Víctor Montagliani, president of Concacaf, revealed that the possible return of the Liga MX teams will depend on confederation-level negotiations.
The President of Concacaf Victor Montagliani talked in an exclusive interview with Fernando Palomo from ESPN about the chances of Liga MX clubs returning to the Copa Libertadores. The head of the body that governs football in the region clarified that the return of Mexican teams to the South American league will be through the confederations and not the leagues.
Montagliani said they are focused on raising the level of the ‘Concachampions’ and stressed that the participation of Aztec clubs in a Conmebol tournament will depend on negotiations between confederations.
“For me when they talk about inter-club competitions, I am not going to talk to the clubs, they are confederation-level discussions. It is not correct for a club or a league to talk to a confederation and we are focused on our Champions League ”, he said.
On the other hand, regarding the upcoming merger between Liga MX and MLS, the president of Concacaf acknowledged that there are opportunities to unite both leagues and assured that this new league does not threaten the interests of the region.
“The Champions League is the only competition that can qualify for the World Cup for clubs. For us it is not a threat (merger), it is an issue that will have a possibility in the future, we are already talking to the leagues at the table, ”he said.
Regarding Tigres’ debut in the Club World Cup with a 2-1 win against Ulsan Hyundai FC, Montagliani praised the level of the feline team. and he felt that those led by Ricardo Ferretti have a real chance of progressing to the grand final.
“I think they are in good shape. Gignac is at a great level and I think they are going to play a great game against Palmeiras. I think they have a good chance of progressing to the final, ”he said.
Finally, Victor Montagliani spoke about the changes in the Champions League format and pointed out that the main goal of the adjustment is to raise the level of the clubs and national teams.
“For us it is growing at a football level. We have to grow at the national team level and also at the club level. There are more games for everyone, not just for Central America, but also for the Caribbean and the North, it’s to raise the level, ”he said.