James Rodríguez Signs with Liga MX’s Leon Club

James Rodríguez is heading to Liga MX. 

The 33-year-old Colombian professional footballer and Colombia  has signed with Liga MX‘s León, the Mexican club has announced.

James Rodríguez Recently a free agent after terminating his contract with Rayo Vallecano — who initially signed James in August — he will now join a León side that kicks off their 2025 Clausura run on January 18. 

“Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and Club Leon of Mexico have reached an agreement for the transfer of James Rodriguez,” the Spanish club said in a statement.

They did not give any details of the deal.

“From the club, we wish James the best of luck in his new stage,” the club added.

Eight-times Mexican champions León posted several images of Rodriguez on their social media accounts, but also did not give any details of the deal.

In June, León will then take part in the Club World Cup, beginning with group stage matches against Chelsea, Esperance de Tunis and Flamengo.

Rodriguez’s move to Mexico marks his sixth team since 2021 after playing for Rayo Vallecano, São Paulo, Olympiacos, Al-Rayyan, and Everton in recent years.

Earlier in his career, the Golden Boot winner at the 2014 World Cup was noted for high-profile runs through the likes of European giants such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The midfielder has also played for Envigado, Banfield, Porto, and Monaco.

With Colombia, Rodriguez has amassed 29 goals across 112 caps, including a successful run at last summer’s Copa América where his team lost to Argentina in the final.

 

Pumas UNAM In Talks to Acquire Adalberto Carrasquilla from Houston Dynamo FC 

Adalberto Carrasquilla may be switching sides and countries…

Liga MX side Pumas UNAM is in discussions with MLSHouston Dynamo FC regarding the possible acquisition of the 26-year-old Panamanian professional footballer, per ESPN sources.

Adalberto CarrasquillaAn ESPN source with direct knowledge of the talks says “there is still a ways to go” in terms of getting a deal completed. 

Carrasquilla has been with Houston for parts of four seasons, having initially impressed while on loan in 2021. He has since become a mainstay in manager Ben Olsen‘s squad, and was part of the Dynamo’s successful run to the 2023 U.S. Open Cup title. Carrasquilla’s time in Houston has seen him score 11 goals in 116 league and cup appearances.

The Panama City, Panama native began his professional career in his home country with Tauro FC in 2014. He spent two seasons in Spain with second-tier side FC Cartagena.

At the international level, Carrasquilla has represented Panama 63 times, scoring twice. He was part of the squad that eliminated the U.S. at last summer’s Copa América, though his red card against the USMNT meant he only made two appearances in the tournament.

Goal.com was among the outlets to first report Pumas’ interest.

Pumas, fresh off a quarterfinal finish in the 2024 Apertura, start the 2025 Clausura on January 12 against Necaxa.

Fernando Gago Named New Head Coach of Liga MX’s Chivas

Fernando Gago is headed to Liga MX

The Mexican soccer league’s Chivas have hired the 27-year-old Argentine football manager and former player as their new head coach.

Fernando Gago,Gago replaces Veljko Paunovic (21W-8D-13L), who mutually parted ways with Liga MX’s second-most successful side on December 15 after a disappointing quarterfinal playoff exit in the 2023 Apertura season. 

Although Paunovic initially exceeded expectations with a run to the 2023 Clausura final in his first season in charge, this season’s quarterfinal exit, coupled with a failure to qualify for the knockout round of the summer’s inaugural MLS-Liga MX Leagues Cup tournament, ultimately led to his departure.

Gago will now begin his third managerial job — and first outside of his home country — after previously leading Racing Club (2021-23) and Aldosivi (2021).

With Aldosivi, Gago produced inconsistent results and resigned in October 2021 after suffering seven defeats in a row.

Brought on by Racing Club weeks later, Gago closed out the 2021 Liga Profesional de Futbol season with a 3W-0D-5L record.

After mixed performances in 2022’s Copa de la Liga Profesional, Copa Argentina and Copa Sudamericana, Racing Club eventually gained steam with a second place finish in the 2022 league season, a Trofeo de Campeones title and a Supercopa Internacional championship in January 2023.

However, questionable results returned, including a 12th place finish in the regular season, which led to Gago’s exit in early October.

Despite being plagued by injuries as a player, Gago collected 61 caps for Argentina‘s national team, as well as a long list of club titles through Boca Juniors, Real Madrid and Velez Sarsfield.

The midfielder also played abroad for Roma and Valencia.

Chivas return to play in January for the 2024 Clausura season. The Guadalajara side are second in Liga MX’s all-time list for championships with 12, but have only lifted once league trophy since 2007.

On Sunday, historic rivals Club América secured their 14th Liga MX title after defeating Tigres 4-1 on aggregate in the 2023 Apertura final.

