CHICAGO (Feb. 19, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC today announced that the Club has acquired Mexican winger Jairo Torres (pronounced: HI-row TOR-ehs) as a Young Designated Player via transfer from Liga MX side Atlas F.C. As part of the transfer agreement, Torres will join the Fire on May 1 and his contract with the Club will run through 2025, pending a medical and receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC). Per Club and MLS policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Jairo checks all the boxes that we were looking for in a Young Designated Player, and we’re very pleased to acquire his services ahead of the Club’s 25th season in MLS,” said Chicago Fire FC Sporting Director Georg Heitz. “Jairo has been one of the most productive young players in Liga MX and was an integral part of Atlas’ championship-winning team in 2021. We expect him to be a very important and exciting player for the Club and look forward to welcoming him to Chicago on May 1. I’d also like to say a special thank you to our Technical Director, Sebastian Pelzer, as this move would not have been possible without all his hard work over the last several months.”
Torres, 21, climbed the Academy ranks at Atlas before making his professional debut with the club on Nov. 19, 2016, at just 16-years-old. The Guadalajara-native has since played in 108 matches (80 starts) for Atlas across all competitions. In the 2021 Liga MX Apertura season, Torres started 20 of the 21 games in which he played, including all six games in the Liga MX playoffs, during which the team advanced past Monterrey and UNAM Pumas before coming from behind to defeat León in the two-leg final to capture its first Liga MX championship in 70 years.
So far this season, Torres has made 28 appearances across all competitions, starting in 27 matches. Among players under the age of 23 in Liga MX, he ranks first in key passes, second in precise crosses, third in expected goals and assists and third in attacking one-on-one situations, while also ranking fourth in overall goals and assists.
On the international stage, Torres has already represented Mexico at the U-17, U-22 and senior team levels. Most notably, the winger started all six matches for the Mexico U-17 Men’s National Team at the 2017 Concacaf U-17 Championship, scoring the lone goal in their 1-0 win against Panama and playing 90 minutes in the 5-4 penalty shootout victory against the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team in the final. Torres was named the tournament’s Golden Ball winner and was also named to the tournament Best XI.
Additionally, Torres helped Mexico’s U-22 side achieve a third-place finish at the 2019 Toulon Tournament, held annually in France for U-23 youth national teams. At the senior team level, Torres made his debut under Mexico National Team head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, featuring in the 2-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 2, 2019.
He will occupy an international slot on Chicago’s 2022 roster. Torres is the third Designated Player on the Fire’s 2022 roster, alongside midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri and Gastón Giménez.
Transaction: Chicago Fire FC acquires Jairo Torres as a Young Designated Player via transfer from Atlas F.C.
Name: Jairo Torres (pronounced: HI-row TOR-ehs)
Position: Winger
Number: 7
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 130 lbs.
Date of Birth: July 5, 2000
Hometown: Guadalajara, Mexico
Birthplace: Guadalajara, Mexico
Citizenship: Mexico
Last Club: Atlas F.C.
