Efraín Juárez left Pumas before his contract was up, ending a spell that had put the club back into the conversation in Mexican football. He departed with at least six months still left on his deal, after guiding Universidad Nacional to the overall lead in Clausura 2026.

The move matters now because Pumas had only recently rediscovered momentum under Juárez. The team had spent several tournaments without much success, then rose back onto the radar under his direction, making his exit a sharp break from the run that had revived expectations around the club.

Juárez coached 59 matches across three tournaments, and his latest one was the most notable. Pumas reached the final in that run before losing to Cruz Azul, a result that made the team’s progress look real rather than temporary and gave his departure more weight than an ordinary mid-season reshuffle.

Yet the end of the relationship does not look clean. Unconfirmed reports said Juárez left on bad terms with the board, while sources said he resigned without making any public statement. Another version placed his next step elsewhere, saying he is interested in coaching in Belgium, which leaves open whether he walked away on his own or was forced toward the door.

For Pumas, the practical question is immediate: who takes over a team that had climbed back to the top and now has to keep that standard without the coach who built the surge. Esteban Solari, Robert Dante Siboldi and Guillermo Vázquez have all been mentioned as possible replacements at Universidad Nacional, and the club now has to decide whether to keep the same sporting line or start over again.