The real reason behind Diego Simeone’s decision of benching Héctor Herrera

Héctor Herrera arrived at Europe during the summer window transfer of 2013 out of CF Pachuca to FC Porto, where he rapidly become a fan favorite and even was named captain on his last seasons with the Portuguese team.

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But in 2019, he decided to pursue free agency and ended up signing with Atlético Madrid, where he was a regular for Diego Simeone on his first couple of seasons with Los Colchoneros and he even helped Atlético win La Liga last season, although things have changed this season, as Herrera has been erased by Simeone from the squad.

So far, Héctor Herrera has played only in 9 out of 20 possible games for Atlético in La Liga, and he was only part of 2 games during the stage group of Champions League, and the reason for his absence might be related to an outsider of the team, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who invested in the club as he helped build their stadium.

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Why did Simeone decide to leave Herrera without playing time?

Although the arrival of Rodrigo de Paul this season to Los Colchoneros has something to do with his playing time diminished, reports suggest that his arrival back in 2019 to the team was sponsored by Slim, as Atlético Madrid holds a debt of $230 million with Slim’s financial institution Inbursa. Simeone might be keeping Herrera out of the pitch as he doesn’t want a player imposed by an outsider.