BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 22 -- Colombia international midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero began saying goodbye to his River Plate colleagues on Saturday as he prepares to leave the Argentinian club for Shenzhen FC.

After weeks of negotiations, River accepted the Chinese Super League club's offer of 7.5 million euros (9 million US dollars) for the 27-year-old, according to widespread media reports in Argentina.

Quintero was seen bidding farewell to teammates and staff during a training session at River's Ezeiza sports complex, on the southwestern outskirts of Buenos Aires.

River massage therapist, Marcelo Sapienza, posted a photo on Instagram with a message that paid tribute to Quintero, who scored the decisive goal in the club's victory over rivals Boca Juniors in the 2018 Copa Libertadores final.

"My eternal thanks, my dear friend, for everything on and off the pitch," the message said. "I'm lucky to have met you and to witness the great person that you are. I'm going to miss you."

River are reportedly waiting for formalities to be processed before announcing Quintero's departure.

The playmaker represented the Argentinian Superliga side 61 times and scored 12 goals after his arrival from Independiente Medellin in 2017.

Shenzhen currently have one other Colombian in their squad: forward Harold Preciado.

Other high-profile South Americans playing in the Chinese Super League include Brazilians Oscar (Shanghai SIPG), Hulk (Shanghai SIPG), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan) and Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande), as well as Venezuela international striker Salomon Rondon (Dalian Professional).

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