Chivas Guadalajara is worth $800 million, it continues to generate revenue and no one has tried to buy it, owner Jorge Vergara told ESPN's Futbol Picante.
The club has never lost revenue since Vergara and wife and partner Angelica Fuentes took it over in 2002, Vergara said, adding that it continues to generate profit.
"Chivas (as a brand) has to be football first in order to work as a business," Vergara said. "If it is not football, it isn't a business because people stop watching, the ratings go down, etc. Everything has a domino effect."
Asked whether the $800 million figure was the club’s net worth or its sale price, Vergara said: "We have never tried to sell it so we don’t know what someone would pay for it."
Vergara added that he has no plans to sell the Mexican league club. Last month, MLS assumed operation of Chivas USA, into which Vergara and Angelica Fuentes bought a 50 percent interest back in August 2012.
Vergara reaffirmed that the club would never use naturalized citizens nor foreign players in its lineup. He said fans believe in his philosophies because he has delivered on these five points: Runner-up to Pumas within three years of taking over the club; a league title; a Copa Libertadores second place finish; the placement of Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez at Manchester United and the sizeable financial investment in the club and stadium.
"When we took over the club there were 13 logos on the jersey, but it wasn't generating value so we cleaned it to re-evaluate," Vergara said. "It was never our intention to leave it without logos, but on the fourth year we started adding them and now we have four brands on the jersey. Our goal was to give the club dignity, revitalize the brand and the passion."
Vergara said he "made a mistake" in hiring Johan Cruyff, who "tried to make 11 'Chicharitos'" and change the mentality of Mexican football. He said Cruyff "promised things he couldn’t deliver." Vergara said he continue to think Cruyff is a good coach, "but with us he made a mistake."