Miguel Layun was set to be presented to the Villarreal faithful on Friday, but he'll have to hope the faithful will still be there for him five days later.
The Mexico national team member was set to arrive in Spain on Thursday and take part in the team's training session Friday morning before speaking at a news conference at 1 p.m. That won't be possible after his flight, Iberlia 6402, had to return to the airport in Mexico City because of a technical issue.
The flight took off at 8:39 p.m. local time, spending an hour and 26 minutes in the air to burn off fuel and land back at Benito Juarez Airport at 10:05. All 306 passengers and 13 crew members were fine, but Layun and others were left frustrated with no flight from Mexico City to Madrid available until Thursday.
"I'm sad to delay my presentation with Villarreal because of a technical issue with the aircraft I was flying on from Mexico to Spain," Layun tweeted Thursday. "The crew was incredible, but I regret that the airline isn't attending to the needs of the passengers to relocate us."
With the Yellow Submarine headed out of town to continue its preseason preparations, Layun's presentation will be delayed until after the team returns Wednesday. The versatile defender, however, will travel with the team to Girona.
"The new 'groguet' player will be under the orders of Javi Calleja on Saturday to make up part, along with his new teammates, of the group that will travel to Navata (Girona) to go through the 'stage' of preseason," a club statement said.
Layun spent the last several months of the club season in Spain on loan to Sevilla. While Porto built in a buy-out clause for Las Sevillistas, the club declined to pick up the option even after Layun's strong showings with El Tri at the World Cup.
The 30-year-old instead signed a three-year deal to join Villarreal, which finished in fifth place in La Liga last season, with his new club reportedly paying a €4 million transfer fee.
