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Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández said on Wednesday that his signing with Atlético Dallas of the USL Championship, the second tier of soccer in the United States, restored his "desire to play" after a period in which he even considered retiring.
"They gave me back the desire to play soccer, it's that simple. If I took a sabbatical year, it was because I didn't want to play anymore and I was thinking about whether or not I was going to retire, because that's how I finished in Guadalajara, with no desire to want to play soccer," said the top scorer in the history of the Mexican national team during his presentation with the Texas franchise.
"I prioritized my mental health and my life by not playing soccer, and for this opportunity to suddenly arrive is a blessing. I look forward to waking up, going to training, being in the locker room and getting back on the pitch," added the former Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Manchester United player, among other teams.
Atlético Dallas, a newly founded club that will debut in 2027 in the USL Championship, announced 'Chicharito' this week as the first signing in its history, highlighting that the team and the player share the same values.
The Mexican striker, who will wear the number '14' jersey, joined the Texas team after seven months without a club following the end of his stint with CD Guadalajara last December, and working as a sports commentator during the last World Cup.
"After being 38 years old and not having two good years at Chivas, I decided to take a sabbatical year, so to speak. That a club generates all this movement speaks more positively about my career than negatively," explained 'Chicharito'.
He clarified that his signing with Atlético Dallas, on a two-year contract, aims to end his career "being happy" and enjoying soccer.
'Chicharito' returns to the United States after having played four seasons (2020-2023) for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS), and noted that his return comes at a time when soccer in the country is on the rise, with "great academies and universities training players" and several stars, like Lionel Messi, in the local league.
"You have great stars like Messi or myself, but you also need mid-level players to support the pyramid. That is something that, for example, stopped in Mexico when promotion and relegation were eliminated. Now in Mexico, they don't develop or export as many players as before because they don't have the opportunity to compete to move up in category," he lamented.
The USL Championship is a professional league that has been played since 2011, and it is currently one step below the MLS, which features big names like Messi, Luis Suárez, Heung-min Son, or Thomas Muller.
To compete with that league, the USL Championship will be almost completely restructured starting in 2028, incorporating a promotion and relegation system unprecedented in American professional sports.
[Publicidad]