Who are River Plate?

Partner Authors Updated: 10 Jun 25 14:11

The 2025 Club World Cup is just around the corner and we have taken a look at one of the 32 clubs participating in the new-look tournament, River Plate.

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Where are River Plate from?

River Plate are based in the Belgrano neighbourhood of Buenos Aires in Argentina. The club play their home games at Estadio Monumental, the largest stadium in Argentina and in fact, in all of South America.

History

Founded on 25th May, 1901, River Plate, who are considered one of the Big Five of Argentine football, are named after the English name for the city's estuary, Rio de la Plata.

The club was formed by the merger of two teams - Santa Rosa and La Rosales - and they are the record 38-time Argentina Primera Division winners.

River Plate will be appearing in the Club World Cup for the third time, having lost in the 2015 final to Barcelona and then winning the third-place play-off in 2018.

Nicknames

River Plate have three nicknames, these are:

Los Millonarios (The Millionaires)
La Banda (The Stripe)
El Mas Grande (The Greatest)

Los Millonarios came about after the acquisitions of winger Carlos Peucelle in 1931 for $10,000 and Bernabe Ferreyra for $35,000 in 1932. During that period, that was a lot of money to buy a player.

La Banda is because of the red band or stripe on their jersey, while El Mas Grande is due to the club being the most successful in Argentine football.

Notable Players

Current Players

Ex-Argentina international Enzo Perez, whose former clubs include Benfica and Valencia, returned to the club this year for his second stint and is the vice-captain of the team.

Franco Mastantuono is just 17 years of age but he has impressed this season, notching four goals and the same amount of assists in the Primera Division.

Colombia international Miguel Borja is another key part of this River Plate squad, with the forward notching five times in the league to sit top of the club's scoring charts.

Manuel Lanzini, who spent time in the Premier League with West Ham United, is currently in his second spell with the club.

Gonzalo Montiel, a World Cup winner with Argentina, is another player who started his career at River Plate and has gone full circle to return to his roots.

Former Players

Arguably the best player to have pulled on the famous River Plate jersey is Alfredo Di Stefano, who is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Making his way through the youth ranks before breaking into the first team, 'Saeta Rubia' would earn a move to Real Madrid in 1953, winning eight La Liga titles and five European Cups among various other silverware.

Along with Di Stefano, a host of the world's top talent have played for River Plate, including Radamel Falcao, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano, Erik Lamela, Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Ocampos, German Pezzella and German Lux.

How did River Plate qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup?

River Plate qualified for the Club World Cup as the best-ranked eligible team in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking.

They are one of six CONMEBOL teams competing in the tournament, along with fellow Argentine outfit Boca Juniors and the four Brazilian teams of Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo.