Owner of Group Pachuca Jesus Martinez revealed he would be willing to sell the control of Club León in order to participate in the upcoming edition of the Club World Cup.
“We told them [FIFA] that we informed at the last Liga MX owners’ meetings that León is the team we are going to sell control of,” said Martínez after the draw for next year’s tournament celebrated in Miami on Thursday.
FIFA is currently investigating CF Pachuca and León, as the two fall under the ownership of Group Pachuca and therefore break the tournament’s “multi-property” regulations.
For both Liga MX teams to participate in the upcoming Club World Cup, Pachuca and Leon must prove they operate as separate entities and without the influence of each other.
“We plan to give up the majority stake in the club [León] before 2027. However, I think we’re going to maintain some kind of sports control. What we want is to contribute to the growth of the Mexican league, and if they see that multi-property can have a negative impact, we’re willing to help in every way,” added Martinez.
Martinez emphasized that Pachuca will begin preparing for the Club World Cup right away, despite the uncertainty of their involvement. The team will face Real Madrid, Al Hilal and RB Salzburg in Group H, while Leon will confront Chelsea, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie and Flamengo in Group D.
“Today it is about to play against Chelsea, which makes me very happy and I’m sure the people of León must be going crazy, based on what happened today.”
Pachuca president Armando Martinez confirmed the investigation remains ongoing, with open communication between the clubs and FIFA.
“They [FIFA] have been very receptive and we have shown ourselves in everything we need to support and everything that has to be done so that a hobby is not affected so that a country is not affected and so that it is not affected,” said Armando Martinez.
Pachuca qualified for the Club World Cup when winning the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup in 2024, while Leon earned a spot in the tournament when lifting the CCC trophy in 2023. FIFA did not disclose the multi-ownership regulations when the two Liga MX teams secured a ticket to the tournament.
“We are in, until we hear otherwise we are in this tournament. We are conscious of what we’re playing for and we will prepare for that,” said club legend Luis Montes.
Despite the results from Thursday’s draw, sources told ESPN that the team’s participation in the tournament is not yet confirmed.
