Franco Pardo leaves Racing for Mexico's Santos Laguna | OneFootball

Franco Pardo could become Racing’s first sale of this transfer window at any moment. In negotiations that were kept secret until the final stages, Santos Laguna made a formal offer, and the club’s management would look favorably on letting the center-back go, one of the positions where the squad currently has the most depth.

Santos Laguna’s offer to Racing for Franco Pardo

According to reports, the Mexican club has already submitted an offer close to $2,000,000 for the former Unión player’s full transfer rights, and it would be accepted. Pardo himself also views a move favorably, both to improve his finances and to have better chances of regular playing time. Lately, he had become a backup option in a defense made up of Di Césare and Marcos Rojo as the starting center-backs.

So far, the 29-year-old center-back has played 35 matches for Racing since arriving in mid-2025. He scored just one goal, but it was hugely important. Right at the end, with a header, he sent the Academy through to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals in a 3-1 win over Peñarol at El Cilindro. It was his biggest moment at the club, although he later began to lose ground.

Franco Pardo had quickly established himself as a starter shortly after joining the club, but against Independiente Rivadavia he suffered a stroke of bad luck on October 6. He came on for Marcos Rojo 16 minutes into the second half, and nine minutes later, during a sprint, he suffered a grade-three muscle injury. As a result, he was sidelined for more than a month, and when he returned he suffered another major blow. In the final against Estudiantes, in the 2025 Torneo Clausura, he missed the last penalty when his shot struck the post.

This is how he arrived in Avellaneda and the profit Racing would make

His arrival from Unión initially generated some controversy. It was not clear whether the board was paying the release clause to take him unilaterally from Santa Fe. In the end, Racing paid $1,300,000 for 100% of Franco Pardo’s registration. The same amount as the clause, though after reaching an agreement with El Tatengue. If he is sold for $2,000,000, the Academy would make a profit of $700,000 from the year he spent at the club.

The center-back already has everything arranged to move to Mexico.

For Franco Pardo to arrive, Unión kept $100,000 from the sale. Instead of the $650,000 it would have received for 50% of the economic rights, it kept $750,000. The other half belonged to the player and his agent, who reportedly agreed to give up some money so the deal could go through. The advantage Racing obtained is that it ended up paying for the transfer in installments.

A possible replacement in Mendoza?

Franco Pardo’s sale could be linked to the search for a center-back that the board began a few days ago. Specifically, Mateo Mendoza, a defender for Godoy Cruz. “He’s one of the players being monitored by the technical department,” they told Racing de Alma from within the club. Although people at the Academy insist that there are still no advanced negotiations, in Mendoza there are those who already consider the player practically out of Tomba and into the Avellaneda club. At the very least, talks have already begun between the two clubs.

At 21 years old and 1.81 meters tall, if Racing does indeed push for this defender, it would be through the purchase of at least a percentage of his transfer rights so that he joins, at minimum, as a backup option.

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