Fernando Hierro Named Sporting Director of Liga MX’s Chivas

Fernando Hierro is headed to Mexico…

The 54-year-old Spanish former soccer player and former Spain sporting director and manager has been named the new sporting director of Liga MX‘s Chivas.

Fernando Hierro Monday’s announcement comes less than a week after previous sporting director Ricardo Pelaez was fired and a day after the dismissal of manager Ricardo Cadena.

With Hierro in charge, Chivas’ new leadership will have a few months to prepare for the upcoming 2023 Clausura season.

“It’s a fantastic challenge,” Hierro said. “It’s a different project, a project that carries many millions of Mexicans in its soul.”

Well known for only using players with Mexican heritage, Chivas have a unique setup that relies on domestic talent.

Chivas has a massive following and the second-most Liga MX championships (12) in history, but have not reached a Liga MX final since winning the title in 2017.

Hierro will seek to revive the slumbering giants and his first major task will be bringing in a manager that can help with the process.

“We’re looking for a coach that knows how to work with young people, who knows the league or who has been working closely with the league, also, who has trained in the big leagues in Europe,” Hierro said about the managerial search. “Those are the characteristics we have in mind that the person must have.”

Chivas struggled to just five wins in the 2022 Apertura season as they limp into the play-in round of the playoffs with a ninth-place finish.

Against Puebla on October 9 in the first round of the postseason, Chivas finished with a 1-1 draw in regulation time before being knocked out 5-4 in an ensuing penalty shootout, denying them a place in the final eight of the Liguilla. Cadena and Pelaez were then fired last week.

Before taking over Chivas, Hierro had two previous stints with the Spanish Football Federation as sporting director from 2007-11 and 2017-18. In 2016-17, he managed Real Oviedo.

In the 2018 World Cup, the former Real Madrid player took charge as manager of Spain, stepping in at the final moment when Julen Lopetegui was fired before the tournament.

He made 601 appearances for Real Madrid during an 18-year playing career which saw him win three Champions League titles and five LaLiga titles. He also won 89 caps as a player for Spain.

Orbelin Pineda Joins LaLiga Side Celta Vego

Orbelin Pineda is heading to LaLiga

The 25-year-old Mexican professional footballer and Mexico international has joined LaLiga side Celta Vigo from Liga MX club Cruz Azul.

Orbelin Pineda 

The move comes after several months of rumors about a potential deal, with Celta confirming Pineda will have a five-year contract through June 2027.

Pineda’s career has been on the rise in the last couple of years for club and country and is expected to bolster Celta’s attack, playing on the wings or in a more interior midfield role.

With Cruz Azul, he was a key figure who helped them end their title drought through a Liga MX championship in the 2021 Clausura.

With the Mexican national team, he has recently established himself as a reliable option for manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino through six World Cup qualifying appearances in 2021.

At Celta, he’ll now be tasked with helping rejuvenate the Galician side that have made a very gradual and slow climb out of the bottom and into the mid-table of Spain’s top flight this season.

Pineda’s transfer is the first and only move so far of the winter window for a Mexican talent from Liga MX into a major European league.

Liga MX has proven to be an insular transfer market that can hold onto domestic names like Pineda, and in his case, the player had to wait until he was a free agent to make the leap to Spain.

Now at Celta, Pineda will play alongside fellow El Tri teammate, defender Nestor Araujo. Celta’s coach, Eduardo “Chacho” Coudet, also spent time in Liga MX through a short stint as manager of Club Tijuana in 2017.

https://twitter.com/RCCeltaEN/status/1479471663897100292

Martino Named Futbol Club Barcelona’s New Manager

Gerardo Martino is Barcelona bound…

The 50-year-old Argentine soccer manager and former midfielder, nicknamed TataGerardo Martino is Barcelona bound…

Gerardo Martino

The 50-year-old Argentine soccer manager and former midfielder, nicknamed Tata, has agreed to a two-year contract with Futbol Club Barcelona.

Martino, who led Newell’s Old Boys to the Argentinian Clausura title last season, was appointed to the post after it was announced on Friday that Tito Villanova would be stepping down after a recurrence of his throat cancer.

“FC Barcelona have reached an agreement to appoint Gerardo Martino as the new coach of the football team for the next two seasons. This agreement is pending the drafting and signing of the contract,” read a club statement.

Several coaches had been linked with the vacancy at the Liga champions, including Luis EnriqueAndre Villas-BoasMarcelo BielsaMichael Laudrup and Guus Hiddink, who resigned as coach of Anzhi Makhachkala on Mohas agreed to a two-year contract with Futbol Club Barcelona.