Report: Cruz Azul interested in Felipe Gutierrez & Diego Rubio

The Chilean TV channel Canal del Futbol is reporting that Cruz Azul are interested in signing Sporting Kansas City’s Felipe Gutierrez as well as former SKC striker Diego Rubio.

Cruz Azul are looking for reinforcements ahead of the 2019 Liga MX Apertura which starts in July. The Mexico City based club finished in 4th place in the Clausura and were eliminated by Club America in the first round of the playoffs.

Gutierrez, 28, has tallied four goals and an assist through 14 games this MLS season. The midfielder was last called up by the Chilean National team in October of 2018 for a pair of friendlies, although he did not feature in either match. He’s got four goals in 25 caps for Chile.

Finding success in Liga MX would help boost his profile for a return to the National Team, but there is no word on how concrete this is or how serious Club America are with their interest. You can find several articles mentioning the link, but they’re all simply citing the same report from Canal del Futbol.

Diego Rubio is with the Colorado Rapids after being traded from Sporting in exchange for Kelyn Rowe back in December 18’. The 26-year-old has played in 11 matches this season with two goals and two assists to date. The Rapids sit at the bottom of the Western Conference table with just 12 points.

Rubio has previously expressed interest in joining Cruz Azul because his brother, Eduardo Rubio, played there in 2007. He was interviewed by Ivan Zamorano on Univision and was asked which Liga MX team he would like to play for:

“I would like to play at Cruz Azul, where my brother played, although there are many big clubs and I’m not a fan of any.” - Diego Rubio

The final sentence of the article seems to imply that Rubio is more likely than the higher asking price of Gutierrez. As previously mentioned, there is very little actual information about this so it should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Blue Testament has reached out to Sporting KC for comment.