Boca Juniors have made Saracchi’s situation official – and for Celtic, the clock is now ticking.
Boca Juniors have released a formal statement confirming that Marcelo Saracchi is available for sale, with the Uruguayan left-back now training separately from the first-team group after returning from his loan spell at Celtic.
As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the Argentine club’s statement names Saracchi alongside four other players – Agustín Martegani, Juan Barinaga, Juan Ramirez, Marcelo Weigandt and Mauricio Benitez – as surplus to requirements. The wording is unambiguous: all five have been notified and are training apart from the main group. There is no reading of this that is anything other than a forced exit.
Boca paid £1.6 million to bring Saracchi to La Bombonera in August 2023, but that investment had already curdled before his loan move to Glasgow. He had lost his starting berth to Lautaro Blanco and was marginalised further after the Club World Cup. Celtic were, in effect, rescuing a career that had stalled. What followed was a season that reminded everyone what the player is actually capable of.
Across 27 appearances in the 2025-26 campaign, Saracchi contributed directly to our league and cup double – scoring once, against Livingston, and registering two assists. The numbers alone don’t capture it, though. He was the definition of a reliable deputy to Kieran Tierney, bringing energy and athleticism off the bench in moments when we needed exactly that. Martin O’Neill took a particular shine to him, and the support warmed to him quickly. That combination matters.
Here’s the thing: Boca’s statement doesn’t just close the door on Saracchi’s future there – it hands Celtic meaningful leverage. A club that has publicly listed a player for sale and exiled him to separate training is not negotiating from strength. The fee should reflect that reality.
O’Neill has been candid about where things stand. He confirmed that chief executive Michael Nicholson has been in direct contact with Saracchi’s agent, Marcelo Tejera, and made clear he wants the deal done – alongside the ongoing situation with Kelechi Iheanacho. As O’Neill put it: “I think both of them would like to come back, given the circumstances. Then it’s up to us to try and see if there are deals to be done.” The will is there. What’s missing, still, is the formal offer.
As we covered in detail when Saracchi was first excluded from Boca’s training sessions, the trajectory of this saga has pointed in one direction for some time. The official statement simply puts a stamp on what was already evident. Celtic need to move, and move now. The season start is approaching, preseason cohesion matters, and sitting on our hands while another European club spots a cut-price left-back would be entirely avoidable.
Get it done. Mon The Hoops.