympic representative for Argentina.

However, playing in the United States, he did not realize his full potential. At River, he managed to revive his career, which could now bring him his first move to European football.

Since Dejan Stanković arrived in Moscow, Spartak has signed experienced center forward Willian José from Betis for 2 million euros (plus bonuses), a player who was targeted by Barcelona four years ago.