Not so fast! War sanctions thwart Chávez move to Dinamo Moscow

Not even 24 hours after Pachuca’s Luis Chávez appeared on his way out of Liga MX and en route to Europe to join Dinamo Moscow, that deal looks to be scuppered.

Now the 27-year-old midfielder might have to contemplate continuing his career in Liga MX, although it might not be with the Tuzos.

Chávez had agreed to terms with Dinamo (a four-year contract) and Pachuca owner Jesús Martínez was doing his best to finalize tyhe transaction.

Reports earlier in the week had the deal all but done and Luisito was packing his bags for the trip abroad, only for geopolitics to get in the way.

Ukraine invasion blowback hits Chávez

While it is assured that Martínez was negotiating in good faith, the Tuzos boss was eventually forced to back away. The sticking point was not money per se, but how it would be transferred.

Because of the sanctions imposed on Russian banks, Dinamo Moscow was unable to come up with a reliable method of paying the Liga MX club.

The sanction in question is the SWIFT ban foisted on 10 Russian and four Belarusian banks in response to the war of aggression on Ukraine.

The injunction prevents these banks from making or receiving international payments using SWIFT, the messaging service that substantially facilitates information exchange between banks and other financial institutions.

As a result, these banks can neither get foreign currency nor transfer assets abroad.

With no feasible way for the Russian club to deliver the funds to Pachuca, the Liga MX franchise was forced to cancel the deal.

Beyond the difficulty of making the necessary payment to the Tuzos, Chávez also would have been put in a tight spot. The sanctions would have made it extremely difficult for him to get his money home.

In steps a Liga MX suitor

Even before confirmation of the snag in negotiations, Monterrey had announced it would not desist in its pursuit of the Liga MX All-Star.

And as word began to trickle out that the financial sanctions were posing to be a substantial roadblock, Rayados GM José Antonio Noriega told reporters he would be working to convince the Tuzos to accept their rather substantial offer.

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In recent years, Monterrey has consistently boasted payrolls in the top five of the league. In fact, last season the Rayados wage packet was tops in Liga MX.

Though details have not been revealed, it is said that Monterrey’s offer to Pachuca and Chávez is larger than that submitted by Dinamo Moscow. Of course, the attraction for Chávez was of fulfilling his dream of playing in Europe.

After starring at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Chávez turned down a trade to Monterrey in hopes of a move to Europe. He spent last season with Pachuca, the reigning Liga MX champions, who came up short in their bid for back-to-back titles.