Uruguayan winger Olivera 'motivated' by Gremio move

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- New Gremio signing Cristian Olivera has vowed not to let the weight of expectation affect his performances for the Brazilian Serie A club.

The Uruguay international winger joined Gremio from Los Angeles FC on a deal that runs until December 2027 with the option of a one-year extension.

His transfer fee of 4.5 million U.S. dollars makes him the fourth most expensive player in Gremio's history, behind Giuliano, Marcelo Moreno and Miller Bolanos.

"I will take this with great responsibility, both for the team and for myself," the 22-year-old said on Monday. "I want to play the best I can for Gremio. I might be one of the biggest purchases in Gremio's history, but that is not a burden. It makes me motivated to always give 100 percent."

Olivera, who has been capped 11 times for Uruguay, scored 16 goals and provided six assists in 51 games across all competitions for Los Angeles FC, whom he joined from Spain's Almeria in August 2023.

He said he was not fazed by Brazil's grueling football calendar, which runs from January to December and often requires clubs to play more than 60 matches a year.

"One of the things that made me choose to come to Gremio was the number of games they have. I love playing every three days. In the United States, clubs play once a week, and I realized that it wasn't really useful for me, for my growth. That was one of the reasons why I decided to come to Brazil." ■