Moulding People before Players

As International Vice President of Grupo Pachuca, Pedro Cedillo Martínez oversees global strategic partnerships and player pathways across the organisation's multi-club network which includes Mexican powerhouses CF Pachuca and Club León, as well as Spanish side Real Oviedo.

While many clubs view academy development purely through the lens of performance, CF Pachuca takes an all-encompassing approach centred on education and character.

At the heart of that philosophy is the University of Football in Pachuca, where every young player is required to pursue higher education alongside their elite training programme.

“Our strategy centres on the holistic development of players - talent development,” Cedillo Martínez explained. “We have the University of Football in Pachuca; all our players are required to study at the university. We have to mould people before players.”

That focus on developing well-rounded individuals has not slowed on-field results. CF Pachuca has established itself as one of North America's premier talent factories, producing global stars who have transitioned seamlessly to European football and national team success - including Héctor Herrera, Hirving "Chucky" Lozano, and Erick Gutiérrez.

Simultaneously, the club continues to compete at the absolute highest level, winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2024 and earning its place to compete at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 against the likes of Real Madrid.

Bridging Markets Across Continents 

To support player movement across potential multiple territories, access to accurate transfer intelligence is essential.

The TransferRoom online platform provides CF Pachuca with real-time market data, enabling the club to price, position, and evaluate players with precision across global leagues.

“The platform itself is excellent; it helps you properly evaluate players, provides good performance data, and offers solid references and comparisons with other players in similar positions across different markets,” Cedillo Martínez noted.

By giving executives access to direct player comparisons and reliable market metrics, TransferRoom helps CF Pachuca properly position its academy talents for moves into Europe and across the Americas.

"TransferRoom brings us closer to establishing contacts with clubs, positioning us to sell these players or move many of our talented players from our youth academies not just to European markets, but across South America, Mexico, and the United States."

While TransferRoom's online platform help keep the transfer market moving, Cedillo Martínez has also revealed that face-to-face contact at TransferRoom events such as the recent LIVE in São Paulo also remains crucial for his role.

“I think TransferRoom has a unique feature where you have this one-on-one time with the person for 15 minutes and can talk and delve into the necessary topics,” Cedillo Martínez highlighted. “Unlike other conferences where you might go to a talk and listen to the speaker, but it’s not the same in terms of the personal connection and direct interaction.”

“People should definitely give it a try. You meet agents and clubs from all over the world. The way the whole football business operates, are based on relationships.”

There are over 800 clubs worldwide using TransferRoom. You can find out how to join them here.

Agents, get access to the decision-makers at top clubs in over 130 leagues worldwide as a TransferRoom Trusted Agent. Find out more here.

Track every player transfer and salary payment and plan every window with confidence through TransferRoom's contract management tool, Contingency AI.