Mauro Zarate is no longer a Watford player after his move to Boca Juniors was confirmed.

The 31-year-old, who moved to Vicarage Road in January 2017, played just three games before suffering a serious knee injury the following month.

He moved on loan to Al Nasr before returning to boyhood club Velez Sarsfield where he had looked set to turn his temporary stay permanent.

However, his decision to not put pen to paper and sign for Boca instead prompted a family row, with his brother Rolando, who is also the player’s agent, accusing him of “stabbing me in the back”.

“Mauro stuck a knife in my back. I am destroyed,” Rolando Zarate told Fox Sports Radio earlier this week. “He betrayed the whole family and the 40 years of history that we have with Velez.

“I want to cry. We were born at Velez, we grew up at Velez and my old man had worked for 40 years.”

Defending his character after moving to the Superliga champions, Zarate told the club website: “The Boca fans know me as a player. Maturity always helps and I have improved many things.

“Before, perhaps because I was young or had little experience, I made mistakes. They are things I do not repeat now."