One of the premier football insiders in the world, and perhaps the biggest in Latin America, César Luis Merlo sits down with us to discuss how he became one of the most trusted voices in transfer reporting across the region.
Operating in the same space as Fabrizio Romano, who is widely regarded as the global authority on transfer news, is no easy task. Still, several journalists have emerged as highly reliable points of reference in different markets. In the United States, Tom Bogert has become the go-to source for MLS and United States men’s national team news.
In South America, that role unquestionably belongs to César Luis Merlo. The Argentine journalist has worked with major sports networks such as TyC Sports, as well as respected outlets like Radio La Red and América TV in his home country.
In this in-depth conversation, Urban Pitch explores Merlo’s rise as the region’s leading transfer insider, known for his accuracy and consistency in breaking news. The interview also dives into how journalism is evolving, the growing influence of social media, and the challenges facing the profession amid widespread layoffs and industry change.
Urban Pitch: How did this all start, being a transfer specialist journalist? When did you become focused on that type of news?
César Luis Merlo: I think the click came at a very young age. When I started studying journalism, I was already drawn to sports, especially football. I always bought the newspaper, read the sports section, and followed the transfer market closely, at a time when there was no internet and you had to wait until the next day to know whether a deal had moved forward or fallen through. That curiosity was always there.
Then, around the age of 25, I had one of my key moments. Social media didn’t exist yet, and I was never particularly interested in being on air, but I came across a very big piece of information that I had to hold for almost two weeks until it was finalized. I respected the timing, and that’s when I felt I took my first important step.
As social media emerged, I gradually became more confident. At first, many sources spoke to me because of the backing of the TV channel I worked for, but over time, and now no longer connected to TyC Sports, I believe they do so more because of the relationships I’ve built than because of the outlet itself. That, in broad terms, is a summary of my journey.
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How do you see the role of social media today, where having a strong personal presence and creating your own content often carries more weight than working for a traditional TV channel? Do you think this is the future of journalism, with value increasingly tied to original content and individual credibility rather than big media outlets?
Without a doubt, that shift has already happened. People trust media outlets less and individual journalists more. That’s why I always say the same thing: I’m human, I can make mistakes, and that will never change. What I do try to protect at all costs is my credibility.
There are negotiations that are extremely complex, with a lot of back and forth, and it’s not always easy to get everything right. But I feel, and people in football make me feel it too, from executives and players to agents, lawyers, and people around the game, that in this part of the world, news often gains real weight once I publish it.
I’m very aware that this comes with a greater level of responsibility. Whether it’s for a huge platform or for a smaller community, I approach every piece of information with the same level of care and commitment.
How do you tell when information is false or misleading? How does that sixth sense work?
People often look out for their own interests, and that creates a lot of misinformation. The transfer market, especially in Argentina, is extremely complex. Abroad it’s a bit more straightforward, but at this stage of my career I try to validate almost everything directly with the clubs. The reality is that many people act for their own benefit and don’t always think about the other side.
That said, there are also many serious agents who understand that lying is a short-term path, and I already know who they are. Even so, as a matter of professional routine, I usually go back to the clubs to check the information. In 99.9% of cases, I know that if I don’t confirm it with the club, I haven’t truly verified it.
How do I know this? Honestly, by learning the hard way. By making mistakes, getting things wrong, and building a mental map of who’s who in the business. That doesn’t mean I stop talking to all sides. There are sources I know aren’t fully reliable, but I still listen to them, because if out of 10 things they tell me two turn out to be true, that’s still useful.
My expertise is knowing which button not to publish. And how do I do that? By cross-checking with one, two, three, or as many sources as I feel are necessary. That’s why I’m not obsessed with being first or publishing instantly. I’d rather be sure than say “this is happening now” without being 100% confident.
The “News” of Fake Reporting
How do you deal with giving accurate information in an environment where some “communicators” generate news that isn’t always true just to create noise or attention?
The social media ecosystem has made it so that almost anything that’s said can be taken as fact. That’s why I’ve increasingly tried to build my career around credibility. I always say the same thing: I’m not worried about being first, I’m worried about being right. Of course, if I can be both first and accurate, even better, but accuracy is non-negotiable for me.
In a space where anyone can say anything, that’s how I try to stand out. I also understand that many people who consume transfer rumors know, deep down, that some of it isn’t true, but they still choose to believe it. That’s not my path. I get a lot of messages on social media asking me to “make something up” or at least fuel a rumor, and honestly, that’s not what I do.
