Massimo Benassi doesn't rule out Andrés Guardado return | OneFootball

The club’s CEO assesses the impact of the former Mexican footballer during the institutional tour

Deportivo CEO Massimo Benassi has left the door open to a possible return of Andrés Guardado to the structure of the A Coruña club in the future. During the institutional trip to Mexico and Miami alongside vice president Michelle Clemente to explore strategic and international partnerships, the executive reviewed with Mediotiempo the historic bond between the former Mexican player and the club following his spell in A Coruña between 2007 and 2012. Benassi emphasized the mark left by the current assistant coach of the Mexican national team, recalling that "for Dépor, Andrés Guardado is a legend; the fans will never forget that when the team was relegated to the Second Division, he stayed and helped them earn promotion back to the First Division". Asked about a possible reunion on the Riazor bench in the long term, the executive backed the current work of Antonio Hidalgo, but clarified that "in the future and in football, never say never".

The tour across North America is part of a commercial expansion plan aimed at creating synergies in markets with strong Galician roots and a following for Spanish football. From Deportivo’s management, they maintain that this presence seeks to "turn representation outside Galicia into new opportunities, long-term projects, and business avenues", highlighting Mexico as a strategic point because of its business scale and fan base. In his public remarks, Benassi praised the reception in the country and invited local fans to join the project at Riazor, also commending the career of the new Valencia coach, Javier Aguirre, as a major figure with extensive experience in Spanish football.

On the strictly sporting side, the club’s top executive reiterated the roadmap set for the season of their return to the top flight, prioritizing the institutional and competitive stability of the project. Benassi set the first team’s main target at 45 points to mathematically secure survival before aiming for higher goals in the table. With ten points already on the board after the first seven matches, the Italian executive pointed to the "tremendous pride" of having brought Deportivo back to the First Division after eight years away, stressing the squad’s commitment to establishing the club once again at the highest level of professional football.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.