Uruguayan club Nacional said Friday it has sold midfielder Nicolas
Lodeiro to Ajax for €4 million ($5.7 million) in what club
president Ricardo Alarcon called a historic deal.
Alarcon on the club Web site that Nacional would receive 15
percent of any future sale of the 20-year-old midfielder.
Lodeiro is an up-and-coming South American star. He was a key
member of Uruguay's team at last year's Under-20 World Cup in
Egypt. He was called up late in 2009 to the Uruguay national team
and is expected to be on the side at this year's World Cup in South
Africa.
"Nacional reached an agreement with a Europen giant, face to
face, respecting our demands and those of the player," Alarcon
said. "It's a landmark. It's something historic."
Alarcon has been in the Netherlands the last several days and
also had talks with AZ Alkmaar, the defending Dutch champion.
Alarcon said he'd hoped to keep Lodeiro with Nacional through
the first half of the year, making him available to play in South
America's prestigious club championship, the Copa Libertadores. But
Ajax and Lodeiro wanted the move to be immediate, Alarcon said.
