{"id":1189891,"date":"2021-02-10T12:04:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T12:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1189891"},"modified":"2021-02-10T12:10:20","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T12:10:20","slug":"andre-pierre-gignac-tigres-uanl-immortality-bayern-munich-club-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/andre-pierre-gignac-tigres-uanl-immortality-bayern-munich-club-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"How rejecting Inter and Lyon set Andre-Pierre Gignac on his way to Tigres immortality"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2015, Pierre-Andre Gignac was a man in high demand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The clinical striker was coming fresh off a 2014\/15 campaign in which he had scored 21 goals in 38 Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille, with only Alexandre Lacazette (27) outscoring Gignac as he fired Les Phoceens<\/em> to fourth in the table.<\/p>\n

That campaign was the culmination of an upward trend in the striker’s career. After managing league goal totals of just eight and one (ouch) in his first two seasons with Marseille, Gignac netted 13 and 16 times across the 2012\/13 and 2013\/14 campaigns, respectively, setting himself up for a stellar 2014\/15.<\/p>\n

Gignac had also fought his way back into international contention with France but, despite being such hot property at the time, player and club could not agree on a new contract, and the former Toulouse striker made clear his intention to leave Marseille, then managed by Marcelo Bielsa, as early as December 2014.<\/p>\n

“I think I will leave at the end of the season,” he said<\/span>. “I want to know if (coach Marcelo) Bielsa will stay, but I want a big challenge. I will consider all proposals carefully.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Gignac name-dropped Inter Milan as a potential destination, while the likes of Lyon, West Ham, Newcastle United, West Brom and Dynamo Moscow were all linked with him at one time or another. With that in mind, the decision to join Mexican giants Tigres UANL\u00a0in June 2015 was one which caught most in Europe off-guard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite hosting the most successful sides in CONCACAF, including the likes of Club America, Chivas and Monterrey, aside from Tigres, Liga MX has never quite had the same appeal or attracted the same level of wider curiosity as its neighbour in the north, Major League Soccer. As such, given the level of interest surrounding Gignac, then only 29 years old, there were those who accused the 36-time France international of making the move for financial reasons — Gignac joined Tigres on an initial deal worth<\/a> $4m per season, making him the highest-paid player in Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

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READ MORE:<\/strong> The world\u2019s best football league by 2045? How \u2018expansion\u2019 is driving MLS toward Garber\u2019s goal<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In the six seasons since he crossed the Atlantic, it’s safe to say Gignac has been on a one-man mission to prove his doubters wrong.<\/p>\n

To date, the now-35-year-old Gignac has scored no fewer than 147 goals in 246 appearances across all competitions for Tigres, establishing himself as the club’s record goalscorer and proving the catalyst for an unprecedented era of success in San Nicolas de los Garza. Since his arrival, Tigres have won four league titles (3x Apertura, 1x Clausura), three Campeon de Campeones crowns, the 2018 Campeones Cup and, most recently, the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League — the club’s long-awaited first triumph in that competition after final defeats in 2016, 2017 and 2019.<\/p>\n

Gignac was the Golden Boot winner during the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League with six goals, while he scored the winner in the 2-1 final win over LAFC. The fact he has scored in three of the tournament’s finals only serves to further illustrate the sheer impact he’s had on the Mexican game. In short, Gignac is a legend.<\/p>\n

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.@tigresoficial<\/a> to build a statue in honor of Andre-Pierre Gignac. Mariachi played \u201cEl Rey\u201d to the club\u2019s top goalscorer after the warmup as he received a commemorative shirt … he then scored 3 goals in the first 23 mins. Tigres 3-1 Necaxa #ligamxeng<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3ZifA8cBIK<\/a><\/p>\n

— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) August 11, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n