It's official: Ricardo Peláez will leave the sports presidency of América at the end of Clausura 2017
Five and a half years later, he will leave a club that he brought back to prominence and positioned as the most successful in Mexican football and the Concacaf. He had been contemplating this decision for months, because the wear and tear has been too much, and he needs a period of rest to reinvent himself.
Peláez believes that this is a good time to leave the position; he emphasizes that the decision is strictly personal and that the doors will be open for him to return in the future. However, he has confidence in the players and hopes they can bid him farewell as champions at the end of this tournament.
"I leave grateful and content, waiting to see what God has in store for me on my path. I am satisfied because we have left behind the most successful team in Mexico and in the Concacaf region. And even with the possibility of competing for this title, first we have to qualify on Saturday and fight to the death. We have reached an agreement and we will give our all to win another title," he said in an interview with La Afición.
The reasons are of a personal nature; apart from that, there is no underlying issue. The executive has told the top brass at Televisa that he needs to take a break on his journey. The almost five and a half years he has been in charge have worn him down, as the position demands a lot and the tension has been unrelenting during these years. For this reason, Ricardo has confided to his inner circle that he needed to stop, to leave now that the team is doing well, and not stay until things take a turn for the worse and he gets fired.
"I am leaving on good terms, I am leaving content. Yes, I feel sadness, I feel a deep affection. The players are like my children, I have told them this and I mean it. I spend a lot of time with them every day and I have become friends with all the staff, with the people. There are ways to leave, and I want to leave on good terms. I don't want to wait until the team is doing poorly and they decide to let me go. That is how I left as a player, and that is how I am leaving now."
In the upper echelons of the Televisa Board of Directors, they gave him the green light, especially because he was the executive who brought prominence back to the club and made it the most successful in Mexican football and the Concacaf.
Peláez assumed the position in November 2011 when América was going through a sporting and managerial crisis, dragging its reputation and occupying the last places in the league table. Since his arrival, the team has consistently qualified for the playoffs, and they are on the cusp of another one now.
Ricardo leaves the club with four titles, two league titles and two Concachampions titles, which allowed them to go to the Club World Cup on two occasions, in addition to two runner-up finishes. Under his leadership, there have been five coaches: Miguel Herrera, Antonio Mohamed, Gustavo Matosas, Ignacio Ambriz, and Ricardo La Volpe.
"I want to leave as a champion, and I will work relentlessly to achieve it along with my players and this coaching staff," he concluded.