Cruz Azul’s $100m trophy
Since December 2023, Cruz Azul has invested heavily in high-cost signings. But the team’s results still don’t reflect the scale of the spending.
Cruz Azul decided to change course at the end of 2023 with the arrival of Iván Alonso as sporting director. The mandate was clear: build a competitive roster through aggressive investment, strengthen key areas, and raise the team’s individual quality to contend for everything in Liga MX and internationally.
Since then, Los Cementeros have become major players in the transfer market. Names like Giorgos Giakoumakis, Gabriel Fernández and Mateusz Bogusz have arrived at La Noria with multi‑million‑dollar price tags. In total, the club has spent close to $100 million, according to an ESPN analysis - an amount rarely seen in Mexican soccer.
But on the field, the return on investment is starting to draw scrutiny. So far, all that spending has produced just one trophy: the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup. An important achievement, yes, but not enough for a project built to dominate domestically and restore Cruz Azul as a consistent powerhouse in Liga MX.
Cruz Azul’s most expensive signings of recent years:
José Paradela – $12 million
Jesús Orozco Chiquete – $11 million
Giorgos Giakoumakis – $10 million
Gabriel Fernández – $10 million
Mateusz Bogusz – $9 million
Joaquín Márquez – $4.5 million
Wilmar Dilla – $4.5 million
Omar Campos – $4 million
Luca Romero – $3.5 million
Jorge Sánchez – $3 million
Cruz Azul coming up short in Liga MX
The picture is striking. Signings north of $10 million sit alongside mid‑range bets that have yet to fully pay off. Players like Giakoumakis, Fernández, Bogusz, and Luka Romero were brought in to make an immediate impact, but the team’s overall play has lacked consistency and a sustained identity in domestic competitions.
In Liga MX, La Máquina continues to fall short. Early exits, erratic performances, and a persistent sense that the squad is worth far more than what it shows on the field have begun to wear down the narrative of the project. The investment is there, the talent is there, but the equation still isn’t adding up.
Time is ticking, and the pressure is rising. Alonso bet big, and Cruz Azul opened its wallet like rarely before in its modern history. Today, with nearly $100 million spent, expectations could not be higher. Competing isn’t enough anymore - not even winning in CONCACAF is enough. Fans expect La Máquina to turn that spending into sustained results and, above all, championships that justify one of the most ambitious investments in Mexican soccer.
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