Exequiel Zeballos: From Maradona’s Shadow to Monza
Exequiel Zeballos was supposed to walk out at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in blue. Instead, he landed in Milan wearing Monza red, the latest twist in a transfer story that veered sharply off the expected road.
A few weeks ago, Napoli had him lined up as a sharp attacking addition, personal terms agreed and a clear plan in place. The fee, around €10m plus add-ons, sat on the table. Boca Juniors pushed it back. Negotiations stalled, then snapped.
While Napoli looked elsewhere, Monza pounced.
With Zeballos’ contract at Boca due to expire on December 31, the Italian minnows moved decisively on deadline day, sealing a deal that looks far more like an opportunity than a gamble. The cost is believed to be about €4m for 60 per cent of his rights, leaving Boca with 40 per cent of any future sale. For a club like Monza, that kind of structure is a statement: they’re betting that this winger’s value is going one way.
Zeballos touched down in Italy and spoke briefly to reporters at Milan airport, still processing how quickly his career had shifted continent.
“It all happened so fast, I will speak with coach Ivan Juric today,” said the 24-year-old, the new man in a project that has quietly raised its ambition season by season.
The move, though, has roots that run deeper than tactics or contracts. “I wanted to come to Italy because my father's idol is Maradona,” he admitted. For a kid from Boca, that line carries weight. Maradona is not just a name, he’s a religion. The irony is unavoidable: the son of a Maradona devotee was on the verge of joining Napoli, at the stadium that bears his idol’s name, only to start his Italian journey in Monza instead.
The choice of league, though, never wavered. Serie A was the target.
Inside the Boca dressing room, another link to Italy nudged him along. Leandro Paredes, with years in Serie A behind him at Roma and Juventus, became a sounding board as the Napoli talks advanced.
“It’s true, Paredes gave me a lot of advice, especially when we were talking about Napoli,” Zeballos said. The deal never materialised, but the guidance clearly helped fix his gaze on Italy as the next step.
On the pitch, Monza are getting a wide attacker who can operate on either flank, comfortable driving inside or stretching play on the touchline. Across 140 competitive games for Boca Juniors, Zeballos produced 16 goals and 16 assists – not eye-watering numbers, but enough to hint at a player who can grow in a more open, tactical environment.
This is not the ready-made star Napoli were chasing. It is something different: a 24-year-old with South American pedigree, a strong one-v-one profile and a point to prove in Europe. For Monza, that’s exactly the market they need to exploit if they want to punch above their financial weight in Serie A.
The pressure at the U-Power Stadium will be very different from the cauldron of La Bombonera, but the expectation is clear. A club that has established itself in the top flight now wants players who can tilt tight games, break lines, change the rhythm of an attack. Zeballos has been brought in to do more than just fill a squad slot.
He arrives with a family story tied to Maradona, the guidance of a Serie A veteran in Paredes, and a career that just swerved away from one of Italy’s giants to land in a smaller, hungrier project.
If Boca kept 40 per cent of his future, it’s because they believe this is only the beginning. Monza clearly do too. The next question is whether Zeballos can turn a deadline day surprise into the kind of Italian career his father dreamed of every time he watched Maradona.
