Through this winter transfer window a lot has been made about the lack of Mexican players or players from Liga MX for that matter that made their way to Europe. In fact, returns from Europe to Liga MX made a bit more headlines. A story that has sort of flown under the radar is that of Diego Gonzalez. If you didn’t know that name you’re not alone. It doesn’t seem like many top tier Liga MX teams had him on their radar either. Celaya of the Expansion League, Liga MX’s second tier found the wonder kid.
Diego is a 20-year-old Paraguayan winger with quite an eventful career up to this point. He was in the youth system of club Libertad, one of the biggest clubs in Paraguay. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic literally shut everything in 2020 the team had no money to sign him to a professional contract. As a free player he took his talents to Panama! At Potros del Este in Panama he made his debut for a top flight club when he was still in his teens.
Proving He Can Play Abroad
Gonzalez left his native land as a teen and never looked back. After having what we can assume are decent performances in Panama he was signed by a team in Peru. Off he went to play for Universidad de San Martin on loan. He was one of only around 2 foreign born players on the roster. For the most part the Peruvian league does not feature a ton of foreign born players. That speaks to the talent that the team saw in Gonzalez who was still a teen at this point.
Meanwhile, Celaya front office executives mentioned that they had met Gonzalez way back when he was in Paraguay. Team officials had traveled to South America prior to the 2020 season. Ultimately the whole abolishment of the second division in Liga MX to form the current Expansion League may have been the reason why Gonzalez ended up in Panama and not Mexico.
Celaya Picks Him Up From Peru
Celaya, who had been on Gonzalez’s trial for a while, ultimately bought him from Potros del Este in Panama after his time in Peru. It wasn’t necessarily his play in the Expansion League however that made Lazio and other teams interested in his services. While At Celaya Gonzalez would go play for Paraguay in the South American under 20 tournament. He played 4 games and found the back of the net once. That was enough for teams from different parts of the world to contact Celaya and ask about the player.
Offers From The MLS, Germany & Spain
According to higher ups at Celaya the performance put in by Gonzalez in the South American under 20 tournament was so impressive that the team got offers from clubs in Germany, Spain, and the MLS. As well as the Lazio offer which of course came from the Italian Serie A. Notably absent were the offers from Mexican clubs. In any case, they say that they decided to take Lazio’s offer because it seemed to be in the best interest of Gonzalez.
Maurizio Sarri, manager of Lazio reportedly wants to keep Gonzalez on his first team. Most of the other offers on the table wanted to integrate Gonzalez into their youth ranks. Something that Celaya executives felt was not ideal for their player at this time. Gonzalez is currently on loan at Lazio, but the deal reportedly includes a forced buyout clause. This essentially means that he’ll be an asset of the Italian club by the summer.
Se los encargamos @OfficialSSLazio 🤧.
— Club Celaya (@TorosCelayaCD) February 1, 2023
Prenditi cura di lui per favore. 🤌🏻#CelayaSiamoTori 🐃#CelayaSomosToros 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/cddwDoK5zO
Seemingly A Freak Situation
Can we look at this situation and imply that it’s easier for Expansion League players in Mexico to make the jump to Europe? While certain things have to happen, like playing in a showcase tournament such as the South American under 20 competition that Gonzalez took part in, there are elements that make the jump easier. For one, Gonzalez would not have been loaned out for under one million dollars if he had played in a Liga MX top tier team.
The price of Liga MX players is what a lot of times kills their chances to go to Europe. Cesar Montes’ sale to Espanyol for 8 million dollars was the largest transfer fee paid by La Liga teams this winter! There is an argument to be made then, that the jump from the Expansion League to Europe is easier!
