Ortega departs from River Plate

River Plater attacking midfielder Ariel Ortega is said to have left the club with immediate effect. He has fallen out with the club's coach Diego Simeone and is now interested in moving elsewhere.

The 34-year old former Argentine international playmaker was left out of River's last game of the Clausura championship against Banfield and this has supposedly sparked rumours of a fall out between the player and the coach.

Ariel Ortega, who was once compared to the Argentine legend Diego Armando Maradona, said:

"I am leaving River because of the coaching staff."

"I am not leaving because I want to, but because I have to."

Meanwhile River Plate president Jose Maria Aguilar insisted that he shall do all he can to keep the player at the Monumental and remarked:

"As I have always said, I will make sure that those who have shown irreconcilable acts can reach the conciliation that every River Plate fan wants.

"Will that change Ortega's mind? It's hard."