Buenos Aires, June 26 (IANS): River Plate, the most popular team in Argentinian football along with Boca Junior, signed up 2004 Athens Olympics gold medallist and attacking midfielder Luis Gonzalez.

The 34-year-old footballer has finished his contract with Qatar side Al Rayyan and has played in some of the important European clubs such as FC Porto (Portugal) and Olympique de Marseille (France), reports Xinhua.

"It is important that the players who gave a lot to the club return. River is a club where there are very large objectives. This is good for any footballer," said Gonzalez on Thursday.

After a medical check-up the midfielder said he spoke to coach Marcelo Gallardo "and we are on the same page, we were clear. The most important thing is to be useful to the team whether its on or off the pitch".

Known as 'Lucho' in the football circle, Gonzalez admitted "there was an offer from Racing Club (Argentina) but we didn't come to an agreement".

"With River it was completely different. Everything was more clear and transparent for that reason I decided to come back. The club's directors were clear with me and I didn't have any problems. Furthermore, the fact that I could win an international trophy is a personal objective and motivation," added Gonzalez.

The Argentinian club has already signed Javier Saviola (from Italian team Verona) and Nicolas Bertolo (from Argentinian side Banfield). Forwards Lucas Alario (from Argentinian side Colon) and the Uruguayan Tabare Viudez's (from Turkish team Kasimpasa) arrivals are also imminent.

Gonzalez played for River Plate originally between 2002 and 2005 with lots of success and winning two local titles: the 2003 and 2004 Clausura. He played internationally with Argentina in 47 matches including the 2004 Games, 2006 Germany World Cup and 2004 and 2007 Copa America in Peru and Venezuela, respectively.