Dundee announce 'strategic partnership' with Liga MX giants CF Monterrey

Dundee have announced a strategic club partnership with Mexican side CF Monterrey.

The Dens Park outfit say it will be a beneficial arrangement for both clubs, allowing them to develop players and “better sports practice”. One of the main benefits will be a clear route to European football for academy products and youth players from the Rayados Youth Academy, CF Monterrey’s youth set-up.

This is not the only deal Dundee have with clubs outside of Scotland. The owners of English Premier League side Burnley, ALK Capital, entered a ‘strategic alliance’ with the Scottish Premiership in early 2024 and players such as Michael Mellon and Dara Costelloe moved to Dens Park on loan in their “talent share deal”. Dundee defender Antonio Portales started his footballing career at the Liga MX side, a move the Mexican club say will only become more common for their young stars.

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In a club statement, Dundee FC Chairman Tim Keyes said: “We are extremely excited for the partnership between Dundee FC and CF Monterrey. Monterrey is one of the premier teams in Liga MX with an abundance of talented players and a first-class management team.

“Despite being on different continents, the culture and approach to developing young talent is very similar between the two clubs. We look forward to this agreement providing great benefits to both clubs over the coming years.”

Nicolas Martellotto, director of the Rayados Youth Academy commented: "We are very excited about this agreement with Dundee FC, as it represents a great opportunity for players from our Youth Academy to migrate to Europe and continue their development outside of Mexico."

Dundee FC Managing Director John Nelms added: “Last month myself and Tim went out to Mexico to finalise the deal and we saw for ourselves how big a club Rayados are in Mexico. They have a fantastic youth set-up with over 15,000 individuals in their youth academies, spanning across multiple countries, from age four all the way up to the first team. Both clubs will benefit from this relationship as we share skills and knowledge whilst developing young, talented footballers who can make it into the first team and play at the highest possible level.”