MADRID (AFP) - Villarreal's Argentina international midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme has agreed a nine-million-euro deal with his club to move to Boca Juniors in his home country, the Spanish first division club said on Monday.

The two clubs had initially agreed a deal on Wednesday, but the player himself had not ratified it.

The transfer fee is expected to be about nine million euros, according to sources close to the Argentinian club and cited by the Telam agency.

A statement on Villarreal's club internet site said: "After Riquelme and Villarreal reached agreement, Villarreal managing director Jose Manuel Llaneza and financial director Miguel Perez will today (Monday) go to Argentina to negotiate a transfer with Boca Juniors."

Italian champions Inter Milan and Juventus had also reportedly been interested in signing playmaker Riquelme in the January transfer window.