River looking to bring Aimar home

River Plate president José María Aguilar has expressed his desire to bring Pablo Aimar back to El Monumental from Real Zaragoza in the summer.

Speaking on Argentine radio, the River president stated that it is about time Aimar returned to the team where he first made his name, but also indicated that some financial sacrifice would have to be made on the part of the player if he was to come back to Argentina.

"We have a good group, but we want to attempt to bring in some great players. Pablo left us a long-time ago for Valencia, in January of 2001, and this is the moment for him to return," he told Radio La Red.

"Football is handled by the phenomenon of money and it depends on the player. If I try bring back a player who requests the same contract that he has in Europe, it is very difficult to be able to continue negotiations, but I do not like like to speak of other people's wallets."

Aguilar is said to be desperate to bring a former River hero to the club after seeing its great rivals Boca Juniors successfully negotiate the return of Juan Román Riquelme to Argentina.

They were involved in early discussions with Zaragoza over the possibility of signing Andrés D'Alessandro in the January transfer window, but came up short financially, with the player eventually moving to San Lorenzo instead.

As the interview drew to a close, Aguilar was asked if Real Madrid striker Javier Saviola would be another player he would consider.

"He is stubborn because he will not consider a return until he has had at least one successful season in Europe. Football is very fast moving and a career can pass just like that. He is a player who would need many reasons to return, be it family or another valid reason. There are many factors that influence such a decision in addition to the economic side," he concluded.