Cruz Azul and Chivas wanted him, and Matías Almeyda already decided his new team

After Chivas and Amaury Vergara decided to part ways with Marcelo Michel Leaño after 13 rounds of Clausura 2022, it only took a few days for Matías Almeyda to resign from San José Earthquakes, making everyone believe that he was ready to return to El Rebaño.

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During his first stint with El Rebaño Sagrado, Matías Almeyda helped them win their last Liga MX title in 2017, as well as the CONCACAF Champions League a year later and two Copa MX titles, being one of the most successful coaches in Chivas.

His numbers are more impressive if it’s taken into consideration that he did it in just three years, and even if he left El Rebaño on the bottom part of the table, he was able to return them to an intercontinental tournament, although he wasn’t there when they played in the FIFA Club World Cup.

But Chivas weren’t the only interested team in acquiring his services, as Cruz Azul, who still have Juan Reynoso under contract for the remainder of the year, are looking to change coaches once the season is over, since they’ve had irregular results.

Where will he coach?

Almeyda decided to step down from San Jose Earthquakes even if he was on the last year of his contract, as he knew that there wasn’t anything left that he could provide to the Quakes, but that didn’t mean that he was going to take time off from his coaching career.

Although he was expected to sign with a Liga MX team, as he was willing to arrive at Chivas, Amaury Vergara decided to let pass the option as he couldn’t leave behind the discussion that they had when the Argentine coach left the team.

Almeyda surprised everyone and instead of accepting Cruz Azul’s offer, he will have his first experience in European soccer, as according to sports journalist César Merlo, he already agreed to coach Greek side AEK Athens FC.

How much will he earn in Athens?

The arrival of Matías Almeyda to the Énosis will be for two years, tying him until the 2023-24 season. Given that the Greek league is not one of the biggest European leagues, he’ll have a salary around $1.5 million per season.

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