Florian Thauvin's millionaire salary for which the Liga MX was able to boast in France

In recent days, Florian Thauvin's words have transcended in French media, where he was in charge of flattering Liga MX in every way, to the extent of putting the Mexican championship only below the best leagues in European football.

The world champion in 2018 indicated that he “would like to change the way the French look at Mexico”, as he disagrees that Aztec football is considered an “exotic” football. According to his interview for the newspaper L'Equipe, “it's a lack of culture and respect. Liga MX is the sixth world championship behind the European Big 5.”

These words were able to echo in French football thanks to the offer he accepted in July 2021, when his contract with Marseille in Ligue 1 ended and reached a powerful agreement with the UANL Tigers to learn about Mexican football.

And, had it not been for the millionaire salary offered by the team managed by CEMEX and Sinergia Deportiva, the French striker would not have landed in Monterrey as a brand new world champion.

According to Goal Mexico, the 29-year-old Frenchman negotiated a contract worth $6 million a year, which place him as the highest-paid footballer in the Liga MX and one of the best on the continent, as he would be above names like André-Pierre Gignac and Guillermo Ochoa.

This figure is equivalent to more than MXN 121 million pesos, but the most important thing was announced weeks ago, when Thauvin himself revealed that he had scrapped AC Milan's offer to opt for Tigres, since the Italian team had not defined its budget for the 2021-2022 season.

“My future was to be at AC Milan, but it took time because they didn't know their budget for next season. They didn't know if they were going to be in the Champions League. They had important players to extend. They asked me for time. April arrived and I didn't want to wait any longer,” he said for Canal Plus France.

According to Fútbol Total, Florian had only one concrete offer from the Rossoneri, which was around USD 4.3 million, which he scrapped to sign with the felines and thus prove the quality of Mexican football, in addition to having a salary close to that of the highest paid in AC Milan.

For this reason and in addition to the good references of Gignac, the Grenoble Foot youth player was able to continue his career in Mexico, where he learned about the quality of the feline squad and which allowed him to speak wonders about the league for the French media.

Among Florian Thauvin's most outstanding statements for L'Equipe, he highlighted his good quality of life in the north of the country and his passion for Aztec football.

“We make huge tables, our children live together in a fabulous panorama. Children are kings. My life is extraordinary, it would have been crazy to reject what I live. (...) The mentality is different from that of the locker rooms I've been to before,” he said.

He also emphasized the quality of squad that the felino team has, with the aim of showing off the good level that exists in Mexico: “In Tigres there are boys who have played in Villarreal, FC Porto, Sevilla. There are Mexicans, Argentines, Brazilians and French internationals. We have a great team,” said the winger.

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