Pedro Aquino, for two years, was wanted by Cruz Azul and now he will have to face him wearing the colors of America
MEXICO CITY – Pedro Aquino has established himself in his first tournament with America as one of the best footballers not only in the team, but in the MX League, and the Peruvian midfielder is ready to prove on Saturday in the most difficult test for the Eagles so far this semester , when they receive Cruz Azul from the 12 consecutive victories.
It’s certainly nothing new, but what few know is that Pedro Aquino became the object of desire for La Máquina Cementera for two yearsAlthough several different directors negotiated, showed interest, made offers and / or simply had as a player still as a backup option, the reality is that Aquino has become a kind of “frustrated dream” for Cruz Azul.
Several sources confirmed by ESPN they counted details about the interest that existed in the signing of Aquino since the beginning of 2018, when he came from a very good tournament with Lobos BUAP, after which Club Rayados de Monterrey, the owner of his federal rights at the time, will decide whether to add him to the team or sell him to another interested team.
This was the first time La Maquina had him in his portfolio, with sporting director Eduardo de la Torre in his last months in charge, although the first official talks were held even when Ricardo Peláez arrived at the heavenly club as a replacement for “Yayo” from Torre, on May 7, 2018, sources said ESPN.
“Actually there was a pre-contract, from May 14, 2018, in which Aquino was already practically arranged with Cruz AzulIt was the signatures and even the copy of the player’s passport in a document stapled in a file, but something happened that León managed to close the negotiation with Rayados first “, declared a source consulted by this environment.
Cruz Azul was willing to sign the Peruvian midfielder as the first weapon in Peláez’s “bomb”, but something blocked the operation between Cruz Azul and Monterrey, so the 23-year-old footballer and his entourage considered it a good leap. in his career. career to go to Club León, for which he signed the contract on May 17 and the next day was announced as a new player La Fiera.
Almost two weeks later, on May 31, La Maquina formalized the signing of the Argentine Iván Marcone, in a summer in which he will invest a lot by hiring elements such as Pablo Aguilar, Roberto Alvarado, Elías Hernández, Misael Domínguez, Igor Lichnovsky and Milton Caraglio , among others.
However, throughout the entire stage of sporting director Ricardo Peláez and coach Pedro Caixinha, ie From the beginning of 2018 until September 2019, Cruz Azul kept Aquino in his portfolio because he was considered an AAA player (one of the best in his position in the MX League) in the possible reinforcements in the heavenly institution.
For the second half of 2019, the cement slab will make a new effort to hire Pedro Aquino, when he was already considered one of the best central midfielders in the MX League, but this time the economic factor was an impediment, because , for more than half of his three-year contract with León, President Esmeralda Jesús Martínez Jr. set an exit value close to $ 8 million, “something Cruz Azul was unwilling to pay,” a source said. ESPN.
“In fact, there were new meetings and discussions, there was a formal interest, it was only in the transition between the departure of Ricardo Peláez (September 2019) and the arrival of Jaime Ordiales (December 2019),” added another informant. “However, there were a few intermediaries from the club and the negotiation did not take place directly with the president ‘Billy’ Álvarez, for whom they spoke only about a maximum budget figure and would no longer be paid for the player.”
Once again, Cruz Azul covered this inability to score Aquino with another very talented player, Luis Romo, who signed with La Maquina in December 2019 for about $ 6.5 million and was one of the most prominent players. since then.
For the summer of 2020 and the end of the year, Cruz Azul had a small budget and could not compete with America, who signed the Peruvian midfielder in December last year and finally managed to find a replacement for Guido Rodríguez, who left Betis de Sevilla in January 2020.
On Saturday, at the Azteca Stadium, Pedro Aquino will play his first young classic, although, by chance, he will do it dressed in yellow and not blue, as it could have happened.