Pachuca president Jesus Martinez said Thursday that the joint MLS–Liga MX Leagues Cup tournament is still far from having the financial benefits that Mexican clubs once enjoyed as participants in the Copa Libertadores — South America’s Champions League.
“It’s not the business they say it is. It’s better for me to return to the [Copa] Libertadores,” Martinez told ESPN’s “Futbol Picante” after Pachuca were knocked out of the Leagues Cup round of 32 by the Houston Dynamo.
“First, because of sporting matters, and second, I’m just going to give you an example: We would have to play 10 Leagues Cup matches, for one Libertadores match.”
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Mexican clubs competed in the prestigious Copa Libertadores from 1998 to 2016.
In recent days, Mexican media has questioned the efforts of many Liga MX clubs in the Leagues Cup and implied that the priority is a financial one due to the games only being hosted in the U.S. and Canada.
“Don’t confuse people, right now that’s not the business. It’s a project that’s there so that tomorrow it can be a great commercial and sporting project,” Martinez said, arguing against the notion that it’s currently a profit-heavy competition.
“It’s a start and every start is difficult.”
Pachuca, given a bye to the knockout round due to having Liga MX’s highest aggregate points total in 2022, are one of five Mexican teams that have so far suffered Leagues Cup round-of-32 exits at the hands of MLS clubs.
Following a loss to Charlotte FC on penalties on Thursday, Cruz Azul manager Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti argued that Liga MX no longer has the upper-hand over their MLS counterparts.
“Many still think that Mexico continues to be the giant in the region. That no longer exists, it is totally over,” Ferretti said. “There are no giants in this region,”
Querétaro, after defeating fellow Mexican side Pumas on Thursday, are currently the only Liga MX team that have qualified for the round of 16.
Liga MX’s León (vs. Real Salt Lake), Tigres (vs. Vancouver Whitecaps), Monterrey (vs. Portland Timbers), Toluca (vs. Sporting Kansas City) and Club América (vs. Chicago Fire) will play their respective round of 32 matches on Friday.
The Leagues Cup, which is featuring all MLS and Liga MX clubs for the first time, is a month-long “World Cup-style” tournament. The top three finishers will gain entry into next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
