Another Chivas player departs ahead of the Apertura 2023

Sergio Flores, known to his team mates as “La Morsa” is set to spend the new campaign with Mazatlán. Chivas’ board announced on Tuesday that the midfielder will be leaving Veljko Paunovic’s team.

“Thank you for defending the rojiblanca shirt, Sergio. Today our paths separate, but I am sure that with your hard work and determination, you will continue to grow,” a message from Chivas on social media read. Almost immediately, his new club welcomed him on board with open arms: “We trust in Mexican talent, we trust in you Sergio. Welcome to Mazatlan”.

Flores had been a starter under previous Guadalajara coaches, who rated him for his passing ability. With the arrival of Veljko Paunovic, little by little he was relegated until he lost the starting position. Today, other players are before him in the pecking order.

The Serbian coach prefers Rubén González as his first choice in the centre of the park, and usually his substitute is Eduardo Torres. Sergio Flores dropped to become the third option in the position. With little chance of playing in Apertura 2023, he asked the club to release him so he could find more playing time elsewhere.

It means that four players have left the club during the pre-season - all of them homegrown players. The first to leave was central defender, Luis Olivas, who was also loaned out to Mazatlán. He had exactly the same problem as Flores of having lost his place in the starting line-up under Paunovic, finding himself without any way back into the team.

Then the departure of two youth team pearls - midfielder Sebastián Pérez Bouquet, who made a handful of appearances with the first team, and central defender Diego Campillo, who had yet to made his top flight debut. Both were champions with Tapatío in the Expansion League and were sent out on loan to Juárez for the next three tournaments. Pérez Bouquet without a purchase option while Campillo could be sold at the end of the loan deal.