Brian Rodríguez turns down Ajax, stays put at América

The rumor had been circulating for weeks: Brian Rodríguez, América's standout performer to start the tournament, had an offer from Ajax of the Netherlands on the table. Well, the saga is over, and it ended happily for the club's fans. Guillermo Almada confirmed that "Rayito" is staying put at Coapa.

The Uruguayan coach was direct in explaining the reasoning: the decision came from the player himself, not from the front office or a collapsed negotiation. In fact, he revealed that several teammates had approached Rodríguez to try to talk him out of leaving.

He's not leaving, that's his choice, he feels happy, comfortable, we all talked to him, tried to convince him, surely, if he keeps playing at this level, more relaxed, offers from very important clubs are going to come his way, well, it gives us satisfaction that he's staying with us, we're thrilled with the level he's showing.Guillermo Almada

Brian Rodríguez's form is no accident and no passing whim. The Uruguayan has become a key piece of the Eagles' attack, and cutting short that growth with a move to Europe would have been, at the very least, a risk. Almada knows it, which is why he stressed the need to stay grounded despite the team's strong current form.

We have to keep our feet on the ground, the same humility, there are things to improve, we struggled in the second half, we shouldn't have because we did good things in the first, these are signs that we need to keep improving, it worries us, very satisfied with the effort and the soccer, that's the path we need to keep following.Guillermo Almada

The other side: reinforcements needed

Not everything comes without a catch, though. América sits atop the table unbeaten and has already reached the Leagues Cup semifinals, but Almada held nothing back when he called for reinforcements. The reason? The need to stop improvising in certain positions and to raise the level of internal competition within the squad.

The Uruguayan strategist was clear: he has quality players, but he's often forced to shift them out of their natural positions to cover gaps. That, in the long run, concerns him with a demanding stretch of the season ahead.

Yes, we need them, some players with different characteristics than the ones we have, many times I have to improvise, players who can play, because they have a lot of quality, in a position that isn't theirs, there are young players with good characteristics, but the idea is that we round out the squad so we keep growing as a team, so internal competition increases, so it gives us options to keep this run of good games going.Guillermo Almada

The coach also acknowledged the group's effort in recent matches, including the tough game against Puebla, where the opponent took the ball away from them and caused problems during key stretches. Even so, he praised the response from the players who got minutes.

With Brian Rodríguez locked in for the rest of the season and a transfer market that still has room to move, América's front office knows exactly what its coach is asking for: complete the squad so the team doesn't have to rely on patchwork solutions or improvisation in a tournament where, so far, the Eagles have done everything right.