quick one-two with a teammate and curled the ball into the left side of the net, giving them a 1–0. Boca held on to the 1–0 lead until the 89th minute when Deportivo Merlo equalized. The match was eventually decided via penalty shoot-out which Boca won 5–4. After Boca Juniors had eliminated Chilean club Universidad de Chile in the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, Boca faced Corinthians in the two-legged final. Riquelme participated in both matches of the 3–1 aggregate defeat, immediately announcing his retirement from the club after the 2–0 second-leg away defeat in São Paulo on 4 July. Riquelme, who at the time was 34 years old, stated that he would be leaving the club as a result of not have enough energy left to continue. Riquelme admitted he would quit Boca as he had nothing more left to give because he was exhausted, and also signalled that he needed a break from football. Without the presence of Riquelme, Boca went on to win the 2011–12 Copa Argentina when they defeated Racing Club in a 2–1 victory on 8 August. 2012–13 transfer speculation On 18 October 2012, it was reported that Riquelme's agent, Daniel Bolotnicoff, had denied reports that any Australian A-League club had contacted him to show an interest in signing Riquelme, as he had been linked with Melbourne Heart and Western Sydney Wanderers. On 5 January 2013, it was reported that Riquelme nearly joined Major League Soccer (MLS) side Chivas USA when he was to follow former coach Carlos Bianchi in a trip to the United States, as the latter was going to be head coach of the MLS club. Bianchi was then announced as Boca's first-team coach ten days later, which led to Riquelme's reiteration that he would not re-join Boca Juniors as a player. In January 2013, after much speculation that Riquelme was headed to join Palmeiras, it was announced by newly appointed club president Paulo Nobre that Palmeiras had to refrain from signing Riquelme due to financial terms and Riquelme's asking salary. On 26 January 2013, Riquelme confessed that he did not miss playing football and that his last options would be to play for Argentinos Juniors or Tigre. On 30 January 2013, it was officially reported that Argentinos Juniors president Luis Seguira had announced that the club would make an offer for Riquelme. On 31 January 2013, it was then reported that