With his departure to European soccer, Mateo Chávez joins a select club of players from the Cantera Rojiblanca who have emigrated to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean to put the name of Chivas on a high level. The Dutch football will now enjoy the versatility of this left back, who becomes the most recent export of the Rebaño Sagrado.
In total, 14 of the Rebaño's youth players have made the jump directly from Mexico's most popular and beloved team to the old continent, a list that Eduardo 'Yayo' De la Torre inaugurated in 1987 with his incorporation to Xerez of Spain. The decade of the 90's brought two more transfers to Europe, as José Manuel 'Chepo' De la Torre signed for Oviedo and Pedro Pineda became the first Mexican to wear the shirt of AC Milan in 1991.
With the arrival of the new millennium and also the beginning of the Vergara era in Guadalajara, 11 Mexican players have represented the Rebaño Sagrado in Europe. The first was Carlos Vela, who signed for Arsenal in 2005. Subsequently, PSV Eindhoven took Carlos Salcido and Francisco Javier 'Maza' Rodríguez, while Manchester United and Don Jorge Vergara (r.i.p.) shook Mexican soccer in 2010 with the transfer of Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández.
Now it is Mateo Chávez's turn to proudly wear the Chivas colors at the highest level, which he has inherited from his family and has represented with great form in every game he has played for Guadalajara.
Canteranos Rojiblancos who went from Chivas to Europe
Player / Club he signed for / Year of signing
- Eduardo De la Torre / Xerez C.D. / 1987
- José Manuel De la Torre / Real Oviedo / 1988
- Pedro Pineda / AC Milan / 1991
- Carlos Vela / Arsenal / 2005
- Carlos Salcido / PSV Eindhoven / 2006
- Francisco Javier Rodríguez / PSV Eindhoven / 2008
- Omar Bravo / Deportivo La Coruña / 2008
- Chicharito Hernández / Manchester United / 2010
- Ulises Dávila / Chelsea / 2011
- Raúl Gudiño / FC Porto / 2014
- Marco Fabián / Eintracht Frankfurt / 2016
- Bryan Salazar / Feirense / 2019
- José Juan Macías / Getafe / 2020
- Mateo Chávez / AZ Alkmaar / 2025
Players who went from Chivas to Europe
Player / Club he signed for / Year of transfer
- Carlos Salcedo / Fiorentina / 2016
- Oswaldo Alanís / Real Oviedo / 2018
