Reports: Fox Sports in lead for Gallos Blancos bidding

According to multiple sources, Fox Sports Mexico owner Manuel Arroyo has made another formal offer to Grupo Caliente, current owners of Gallos Blancos de Querétaro, in his bid to acquire the troubled club. It would be the second attempt made by Arroyo, who had his first offer rejected in the owners’ assembly back in May, along with other supposed offers, when the club was initially expected to be sold.

The new bid and project by the Fox Sports owner is expected to be presented at the owners’ assembly on Monday, November 7th. Whether it’s approved and the change in ownership is confirmed immediately remains to be seen. Unfortunately, I don’t see that being the case, as this story’s outcome has been ill-advisedly stretched out as much as possible, and I don’t see any rush on any of the influential actors’ part in resolving this case soon. In the meantime, the ones left in disarray are of course, the fans.

Querétaro governor Mauricio Kuri has by default spearheaded this operation, continuously guaranteeing Gallos fans that no matter what happens, the franchise will remain in Querétaro. “What I know is that the Fox Sports’ owner approached the current owner to make an offer for the team. We’re still waiting for it to be accepted by the current owner and for the FMF to authorize the change,” were the governor’s exact words.

He also added that in his conversations with Grupo Caliente, they have manifested that if a new owner for the club can’t be arranged, they’d be willing to keep it themselves and continue operating it. Yikes. That makes no sense, especially considering their low level of investment and commitment in the club. Why they’d be willing to extend their misery is illogical. Not to mention, they haven’t even made a respectable team out of their own franchise, Xolos de Tijuana. Not a good option for Gallos in the least.

The governor correctly conditioned whoever ultimately ends up with the franchise by saying, “We need them to put together a good, competitive team, but overall, that represents the state in a worthy fashion because this team belongs to the people of Querétaro.” The issue is Querétaro fans have been expecting this for almost two decades now. In the end, however, we can’t forget these are just words. Whether the new owners will abide by that obviously will remain in a TBD status until proven otherwise.

Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

The fact there even is an interested buyer should flatter Grupo Caliente. You’re talking about a team that’s fielded Liga de Expansión caliber rosters over the past couple years and a half, getting progressively worse, and who ultimately finished four points adrift at the bottom of the league table, with their worse season in 10 years. A 1W, 6D, 10L record is by no means an attractive selling point. Not to mention, their 46 road game winless streak (5 full seasons) and the fact their best league finish since COVID began was 12th (just once). The other four seasons, they haven’t even done enough to play a Repechaje match. That just says how blatantly bad this team has been.

Now, let’s be honest. There’s no way Gallos are getting off the hook for paying a relegation fine this year, and will more than likely get the biggest punishment (80 million MXN) for finishing last in the race, as they’re way behind everyone else. Their only real shot would be to finish 16th (33 million MXN) or 17th (47 million MXN), reducing the financial hit. In order to achieve that, they’d need a solid 25-27 point season, combined with both Tijuana and FC Juárez finishing with no more than 15. It’s possible, but highly unlikely, given the last time they had that many points in a season was in the Apertura 2019, with then owner Grupo Imágen and head coach Vucetich. Oh how times have changed.

In the end, the worst thing that could happen to the franchise is for Grupo Caliente to remain with it. Any investor with fresh ideas and who’s genuinely interested in pulling this club out of the muck it’s dug itself in is what this club desperately hungers for, and it appears they’ve found that in Fox Sports, who’ve been televising their matches for over three years now and are closer to the club than one might expect. Apart from that, fans must trust Arroyo has their best interests in mind. Whether the owners vote fairly on making this a reality is a story best left for Monday to tell.