If Monterrey sells 30-year-old Mexican midfielder Orbelín Pineda and he returns to Greece for Panathinaikos or Olympiacos, it would challenge the credibility of individuals at AEK who claimed his sale was for family reasons. It was reported that Pineda would have stayed and renewed with AEK had he received his desired salary, which was equivalent to the earnings of Jovic before the Serbian's own contract renewal. It is also noted that Ríbalta's preference was to sell Pineda to use the resulting funds for other transfers, a decision that Nikolić later accepted.