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Liga MX assembly addresses ‘glut’ of foreign players

By Thomas Buckley

Liga MX owners decided to gradually reduce the number of foreign players per team with the idea of boosting young Mexican players. (Photo by Angel Delgado/Clasos.com/LatinContent via Getty Images)
Liga MX owners decided to gradually reduce the number of foreign players per team with the idea of boosting young Mexican players. (Photo by Angel Delgado/Clasos.com/LatinContent via Getty Images) /
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Liga MX assembly 2
Queretaro finished the Apertura 2019 season as the No. 5 seed, but failed to get past Necaxa in the first round of the playoffs. (Photo by Cesar Gomez/Jam Media/Getty Images) /

Liga MX assembly approves ownership change

Five years ago, Grupo Imagen acquired majority ownership of the Gallos Blancos, reviving a storied franchise and bringing life back to Querétaro fans and their beloved Estadio Corregidora.

The new owners returned pride to the club which had suffered a blow to its prestige after previous owners had faced money-laundering allegations. But five years on, the organization decided it could no longer continue investing in the Gallos Blancos.

So up stepped Grupo Caliente – owners of the Xolos of Tijuana and Dorados of Sinaloa. The Liga MX assembly approved the transaction which will be finalized during the upcoming Clausura 2020 season. As part of the deal, Grupo Imagen (and Imagen Televisión) retains broadcast rights for the next four seasons.

Liga MX assembly 2
Supporters of Queretaro cheer their team during the Apertura 2019 tournament. (Photo by VICTOR CRUZ/AFP via Getty Images) /

Grupo Caliente first bought into professional soccer in Mexico in 2007 by acquiring Primera A club Guerreros of Tabasco and moving them to Tijuana. The Xolos earned promotion to Liga MX in 2011 and won the Liga MX title three seasons later (Apertura 2012) with Antonio Mohamed as coach.

The Hank Rhon family (the owners of Grupo Caliente) then purchased the Ascenso MX franchise based in Sinaloa in 2013 and came close to winning promotion to Liga MX in May with Diego Maradona as coach of the Dorados.

So now Grupo Caliente will boast two Liga MX teams beginning with the Apertura 2020 season.

More from Viva Liga MX

One result of the ownership switch was the departure of coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich who helped save the Gallos Blancos from relegation concerns. Reports indicate Vucetich was made aware that Grupo Caliente will be reducing the team’s budget and he was not interested in staying on without greater investment in the roster.

The new Querétaro coach will be José Guadalupe “El Profe” Cruz who had been coaching the Dorados. (Former Pumas coach David Patiño will be taking over as head man with Sinaloa.)

New Executives

The final bit of news coming out of the owners meeting was sort of clerical as two team executives announced their departure.

Morelia team president Alvaro Dávila is leaving his post after 22 years in the Monarcas front office. The team won its only Liga MX title under his leadership (). He is being replaced by Severino García.

UNAM will also have a new boss as team president Rodrigo Ares de Parga is leaving his post and has been replaced by Leopoldo Silva.

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