MEXICO — Before each summer tournament of the Mexican National Team, one of the most common phrases among the players is the showcase that can represent a tournament such as the Copa América, a World Cup or a Confederations Cup. Before the one that was just played in Russia, several footballers aspired to change clubs in Europe with the intention of reaching a larger one or at least staying in the one they were in. The reality, however, was different after the fourth place in Russia, due to the arrival of players to the MLS and Belgium, something that was not budgeted at the beginning and with a year to go before the World Cup.
Not all cases have been the same, although it was a trend: Jonathan dos Santos and Carlos Vela ended up in the MLS, when they were regulars in their respective clubs and under 30 years old; Guillermo Ochoa shone again with El Tri, but the balance was to end up at Standard Lieja, after playing in Spain and France; Miguel Layún and Diego Reyes, who can still leave Porto, remain in Portugal, but without minutes on the field and with few options to really be regulars. Separate cases were those of Javier Hernández and Andrés Guardado, who did change their jacket and League, to go to West Ham and Betis, respectively.
Andrés Guardado and Javier Hernández at the Confederations Cup. Getty Images
The other examples of changes were presented before the Confederations Cup, so they did not require that ‘showcase’: Carlos Salcedo went to Eintracht Frankfurt, Héctor Moreno ended up at Roma, while Hirving Lozano fulfilled his dream of going to Europe with PSV.
The market will remain open until August 31 and some are still waiting for some movement, mainly those who are in Portugal, with everything and Raúl Jiménez, who is still at Benfica, with few minutes on the pitch and little chance of being a starter. These are some of the post Confederations Cup cases:
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Jona was called by blood
Despite the fact that in the last Confederations Cup, Jonathan dos Santos was one of the most regular and consistent players in the Mexican National Team, he accepted the Los Angeles Galaxy’s proposal to leave European football and his usual ownership with Villarreal, a club in who had a two-year contract. One of the reasons for this, playing again with his brother Giovani and the quality of life that the Californian city will have.
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Vela will live her American dream
For several years one of the most wanted men in MLS was Carlos Vela. After so much insistence and that desire to have the most outstanding Mexican players in their league, they managed to sign Carlos Vela, who will join Los Angeles FC in 2018, an expansion club that already has its first player. With a one-year contract with Real Sociedad. The ‘Bombardier’ accepted the offer and will play in the United States, a place he has accepted on several occasions that he would like to reach.
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Memo surprised with arrival in Belgium
As has been a constant in Mexican National Team tournaments in the summer, Guillermo Ochoa stood out thanks to his saves. His performances suggested a better future at a club bigger than Málaga, the team that lent him last season; however, just a few days after the Confederations Cup he accepted the offer from Standard Liege, where he has already played three league games.
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Reyes has not played and still has not changed teams
The former defender of América has been on loan for the last two years in the Spanish League with the intention of gaining more experience and having more rhythm in the game to later fight for a place in Porto. The reality, however, indicates that he has not played a single official match with the ‘Dragons’, and that for the moment, he is still not leaving for a new entity. The time to change course is less and less.
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Layún, many rumors and no changes
One more case from which some change was also expected was that of Miguel Layún, but so far there has been nothing. The side was away from Porto practically the entire second round of last season and throughout the summer there has been speculation about a supposed change, a situation that has not arisen for now. In the season that has already begun, he has not played a single game, although at least he was already summoned to the past against Tondela.
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