Pachuca teammates and U.S. World Cup team members Jose Francisco Torres and Herculez Gomez have both been linked to moves to Major League Soccer in the Mexican media in recent days, reports both players are calling false and misleading.
Both players have just arrived in Dubai for the upcoming Club World Cup and both took the time out to clarify their situations. They each told SBI that while MLS is a league they would both like to play in eventually, neither has plans to join MLS in 2011.
"I have no immediate plans on a return to MLS," Gomez told SBI. "It's the league that formed me as a professional, and I plan on returning home. Just not as fast as some people are saying."
Torres also denied reports suggesting that he's ready to make a move to MLS in a bid for more playing time now that he has seen his minutes diminish at Pachuca.
"Right now I'm concentrating on extending my international career," Torres said. "MLS is an option. Just not an immediate one."
Torres' clarification will come as disappointing news to MLS fans who were eager to see the skillful central midfielder make a move to MLS, but he has made it clear that he plans on making a move to Europe before considering a move to MLS.
The reports linking Gomez to a return to MLS ignore the fact that it has been less than a year since he left MLS for a short-term deal with Puebla, where he flourished and won a share of the Mexican Golden Boot. That successful run led to a contract with Pachuca.
Torres and Gomez are in Dubai for the Club World Cup, where they and Pachuca will face the likes of Inter Milan and Brazilian powerhouse Internacional. Pachuca opens its tournament on Friday against African champions Tout Puissant Mazembe Englebert of Congo, with the winner taking on Internacional.