If Relegation Returned to Liga MX in 2026, Who Would Go Down? | OneFootball

Following a multi-year hiatus, promotions and relegations are set to make a sensational return for the 2026/2027 season. But our question is: what impact would it have if it came back a year earlier?

Liga MX often finds a familiar group of teams stacked up at the foot of the table. But the new pro/rel rule is written to only send two teams down from the top flight to the Liga MX de Expansíon (formerly Ascenso MX), which has yet to announce if it will keep its current name.

As the Liga MX “season” is split into two campaigns, Apertura and Clausura, the teams relegated to the second division will be the ones with the lowest total points across both competitions.

It is assumed that the return of promotions and relegations would see two teams go in either direction every year, although that is yet to be confirmed.

Down goes Mazatlán

By virtue of its recent announcement, Mazatlán FC would certainly face relegation. The club’s ownership team has opted to sell its rights to TV Azteca, bringing Atlante FC back up into Liga MX in its place.

Based on merit, the club has found itself among the teams near the bottom of the table, with an uncertain future hanging over it. At times, it feels as though the players are playing more for their own futures than for the badge.

After ten games in the Clausura, Mazatlán has 24 points, earning only five wins from a possible 27, but it’s not the worst record in the league.

Who Would Barely Avoid Relegation?

In terms of performance over the entire 2025/26 season, two teams currently have a cumulative record of 23 points. We’ll discuss them below.

if the season ended right now, Necaxa and Querétaro would find themselves only just avoiding the drop. Both have 26 for the campaign, meaning every game could have an impact. This is concerning for two teams are really struggling in the Clausura, sitting at 16th and 17th respectively.

Even closer to the dropzone would be a six-time Liga MX champion, Santos Laguna, who have had a complete fall from grace. They’re on a combined 25 points, only two points above the bottom two.

Then there is Mazatlán, whose potential extinction would spare one of the two teams lower than them.

The Relegated Two

If the season ended after matchday 10 of the Liga MX Clausura, two teams would face relegation level on points at the bottom of the combined table.

The first is Club León. In stark contrast to their strong record just 12 months earlier, they finished 17th in the Apertura, managing only three wins all season. In the Clausura, however, results have improved, as they have already come close to matching their pre-New Year record by equalling their previous win total.

However, the team at the very bottom of the table would be Puebla. They also had an Apertura to forget, finishing at the very foot of the league with three wins and sitting below León on goal difference. But like Léon, things seem to have turned a corner in the new year.

Just one point shy of last year’s total, they managed to hold reigning champions Toluca to a draw before defeating runners-up Tigres in an eye-catching performance. Now they sit only three points away from the playoff places, which would mark a remarkable turnaround for a team that still finds itself near the bottom of the combined table.