Liga MX champions Tigres will build a statue outside Estadio Universitario in honor of French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who responded to the news by scoring a hat trick inside 23 minutes 3-1 win over Necaxa on Saturday.
Gignac broke Tigres' scoring record last weekend when he netted his 105th goal for the club in the 1-0 win against Pumas and was serenaded by 105 mariachis with a rendition of "El Rey" [The King] after the team's warm-up on Saturday.
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The former Marseille player appeared to get emotional as he was presented with a plaque and a commemorative ball.
.@tigresoficial to build a statue in honor of Andre-Pierre Gignac. Mariachi played "El Rey" to the club's top goalscorer after the warmup as he received a commemorative shirt ... he then scored 3 goals in the first 23 mins. Tigres 3-1 Necaxa #ligamxeng pic.twitter.com/3ZifA8cBIK
— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) August 11, 2019
Tigres fans displayed a giant mosaic of a French flag, with the top right corner in the green of Mexico -- Gignac is also a naturalized Mexican citizen -- as the player entered the field for the game and the club's PA announced to the crowd that a statue of the club legend will be built in front of the main gate of the stadium.
Gignac responded during the game, glancing in a near-post header to opener the scoring in the 5th minute and adding goals in the 17th and 23rd as Tigres took the three points.
Gignac signed for Tigres on a free transfer in 2015 and has won four Liga MX titles with the club, as well as two top goal-scorer titles in the 2016 Clausura and 2018 Apertura championships.
The 33-year-old has recently attracted interest from Boca Juniors, although the Argentine club admitted it would be difficult financially to bring him in and signed striker Franco Soldano last week.