Liga MX strikers on the move … including Pulido?
The regular season just ended but Liga MX teams are not wasting any time making changes to their rosters.
Liga MX scoring champion Alan Pulido didn’t waste any time in trying to cash in on the title he now shares after scoring twice against Veracruz on Saturday night. The Tamaulipas native has reportedly asked for a raise on his contract which runs through 2020, but the Chivas might not be inclined to oblige him.
New Chivas general manager Ricardo Peláez is preparing to splash some cash around before the Clausura 2020, but it does not appear that he was planning on rewarding players already on the roster. Instead, he is looking to add talent.
So if Pulido persists with his demands, the Chivas could seek offers in an effort to recoup some of the $18 million dollars they spent to acquire him in August 2016. Monterrey and Cruz Azul are rumored to be interested in the 28-year-old striker. There are also rumors that Pulido could move to MLS and rejoin his former Chivas coach, Matías Almeyda (with whom he won a Liga MX title and a Copa MX trophy), who now manages the San Jose Earthquakes.
Although he did score 12 goals this season, Pulido had not lived up to his contract before the Apertura 2019. In fact, he only scored 11 goals in the previous four seasons combined. One wonders if Peláez would prefer in calling J.J. Macías back from his León loan (though most pundits predict the Chivas will cash in by selling the 20-year-old phenom once and for all).
More from Viva Liga MX
- Guillermo Ochoa is out 4-6 weeks
- The Clásico Regiomontano is Heating Up
- Pumas: In Search of Regaining a Top Spot
- Why the United States Is Set to Overtake Mexico on the World Stage
- Erick Gutierrez is out once again
Meanwhile, the Pumas are already in talks with Pachuca over their leading scorer, Franco Jara. The Argentina native scored 8 goals for the Tuzos this season and has scored 58 times in all competitions since joining Pachuca in August 2015.
On Tuesday afternoon, Grupo Pachuca – the holding company that owns three soccer teams: the Tuzos of Pachuca, the Esmeraldas of León and Ascenso MX team Zacatecas – announced the signing of Veracruz striker Colim Kazim-Richards. The 33-year-old striker scored the lone goal in Veracruz’s 1-0 win over Puebla on Oct. 29 that ended the Tiburones’ historic 41-game winless streak that had begun after an Aug. 25, 2018, victory over Tijuana.
This makes sense if Pachuca is willing to sell Jara, but one insider suggests Kazim-Richards might not be putting on a Tuzos jersey (even though his Wikipedia entry already identifies him as a Pachuca player). Instead, the London-born Turkey international could end up with León. If so, we could see a shake-up on the Esmeraldas roster. They have the afore-mentioned Macías (though he will end up in Europe sooner rather than later), as well as striker Leo Ramos and Ismael Sosa.
A Liga MX striker apparently not going anywhere is Rogelio Funes Mori. The Monterrey scorer just moved past Mario de Souza “Bahia” into second on the club’s all-time goal-scoring list and trails only Humberto “Chupete” Suazo.
The 28-year-old Argentine told reporters he has no plans to leave Liga MX and his goal is to become the top scorer in franchise history. Funes Mori now has 97 goals in all competitions since joining Monterrey in August 2015. Suazo has 121 goals.