Villarreal reject Riquelme despite Libertadores triumph

MADRID, June 21 (Reuters) Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme will not return to Primera Liga side Villarreal next season despite his brilliant performance in steering Boca Juniors to victory in the Libertadores Cup final.

''The club is looking for the best way out for the player,'' Villarreal director Jose Manuel Llaneza said today.

''He has demonstrated once again at Boca Juniors that he is one of the top players in the world, but that doesn't change the fact Villarreal has made an irreversible decision about his future.

''The good thing is that the way he is playing will make it much easier to sort it out.'' Riquelme, who was loaned out to Boca in February after falling out with Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini, inspired the Argentine side to their sixth Libertadores Cup crown.

The 28-year-old, who also won the Libertadores with Boca in 2000 and 2001, scored three goals in Boca's 5-0 aggregate win over Brazilian side Gremio in the final.

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