Liga MX has already decided to increase its roster to 22 teams by 2026 or later in 2027, but this does not mean that there are options to revive the promotion or relegation. On the contrary, the only way to participate in the top circuit of soccer in Mexico will be through the purchase of a franchise, as is Atlante’s intention for the season after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.
The above arises from credible sources that are involved in this project that requires the famous investment fund that will be carried out by the American company Apollo Global Management, which has promised an injection of 1.3 billion dollars starting in 2026, but with the primary condition that there is no rise and fall, as well as that timeshare, disappears.
With this decision, the sporting ambitions of the Liga Expansion MX teams to obtain a place in the Liga MX by winning the championship title on the field will be buried, especially because after analyzing all the franchises in the immediately lower division, except for Atlante, UdeG, and Morelia, the rest are far from being able to respond to the demands established by the American company to include them in the project.
The investment fund is delayed
So far, it has also been unofficially reported that the investment fund is delayed due to various factors. First of all, in the face of the demand for a detailed report of the teams’ finances, income, and expenses, as well as an audited report, as well as the report of the current payment of their taxes, is where some teams have been stuck in delivering these reports.
Especially because unofficially it is claimed that there are teams like Cruz Azul that have not been able to clarify their internal conflicts and their relationship with the current Mexican government, but above all, they have not allowed their finances to be audited from the period prior to the current board of directors headed by engineer Victor Velazquez.
Teams such as Tigres, Monterrey, Tijuana, Queretaro, Puebla, and Pumas, among others, have also been added to the Maquina Celeste, which for different reasons have delayed the delivery of their reports:
Santos Laguna: Recent fiscal problems reported by the Mexican government itself have caused a fiscal re-evaluation of the Club.
Pumas UNAM: Inconsistencies have been found, which, although not serious, do lead to an analysis of the results. Mainly, the integration of UNAM itself within the supervision of the Club is being analyzed, for example, it would be “impossible” for the University to sign players.
Puebla: It is the team with the greatest number of irregularities. In addition to truncating and refusing to sell the stadium through timeshare, its financial statements do not agree internally, although they do agree with the government. This has led to an investigation that the team itself refuses to carry out.
Queretaro: Grupo Caliente, is the most affected by timeshare. Although it passed the tax assessment, a specific situation was found the payment of salary arrears from Tijuana.
Cruz Azul: In the case of Maquina Cementera, this will mean that the numbers of the administration of the former general director of the Cruz Azul cooperative, Guillermo Alvarez Cuevas, who was in power for around 32 years and with whom there is currently a legal conflict, will be known in depth.
Rayados de Monterrey: Conflict with the amounts that Tigres will receive from the investment fund.
Tigres: The same cause as the Rayados de Monterrey due to the great rivalry they have with the team led by Grupo Femsa.
Atlantean case
Returning to the case of Atlante, it is assumed that the Potros already have a guaranteed spot through the purchase of one of the franchises that Liga MX has in deposit, such as the case of Veracruz, among some others, due to its serious debt problems with players and other types of creditors.
On the subject of timeshare, such as that of the Pachuca Group, with the Tuzos and Esmeraldas del Leon, as well as the Orlegui Group with Atlas and Santos Laguna, the Caliente Group with Queretaro and Xolos de Tijuana, the Azteca Group with Mazatlan and Puebla.
Obviously, the North American investment group’s demands are not flexible, so the purchase of franchises can be done wholesale, as long as they comply with the specifications they have compiled in order to authorize the appearance of a new team in the top league of Mexican soccer.
But at the end of the day, all of these factors result in the end of promotion and relegation, with no turning back, and the sporting aspect of Liga MX is not important, only the economic aspect with decisions as radical as the implementation of a tournament like the Leagues Cup that has not brought any benefit to the Liga MX teams as was evident in the recent edition of this competition between teams from Mexico against those from Major League Soccer (MLS).
The latest failure of the Liga MX teams in the Leagues Cup and the recent elimination of the Mexican national team in the 2024 Copa America, has put the high commissioner of Mexican soccer, Juan Carlos “La Bomba” Rodríguez on the spot and the only solution to recover his credibility is this investment fund that benefits the finances of the teams, regardless of leaving aside the sporting development of Mexican soccer.
