Report: Liga MX Prospect Cristian Mares Set For Vancouver FC Loan

We’ve now independently confirmed that Mares is indeed set for Vancouver FC.

Club Puebla youngster Cristian Mares looks set for a loan spell with Canadian Premier League expansion side Vancouver FC.

The 18-year-old right winger has turned heads aplenty at the youth level in Puebla, where he’s demonstrated great bursts of speed and solid technique from the U-15 level all the way to the U-20.

The most recent Liga MX U-20 season saw him score four goals in 17 appearances, with Mares ranking among the league’s top dribblers. While former Club Puebla head coach Nicolas Larcamon had considered him for a bench option at the senior level, the club is now looking to the Canadian Premier League to give him his first senior minutes.

Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi had told us that the club has made a few international signings already, with one of the targeted demographics being young internationals who have evident talent, but can’t break into their respective first team as of yet. In that, Mares certainly fits the bill.

While the player himself has directly added Vancouver FC to his Instagram bio, the name of the club seems to have fooled at least one Mexican outlet into reporting that he’s set for the Vancouver Whitecaps instead. While the CPL’s newest team is based in Langley, they’ve gone with the moniker of Vancouver FC following public polling in the region.

The fact that the local outlet reports the move as a transfer as opposed to a loan is food for thought, however.

“Thank you very much Club Puebla for these five years of learning,” said Mares online. “I am very grateful to the club and the people who make up it, the whole technical body and colleagues who were always there for me to open the doors, for always looking for the best for me, for all the teachings, to form me as footballer and better person, thank all the people who were day to day with me, all thanks to all those people I am fulfilling one of my dreams, thank you for everything.”

The Vancouver FC roster build is at ten players publicly, though we know that more have been brought in through international acquisitions and local player trials. With the team set to build its home stadium in six weeks ahead of its first-ever preseason, the next two months look to be flush with news from the side.

While neither Vancouver FC or Club Puebla have commented on the move, the fact that Mares has placed Vancouver FC and the Canadian Premier League in his bio seems to confirm that his next move is set to take place in the CPL – though at the end of the day, social media has been wrong before.