The teenage forward has sparked a tug of war between England's leading clubs after emerging from the Argentine giants' prestigious academy
Back in the late 1990s, River Plate received a visit from a diminutive young player who took their youth coach's breath away by scoring 12 goals in a training session. The club's directors, however, were unwilling to pay for accommodation for his father or front the costs of the youngster's growth hormone treatment. Besides, they already had "a lot of players with the same qualities". The name of the player that came to visit? Lionel Messi.
You could say that River have been trying to make up for that historical blunder ever since, as they have turned into the leading exporters of top Argentine talent. Six members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad began their career at Los Millionarios, with Enzo Fernandez and Julian Alvarez having left the club for Manchester City and Benfica, respectively, just a few months before triumphing in Qatar. They have gone on to generate a combined total of more than £200 million ($268m) in transfer fees between them.
River's production line of talents coveted by Europe's top clubs has picked up the pace since then. Claudio Echeverri followed Alvarez's path by moving to City earlier this year, while Real Madrid have just won the race to sign Franco Mastantuono, paying £34m ($45m) for the 17-year-old midfielder who last year became River's youngest-ever scorer.
The next player tipped to move from the Estadio Monumental to the bright lights of European football's elite is Ian Subiabre, the fleet-footed 18-year-old who has got the continent's major entities queuing up to sign him. Chelsea are reported to have made the first move after holding meetings with his agent, the legendary Argentina forward Claudio Cannigia, though Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have also expressed strong interest in the forward, who has already lit up the Under-17 World Cup and this year's Under-20 South American Championship with Argentina.
GOAL has the lowdown on the latest gem to come out of River's talent factory and where he could be heading next…
(C)Getty ImagesWhere it all began
Subiabre hails from a family of top athletes. His maternal grandfather and uncle played football in the local leagues of his home city of Comodoro Rivadavia in picturesque Patagonia, and his paternal grandfather, Jose Lorenzo, was an amateur boxer who won 18 out of his 19 fights while also playing for his local football team. Meanwhile, his father, Martin, was a stalwart of the Argentine lower leagues, and won promotion to the country's second tier with CAI as well as playing for Huracan de Comodoro Rivadavia.
Martin even had a trial with River Plate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Fortunately, he has been able to live out his dream of playing for El Mas Grande through his son, who began making a name for himself at the age of five while playing for local side El Globito. He was discovered by Claudio Fernandez, River's talent scout in the area, and was asked to join the club's youth system aged eight.
Subiabre's family could not afford to move to Buenos Aires so he remained in Comodoro, joining his father's old club CAI while keeping in touch with River and training with them every so often. He would travel to the capital every three months – taking 24 hour bus journeys to do so – in order to stay on their radar.
Subiabre also took a trip to Spain to try out for Villarreal and Levante, but a move never materialised. Instead he returned home to CAI, who were then invited to the capital to play a friendly at the Argentina national team's headquarters, where legendary River midfielder Pablo Aimar, then in charge of the country's U15 side, was enchanted by Subiabre's talent. Soon after, River finally snapped him up and brought him into their youth team, and in 2023, he signed a professional contract with them, containing a €25m (£21m/$28m) release clause.
AdvertisementGettyThe big break
After making his youth tournament debut at the U17 World Cup, where he was upstaged by his River team-mates Agustin Ruberto, Echeverri and Mastantuono, Subiabre left his mark in his next adventure with Argentina, the 2025 U20 South American Championship in Venezuela.
He scored three times in his eight matches, netting with thumping left-footed strikes in a 6-0 hammering of Brazil and in a 2-1 win over Chile. But his best – and most important – goal came against Colombia. With the game goalless and heading towards full-time, Subiabre dribbled past a defender inside a crowded area before rattling the ball inside the near post with his right foot.
It gave Argentina a 1-0 win which clinched their place in the U20 World Cup in Chile later this year as well as keeping them on track towards winning the championship, although they eventually finished second in the standings behind Brazil.
How it's going
Subiabre's exploits in Venezuela led to him making further in-roads into the River senior team. Head coach Marcelo Gallardo has tended to favour his experienced players over the super-talented youngsters emerging from the academy, but he soon started giving Subiabre more opportunities, handing him eight league appearances and three games in the Copa Libertadores, all of which were from the bench.
Subiabre made the most of the few minutes he got, though, and struck his first senior goal in a 2-2 draw against Rosario Central in March, volleying a loose ball into the ground and into the net. He has been included in Gallardo's squad for the Club World Cup, while earlier in June he received an unexpected but very welcome phone call from Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, asking him to train with the Albiceleste's senior squad to prepare for their World Cup qualifier against Colombia.
Getty Biggest strengths
Subiabre's main assets are his speed and acceleration, and his change of pace and ball control while running earned him the nickname Barrilete ['The Kite'] as a child.
His ability to dribble past opponents in tight spaces is perhaps his greatest attribute, although his ball-striking ability is also hugely impressive, particularly with his left foot.
"I'm a powerful forward and a goal-scorer," Subiabre told River Plate's website. "I'm strong in one-v-one situations and I like to drop deep to help my team-mates and get assists."
