Jorge Vergara, the Mexican businessman who owns Mexican giants Chivas de Guadalajara, sold his majority interest in Costa Rica's Saprissa to a group of local businessmen. The sale was completed yesterday and confirmed today at the club's official website. Vergara owned 67% of the club, which he turned over to the consortium called Purple Horizon (Horizonte Morado) that is led by Juan Carlos Rojas, Édgar Zurcher, Alberto Raven, and René Picado. Rojas, the youngest of the leadership group, will serve as the new club president.
When Vergara took over Saprissa, the club was close to bankruptcy and was experiencing its most barren spell. During his ownership Saprissa won seven local championships, a CONCACAF Champions' Cup (runner-up on two other occasions), and finished third at the FIFA Club World Cup, which is still the best performance by any CONCACAF side in the competition. Most importantly, Saprissa is solvent again.
The new ownership will make some changes to the club, such as the return of the block S in the Saprissa logo and a different shade of purple in the official colors. There will also be some additions through the Saprissa 2020 master plan, which includes the formation of a Ricardo Saprissa Foundation to give sporting opportunities to less advantaged youths. Most importantly, the ownership will be charged with maintaining the economic health of the club so that this icon of Costa Rican football won't need another foreign savior in the future.
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