Carlos “Gullit” Peña won’t play in USL Championship and remains a free agent

It seemed like Carlos “Gullit” Peña had found a team where he could continue his career after Guatemalan side Antigua GFC decided to part ways with him in January, just a week before the Guatemalan league started.

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After two months looking for a new team, the 31-year-old midfielder started negotiating with USL Championship side Monterey Bay FC, who will play their first season in the United States’ second flight, after changing location and rebranding the team.

But after several weeks of conversations, they weren’t able to close the deal, as “Gullit” Peña wanted to arrive to the team as a Designated Player and be the highest-paid player on the roster, something that Monterey Bay never planned on doing.

According to reports from ESPN, Peña was expecting to earn an MLS salary and demanded to receive at least $1 million per season and given his refusal to negotiate a lower salary, Monterey Bay decided to not continue their relationship with the player. But now, Peña’s future could be in Mexico as a Liga de Expansión team wants to hire him.

Which team wants to add “Gullit” to their roster?

Reports suggest that CF Atlante are interested in adding the former Mexico international as their planning on having a big investment that will change the future of the franchise for the next season and having “Gullit” Peña on their roster is the first step.

According to sports journalist David Medrano, the idea of the Azulgranas would be adding him to their roster in the current season to start preparing to play in Mexico’s top flight next season, something they plan on doing even if there won’t be promotion/relegation system until 2023.

How are they going to achieve that?

Given the violent acts that took place last weekend in Querétaro, one of the repercussions Gallos Blancos will have is to sell the team, as it returned to their former owner Jorge Hank, who has until the end of 2022 to part ways with the team.

Emilio Escalante, Atlante owner, is one of the interested parties that want to acquire the team, as it will open the door for Atlante to return to Liga MX after eight years. If Escalante manages to buy the team, he will move it to Mexico City, where the Liga de Expansión franchise currently plays.

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