I believe the fact that five international media outlets continue to trust me in this market, and that for the third year in a row Picado TV, now the biggest YouTube channel in Argentina, has placed its confidence in me, comes down to credibility. People know that when I publish something, I do it responsibly. I can make mistakes, because I’m human, but I never publish something lightly.
What is the most common mistake you see when covering the transfer market, especially among people trying to copy the Fabrizio Romano model?
The truth is, I don’t have a perfect manual on how things should be done. What I do know is that chasing virality or practicing a kind of interest-driven journalism, often tied to players, agents, or family members, doesn’t work for me. At least, I feel it doesn’t serve me as a journalist.
Today, I see many people who, because they have some access to agents or players’ families, start saying things like “this club wants the player,” then three days later “another club wants him,” and a few days after that, someone else. In many cases, that “interest” is nothing more than a phone call to ask or check something.
I believe that as journalists, we shouldn’t become tools for players, agents, or families, and that’s something I try very hard to avoid. Maybe years ago I fell into that dynamic without realizing it, but today I’m much more aware of it and I don’t do it anymore.
I’m increasingly convinced that my main weapon to protect my credibility is respect. Respect for the audience and for the information, and knowing how to say “no,” and clearly explaining why.
MLS and the South American Transfer Market
MLS has invested heavily in the last decade in the South American market, especially Argentina and Colombia. How do you see MLS today as a destination point for LATAM players?
MLS has gained credibility, especially with the arrival of Lionel Messi, and it continues to grow. It’s still seen as a developing league, though. For a long time, it was viewed as a stepping stone to European football, and I think that perception has changed somewhat. The flow of players going to MLS, especially from Argentina, has decreased, but it remains an attractive league and there are still movements, just not at the same volume as before.
The Argentine market has changed. Today, Brazil is clearly the country that buys the most players from Argentina, in terms of volume. Brazil has overtaken Mexico and MLS in that sense. That said, MLS is now a league that many players choose deliberately, not just as a last stop or a place to retire.
What’s different now is that MLS clubs understand they can spend their money however they want. They don’t need to focus only on Argentine players. They can buy from Europe, bring in designated players, or even compete financially with very powerful clubs like Monterrey. If they want to pay $15 million for a player like Germán Berterame and offer him a high salary, they can do it.
That growth has given MLS more flexibility. Today, they don’t buy Argentine players because they’re the only option available, they buy the Argentine player they actually want.
How much influence does Lionel Messi have on a player’s decision to go to MLS?
No, for me Messi’s added value only really applies if you’re personally connected to him. Beyond that, I don’t think playing in “Messi’s league” is a decisive factor on its own. Messi isn’t going to make decisions for anyone.
Of course, if a player gets a call from Inter Miami, that carries weight, because it’s Messi’s team, and that matters. But in general, I don’t think Messi alone determines where players choose to go.
Life as a Transfer Journalist
Do you have any interesting or funny anecdotes related to a transfer, some story that stands out and you’d like to share?
I have a lot of anecdotes, but I’ll share two briefly. The first one really marked my career and involves a Boca Juniors player who wasn’t a global star, but meant a lot in my journey: Rolando Schiavi. At the time, he was finishing his spell at Boca and was supposedly about to retire.
I was working as a producer, not on air, and about a month before the season ended, we reported on the show that Schiavi wasn’t retiring, but was instead going to play in China. For an entire month, Schiavi was doing interviews saying he was retiring, and every time that came up, he denied the China move. During that period, the journalist who delivered the news on air, backed by my information, was constantly being denied. I was young, had only been in the job three or four years, and it was a tough moment. His son even publicly denied it and insulted me on social media.
In the end, the move happened exactly as we had reported: Schiavi went to the same club we had named. That experience taught me a lot about trusting information and handling pressure.
The second story, without a doubt, was Neymar’s return to Santos. In late November, I reported that Neymar would be going back to Santos. At the time, his own agent publicly denied it in an interview with Fabrizio Romano, which Fabrizio posted on Twitter the same day. I was so confident in my sources that I quoted that tweet and said that, while I respected the agent’s right to speak, I stood by everything I had published and reaffirmed that Neymar would return to Santos.
That was a huge moment in my career. It didn’t necessarily “launch” me, but it gave me a lot of confidence. For the 30 or 40 days it took to be confirmed, I was constantly calling the two sources who had given me the information, they were practically my therapists. At first, Santos fans were congratulating me; a few days later, the insults started coming in.
Even today, whenever I publish something about Santos, there’s always a fan who brings it up and says, “This is the guy who called the Neymar story.” And honestly, that’s a reminder that sometimes, even when it sounds crazy, the information can be real, and worth standing by.
