Liga MX Transfer Talk: Champs challenged by Tigres

Time is running out across Liga MX. Contract time, that is. Expiring contracts come due on June 30, so teams and general managers must finalize extension deals or complete trades before players they hope to retain become free agents.

As for those free agents who are not on top of any teams’ wish lists, they’ll begin sweating over their destinations beginning next Wednesday.

At the top of the Liga MX heap, champions Cruz Azul are racing against time in a last-ditch effort to hold onto a key player – Ignacio Rivero – before attending to a couple of expiring deals.

But keeping Rivero in camp is not going to be easy since the Tigres are giving them a run for their money … emphasis on money … which the Tigres have plenty of.

Liga MX powerhouses in tug-of-war

Ignacio Rivero was a critical component of Cruz Azul’s rotation the past two seasons, playing in 13 games during the Guardianes 2021, eight as a starter. His versatility allowed coach Juan Reynoso to plug him in at either fullback slot or at multiple spots in midfield.

Rivero, however, was with the Cementeros on loan from Tijuana though the Liga MX champs declared their interest in acquiring his rights by exercising the “buy-out” option. Since Rivero was keen on staying with Cruz Azul, it seemed a likely outcome until the Tigres entered the fray.

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The deep pockets of the ownership group headed by Cemex turned the Xolos’ head, but the Liga MX champs weren’t going to concede that easily. Cruz Azul team president Álvaro Dávila is reported to have made a final offer to keep the multi-faceted Uruguayan in Blue colors. The ball would seem to be in Tijuana’s court.

“La Máquina” management recognizes that a deal for Rivero would have to be followed by a sell-off since current club policy is to prioritize the bottom line, balance the books, so to speak. Those critical roster decisions will be forthcoming, but Dávila and general manager Jaime Ordiales must also finalize contract extensions for two soon-to-be free agents: goalie and team captain Jesús Corona and veteran fullback “Shaggy” Martínez.

The Tigres aren’t sitting still either. New coach Miguel Herrera would love to have Rivero in his locker room as he intends to reshape the midfield considerably. In the past few days, they’ve begun talks with the Pumas about Juan Pablo Vigón.

It would seem that “El Piojo” will try to inject more youth – and more offense – into the middle of the pitch where defensive-minded Guido Pizarro, 31, and Rafael Carioca, 32, have stood tall for the Tigres. Vigón and Rivero are both 29 and each is a solid two-way player.

The evolution of the roster was inevitable since the Tigres’ veteran roster is aging, but also because “El Piojo” prefers a more attacking style than the disciplined approach favored by “Tuca” Ferretti during his 11-year reign with “Los Felinos.” As a reflection of that, it’s no surprise that Herrera decided to keep 22-year-old attacking mid Leo Fernández who was thought to be headed back to Toluca.

Using Herrera’s América days as a guide, it is likely that “El Piojo” will use his midfield as the focal point. That three- or four-man line will swarm opponents to snuff out attacks, and will feed wingers and forwards swiftly to facilitate transition play, while also supporting the offense in and around the opponent’s box.

Unfortunately, the Tigres could without two primary offensive threats for the first three games of the upcoming Liga MX season as André-Pierre Gignac and newcomer Florian Thauvin have been given permission to play for France in the Tokyo Olympics.