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MLS continuing negotiations with ‘Cubo’ Torres

Erick Cubo Torres 22

Photo by Andrew Fielding/USA Today Sports
 

By FRANCO PANIZO

The deadline came and went, but Major League Soccer is still working on bringing back Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres.

MLS issued a statement via MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday saying that it was continuing to attempt to finalize a deal to have Torres return to the league in 2015. There was a Dec. 15 deadline for the league to sign the 21-year-old Mexican international on a permanent basis after seeing him play on loan for the past season-and-a-half, but that date passed without an agreement in place.

Still, MLS is not giving up in its quest to extend the stay of one of the more promising attackers in CONCACAF.

“Over the past several weeks, MLS has been engaged in discussions with Erick Torres and Chivas de Guadalajara regarding the league’s option to acquire his contract,” read the statement. “Although no agreement has been concluded, these discussions are continuing.”

Torres arrived at the now-defunct Chivas USA from Liga MX outfit CD Guadalajara in July 2013. He scored seven goals in 15 games that season, and continued to turn heads this year by finding the back of the net 15 times in 29 games for a struggling Goats team.

Torres’ performances saw him earn his international debut with Mexico in September, and he scored his first goal at that level in a 1-0 victory over Panama the following month.

Currently, Torres is training with Chivas de Guadalajara in an effort to stay fit and sharp while his immediate future gets decided.

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How do you see this ending up? Expecting Torres to return to MLS or will he wind up at Chivas de Guadalajara? Which MLS club could use him the most?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. This is a great opportunity for someone to explain to me how this process is supposed to work. Torres is negotiating with the league, but obviously he wants to choose where he actually plays. So how is that determined? And how is his salary determined? Is there an “allocation order” that lets individual teams decide whether they want him? What about different teams’ willingness to pay him? Are there actual rules to determine any of this? I am not being snarky here, but MLS should be explain to explain how this works.

    Reply
    • They don’t have rules for this scenario, they’re just going to make up something after the fact to justify whatever they decide to do.

      Reply
      • That may well be how it ends up working, but I don’t even know how it’s supposed to work under the applicable rules (if any). Quit Whining castigates me for complaining about this, but to me it’s real problem when your own fans don’t know how a star player might or might not end up on their team, and posts on stories like this say things like, “Hey Garber, send him to my team.” That is a terrible perception for MLS.

    • *And yes, I know LA has a 3rd DP slot open. I’m working under the assumption that – as Bruce Arena has state – LA is seeking an “elite” player to mitigate the loss of Landon.

      Reply
  2. Keep him in LA! He knows the city, performed well, there is a large Mexican population and he will have Arena and Keane to learn from. Makes too much sense. Apologies to every other MLS team!

    Reply
  3. First if all, cubo can easily plain in Spain, of course for a low table team but he can easily play and make lots of money in ligaMX, or even in holland.
    My point is, if cubo Torres signs for MLS then that could be a starting point for other mexican stars to come to MLS. ( instead of mexican rebounds and more Blancos)
    To be honest, a lot of people start bashing me after I say, Giovanni do santos and memo Ochoa from Mexico would come to MLS for the right amount if money since the World Cup is too far away.
    Giovani practically only makes good money in Spain and won’t win titles.
    Guillermo memo Ochoa is a goalkeeper who wants money and loves the spotlight, so a big city would definitely be his thing.
    Other “mexican stars” who would come would be denigris, Marco Fabian, Miguel layun, pulido. They would come for the right money and place. For example, if ligaMX is going to be going against MLS for dps, might as well get their talent, from Mexicans to Colombians.
    Another example, ronaldinho would of come to MLS but a mexican team gave him more money, same thing with camilo. A fore coming player battle is coming and that is robinho, ligaMX team want him and revolution as well.

    Reply
    • Ronaldinho decided to play in Mexico for less money than what MLS offered.
      There is more than money for some players. The quality of the league still matters for some of them.

      Reply
    • Cubo isn’t a star in Mexico, Ochoa sacrificed a massive salary with Club America just to go to Europe, Gio dos Santos has rejected MLS for years, De Nigris and Fabian aren’t stars in Mexico, Layun is the captain of the best team in Liga MX and one of the best in the Americas, do you think he is going to sacrifice that for money? Pulido has said his dream is to leave to Europe as well, Ronaldinho is making LESS money in Liga MX than what he would make in MLS, he said that the main reason to choose Liga MX is because he loves to play in Mexico and that the level is similar to the brazilian league, he even told Robinho that he should sign with a mexican club.

      Reply
  4. MLS, bring Cubo to Chicago. You absolutely owe us from the Jones bullcrap you put us through.

    Chicago is the third greatest city in the US, only behind NY and LA. Cubo will be an absolute dream fit for Chicago. Slot Magee in the midfield, pair him up with Shipp, and just feed Cubo goals. On and off the field is absolutely correct. The people of Chicago are growing impatient. Chicago is a market that needs to be huge again. And even Taylor Twellman on Twitter said it himself: MLS is a lot better on and off the field when the Chicago Fire are doing well.

    It’s not just about the Mexican population here, although it helps that Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods have the largest concentrated Latino population in the Midwestern United States. They are a voice that is largely ignored in politics, sports, and the arts in Chicago. Wonder why tickets and stadium attendance has not been great? Because the Fire need a player to draw people in, and Cubo can do it.

    Chicago has the largest Polish population in the WORLD other than Warsaw. If not Cubo, give us Lewandowski. The city prides itself with its neighborhoods, its ethnic diversity, and its sports teams. Give it to us.

    You owe us, MLS.

    Reply
  5. As a poster said pay him what he wants, if a has been in Oswaldo Sanchez is making close to 3 million a year, I’m sure MLS could afford to pay Cubo over 4 million.

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  6. need free agency. Then teams could bid for him and he could play for a team he wants to play for. It’s a weird concept called, a competitive market.

    Reply
  7. Seriously, he is worth a really BIG contract to this league. I’m talking seven figures–he’s a good player, but he’s a young El Tri player on the rise. He’s as good a gateway player as we’re going to get if we want to make inroads with Mexican fans in this country. Of course, Gio dos Santos or Chicarito would be better, but those guys are pipe dreams. As long as Cubo is getting time with the Mexican National team, he’s going to draw fans. Put him in Cali or Texas but there are Mexican fans everywhere in this country.
    Pay the man, make it happen….

    Reply
    • Cubo probably won’t play for Mexico’s senior squad until next WC cycle, he is below Vela, Hernandez, Dos Santos, Jimenez, Peralta and Jesus Corona.

      Reply
      • Corona as in Tecatito? I thought he was a Midfielder?

        I can see Cubo getting time…Peralta is getting old and not clicking as well as he use to now that he’s at America… and I don’t know…I see him making the team if he keeps scoring a bit more and consistently…

      • Corona played as a second striker with Mexico’s U20 like Gio dos Santos does. Also, you never know when a new Peralta is going to appear in Liga MX, Pulido could also win his case against Tigres. My point is that people expect Cubo to be a big player for Mexico and that way he’ll attract mexican fans but there is a reason why he isn’t a big name south of the border and no one except for Chivas (a team close to relegation) and MLS are fighting for him, if he was really as talented as people think more Liga MX teams would show interest.

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