Liga MX continue unilateral restructuring: Monarcas Morelia to reportedly become Mazatlan

If you didn’t think the 2020 Liga MX horror story could go any further, you should definitely think again. Now there are even state governors confirming news to the media before anything has even become official. Sinaloa governor Quirino Ordaz, stated they have advanced negotiations with a few Liga MX franchises to ultimately bring soccer back to Sinaloa. Many have rumored those teams to be Morelia, Puebla, and Queretaro.

But what would this mean to an already immensely stained league? Nothing in reality. Just another ill-made transaction. Just another franchise relocating and leaving that city’s fans completely empty-handed and wondering, ´What happened? ´ In this case, the rumors make it appear to be one of the more historic franchises to ever come to be in Mexican football, Monarcas Morelia.

After being relegated to Second Division back in 1968, Morelia would take thirteen years (1981) for them to finally regain promotion back to the top tier in Mexican Football. After navigating through mediocrity in the 80s and the first half of the 90s, it was finally in 1996 when the course of the franchise changed for the following years. Thanks to TV Azteca buying the team, it slowly began to flourish into a contending team. They ultimately obtained their first and only league title in 2000.

After a very competitive 2000s decade, constantly contending and putting together great results, Morelia clearly began to decline following the acquisition of Atlas by TV Azteca in 2013. Atlas, a team with more history and tradition than Morelia, clearly became the “team of preference” if you can call it that at all, and Morelia’s top players were all sold or let go, sending the franchise right back to the position it was in when the TV station first acquired it. A total shame and disappointment for the city and the fans.

Like it or not, those tremendously successful seasons they had, despite lacking more titles, gained them a solid fanbase which still remains today. What the Liga MX is allowing with these kinds of transactions is for an entire fanbase which has been around for at least 40 years to be left with nothing. And the operation would make sense, considering Atlas is the main investment for TV Azteca, leaving Morelia as the third wheel in the relationship.

So, Morelia appears to be the chosen team to become Mazatlan and fill that 25,000-capacity new stadium they’ve been working on for the past year or two. What’s next, a revival of Veracruz? Oh, wait, what’s this? The Sevilla FC front office appear to be in search of international expansion, looking to purchase different franchises around the globe, in this case Mexico. Similar to what Atletico de Madrid did back in 2017 by purchasing Atletico San Luis, with the exception that they obtained the team in Ascenso MX and won their promotion to Liga MX. In other words, they did it the way it’s supposed to be done. Amount of over $20 million USD are said to be owed between affiliation fees and current debt. They ultimately confirmed that the COVID-19 is indeed what is causing them to take a step back before unloading such a considerable investment. Once things get back to normal, expect that move to happen soon, because Liga MX officials certainly aren’t getting in the way of it.

And just like that, the Liga MX continues to allow others to handle and fiddle with it in any way they desire. Of course, the Mazatlan purchase means money for the league, money which they are not receiving currently thanks to the world-wide pandemic we are going through. So, it’s not like the league isn’t winning from this. They know exactly what they’re doing. The problem is the way they continue to play with fanbases around the league, and with no consideration whatsoever, allow these kinds of transactions to be made in the blink of an eye. No loyalty or support to historic franchises whose fans are a large part of why the league has been in business for so many years.

It doesn’t stop amusing many how the league continues to shake things up at will, even when so many are against those same things they are shaking up. Expect many more changes and surprises to come from now until August, as the league has found comfort in doing and allowing anything they deem justifiable during this uncertain time for so many. “La Monarquia” as we know it, may have played their final minutes in Mexican football.