Reports: Atletico Nacional to send Carlos Rivas back to New York Red Bulls

Credit the all-seeing eyes over at MetroFan TV for spotting this news out of Colombia:

Carlos Rivas will shortly be sent back to the New York Red Bulls, per multiple reports from Colombia. Count those reports more as very educated guesses rather than official statements from Atletico Nacional.

Rivas was loaned out to the Colombian club in July. He made 11 league appearances for Atletico Nacional, scoring no goals. The forward was also a regular part of Los Verdolagas’ Copa Colombia campaign, making seven appearances and scoring twice. Rivas started both legs of Atletico Nacional’s Copa Colombia final against Once Caldas - and his side won the Cup, 4-3 on aggregate. So while his RBNY teammates were winning the 2018 Supporters’ Shield in MLS, Rivas was winning a trophy in Colombia.

But Atletico Nacional has high standards and the club missed out on the playoffs in the Liga Aguila Clausura. This is reportedly the first time the team has missed the playoffs since 2012, so the club is expected to clear out a lot of underperforming signings blamed for the subpar season. Rivas is on the list of expected outgoing players of just about every media outlet covering Atletico Nacional.

To be fair to him, whatever he did for Atletico Nacional, he was on loan and a return to RBNY at some point was to be expected. It’s not entirely clear if Rivas has much of a future with the Red Bulls: he was loaned out largely because he wasn’t forcing his way into the first team.

Atletico Nacional’s season is over, Rivas is not expected to be part of the club’s plans for its next campaign: his loan should be concluded shortly. It will be a surprise if he plays any part in what remains of RBNY’s 2018 campaign - the team has been flourishing without him. But if he returns in time, the Red Bulls will have a Copa Colombia winner in training for the final stanza of their season.