The Mexican media today features the story of a player who rejected Manchester City so he could sign for Pachuca.
This sounds like an impossible thing to happen these days, and that’s why the decision of Harold Lozano deserves a bit of context.
The Colombian midfielder, who started his career at America, was in his country’s squad for the 1994 World Cup, and even scored a goal in the competition.
After that, he had a solid international career, playing for Palmeiras in Brazil, America in Mexico and Real Valladolid and Real Mallorca in Spain.
“It turned out that I ended up champion of the Copa del Rey, I was at Mallorca and there were many agents from England. There was one from Portsmouth, one from Manchester City, who although weren’t the club of now, they were a team of tradition. And there was another team I can’t recall. They all arrived at the Meliá hotel and I was talking to them and we were negotiating.”
The player explains that despite these clubs, Mexican side Pachuca have shown up in the race, and that’s when he took the decision to go back to Mexico.
“At that moment Miguel Calero calls me and says: ‘Do you want to come to Pachuca?’
“I said, ‘Well, I’m here in Europe, but if you’re going to offer me something better, I will go to Pachuca.’ And there he tells me ‘then wait, do not sign with anyone, the president of Pachuca is going to be there’, and Jesus Martinez and Andres Fassi arrived.”
Lozano ended up ending his career at Pachuca one year later.
