Peruvian winger João Grimaldo, who spent last season on loan with Riga FC and helped the club win the Latvian Virslīga title, has officially signed with Czech giants Sparta Prague.
The 22-year-old wide player arrived in Latvia last year on loan from Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade. After a slow start that required an adaptation period, Grimaldo found his rhythm during the summer months following the switch to natural grass and quickly emerged as one of Riga FC’s key attacking figures. In total, he made 36 appearances, scoring five goals and providing 10 assists across all competitions.
Grimaldo played a crucial role in helping Riga FC secure their first league title since 2020. He also came close to eliminating his new club from European competition, featuring in both legs of the UEFA Conference League qualifying play-off against Sparta Prague, where Riga FC narrowly lost 1-2 on aggregate.
Riga FC had the option to make Grimaldo’s move permanent following the end of his loan spell. However, club director Romans Lajuks previously confirmed that the Latvian champions were unwilling to meet the transfer fee demanded by Partizan. Sparta Prague, by contrast, agreed to the terms, paving the way for the Peru international to complete his transfer to Prague.
Grimaldo now joins a Sparta Prague side that goes into the winter break sitting second in the Czech First League, behind arch-rivals Slavia Prague, and having comfortably qualified for the knockout stages of the UEFA Conference League.
Source: https://sparta.cz/en/novinky/44548-a-new-addition-joao-grimaldo
