Mexican league clubs have always tried to sign foreign soccer stars to make an impact in the transfer market and, of course, improve their squads. Iván Zamorano, Pep Guardiola and Ronaldinho are just some of the star players who played in the Liga MX. However, not all of them have a successful stint in the country.
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Mexican players that won in Europe's top leagues
In this case, we will talk about a striker who arrived in México from Europe and became one of the best players of the league in recent years. A Frenchman who snubbed offers from other clubs to sign for Tigres, where he will be remembered forever by the team fans. We are talking about André-Pierre Gignac, one of the best strikers in the league.
Gignac holds the 2019 Liga MX Clausura tournament trophy.
After scoring 21 goals in the 2014/2015 season with Olympique de Marseille in the Ligue 1, finishing even ahead of both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, Gignac signed for Tigres after rejecting offers from the Premier League. Fans of the Mexican team went to the airport to give him a hero’s welcome. And luckily for them, the reality exceeded the expectations.
Since his arrival, Tigres won four league titles and three Campeón de Campeones trophies. Also, the team reached the Copa Libertadores final in 2015 and the CONCACAF Champions League final three times. Gignac was a key player in all of these achievements, scoring goals and even winning individual awards for his talent.
His average in Tigres so far is 0.56 goals per game. He was included in the Best XI of the Liga MX in every season since his arrival and won the Golden Ball award for the best player of the league in 2016. He finished as the leading goalscorer of the entire Mexican season twice, including the 2019 season. There’s no doubt that the 34-year-old Gignac is still a very talented striker but, ¿how much longer is he going to stay in Tigres?
