Atlético Celaya

Atlético Celaya
Full name	Club Atlético Celaya
Nickname	Toros (Bulls)
Founded	1994; 32 years ago; 23 July 2026; 2 months ago (refounded)
Ground	Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés
Capacity	23,182
Owner	ICEM Sports
Chairman	Cristian Ríos
Manager	Luis Fernando Soto
League	Liga Premier; (Primera Premier)
2026–27	TBD
Home colours	Away colours

Club Atlético Celaya, is a professional football club based in Celaya, Guanajuato. The club competes in Liga Premier (Primera Premier), the third level of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés. Founded in 1994, after the merger of Atlético Cuernavaca, Escuadra Celeste de Celaya and Atlético Español (but not the defunct club Atlético Español F.C.). The franchise was moved to Xochitepec and dissolved in 2003, and later the club was refounded in 2026.

History

All merging clubs have brought a piece of their old identity into the new formed club: from Atlético Cuernavaca were taken the name to the new club (although its name is also identical with former Atlético Español), from Celeste de Celaya were taken their light blue colors and from Atlético Español the mascot, the bull, which has also given the new team their nickname toros (bulls).

Atlético Celaya has taken the second-division position of their predecessors and has immediately reached the top-level. The first year in Primera División was also their most successful season ever. First, they could win their group and in the play-offs they could make their way up to the finals in which they lost only due to the away-goal-rule after playing 1–1 and 0–0 with Necaxa.

But from now on the club finds itself in lower positions in the league. They had also financial problems which led to the sale of their Primera División-license to an industrialist from Morelos in 2003. The franchise was moved to Xochitepec and becoming Colibríes de Morelos. At the same time when Atlético Celaya was dissolved, their older city neighbour Celaya F.C. was revived as Club Celaya by acquiring the franchise of C.F. La Piedad.

On 23 July 2026, the club was refounded to participate in the Liga Premier, after the franchise of Celaya F.C. was moved to Veracruz to ensure the continuity of professional football in Celaya, recovering the name of the city's historic club.

Crest and colours

The club's original colors

in the 1950s were red and white. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the club started using black and white with a topical v shape across the chest for home games and a black stripe shirt for away games, which they still use to this date.

Colours

First kit evolution

1997 Home

1997 Away

2002 – home

Personnel

Management

Position	Staff
Chairman	Cristian Ríos
Director of football	TBA

Source: Artículo 7

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Luis Fernando Soto
Assistant managers	Rafael Bautista
Fitness coach	Bernardino Navarrete
Physiotherapist	Vacant
Team doctor	Arturo Cendejas

Players

First-team squad

As of 4 September 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	MEX	Gerardo Magaña
2	DF	MEX	Emilio Santillán
3	DF	MEX	Pedro Hernández
4	DF	MEX	Arath Zavala
5	DF	MEX	Javier Ortega
6	MF	MEX	Eduardo del Ángel
7	MF	MEX	Diego Dueñas
8	MF	MEX	Sebastián Medellín
9	MF	MEX	Emiliano Trejo
10	FW	PAR	Bruno Recalde
11	DF	MEX	Aarón Salazar
13	MF	MEX	Fabián Flores
14	FW	MEX	Jorge Macías
15	MF	MEX	Diego Ortega
16	DF	MEX	Rafael Cortés
17	MF	MEX	Humberto Varela
18	MF	MEX	Diego Ayala
19	FW	PAR	Milciades Adorno (on loan from Guaraní)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	DF	MEX	Gerardo Gil
21	DF	MEX	Alan Vélez
22	MF	MEX	Guillermo Muñoz
23	MF	MEX	Jesús Jiménez
24	MF	MEX	Gael Sánchez
25	MF	MEX	Enrique Martínez
26	DF	MEX	Paulo Morales
27	MF	MEX	Gael Ambriz
28	MF	MEX	Alberto Cañamar
29	DF	MEX	Axel Morán
30	GK	MEX	Antonio Jiménez
31	FW	MEX	Francisco Vivas
32	MF	MEX	Jorge Nakamura
33	GK	MEX	Santiago Suárez
36	MF	MEX	Elías Luna
—	MF	MEX	Jorge Rodríguez
—	FW	MEX	Jorge Gil
—	FW	MEX	Máximo Girón

Reserves