Porto pluck Farías from River Plate

Portuguese champions FC Porto have agreed a four-year contract with CA River Plate striker Ernesto Farías in a deal reported to be worth around €4m.

European option
The 27-year-old Argentinian was set to join Mexican side Toluca FC but instead opted to head back to Europe, where he will look to build on his formidable reputation in his native country. He is the second highest scoring striker active in Argentinian football, his 125 goals second to only CA Boca Juniors forward Martín Palermo, who played in Spain for several years. "It's one of the biggest moments of my career," Farías said. "I've joined a very big club and have achieved one of my goals of playing in Europe again. I will sacrifice everything for Porto and will aim to score goals, which is what every striker has to do."

Palermo period
Like Palermo, Farías made his name at Club Estudiantes de la Plata, for whom he scored almost 100 goals before leaving in 2004. He tried his luck in Europe at Italian side US Città di Palermo but failed to score in 13 appearances and returned to Argentina to sign for River Plate, scoring 35 goals in three seasons before joining Porto, who will compete in the UEFA Champions League group stage. The club have already signed Fernando, Lino, Mário Bolatti, Luís Aguiar, Edgar, Mariano González, Przemysław Kaźmierczak and Leandro Lima.