Houston Dynamo midfielder Héctor Herrera has claimed that the Mexico national team is not taking MLS players into consideration.
Herrera has been a mainstay for Mexico for most of his career, earning 105 caps and representing his country at three World Cups.
After the 2022 World Cup, the midfielder moved from Atlético Madrid to join up with MLS outfit Houston. Since then, Herrera has made just one appearance for Mexico.
In an interview with TUDN, the 34-year-old suggested that was not a coincidence.
“I personally do consider that we are not taken into account [by Mexico], that they do not give value to the level that you are going through here. I don’t know if it’s because of the competition between the leagues, between MLS and Liga MX,” he said.
To further illustrate his point, Herrera mentioned Sporting Kansas City striker Alan Pulido, who was not called up by Mexico in 2023 despite an excellent season that saw him tally 14 goals in MLS.
“Last year I considered that I was at a great level, perhaps one of the best in my career,” Herrera said. “Alan seemed to me that he was at an excellent level, scoring a lot of goals and was never taken into account for anything.
“[Carlos] Vela is another topic, but I consider that Alan was at a very good level and the national team was not at a good level when it came to forwards.”
Vela didn’t play for Mexico after the 2018 World Cup, but that was a choice the ex-LAFC star made himself.
Herrera did not mention ex-Galaxy star Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, but the striker’s lack of Mexico call-ups during his time in MLS could be seen to bolster his argument.
Mexico’s all-time leading men’s scorer last played for his country in 2019, one year prior to his move to MLS. There has been speculation, however, that the forward’s exclusion was at least in part due to disciplinary reasons.
Herrera will likely be following the exploits of Hirving “Chucky” Lozano closely after the Mexico forward signed with San Diego FC as the club’s first Designated Player.
Lozano, who will stay with Dutch side PSV until SDFC’s preseason in January, was not called into Mexico’s Copa América squad alongside another player linked with a MLS move, legendary goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
“I think that with the track record he has, with how important he is in Mexico, in the United States, he would be a great signing,” Herrera said. “I hope we can add more of those types of players like Hirving, like Memo, and that the level of the MLS can continue to grow.”
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