Legendary Liga MX Star Joins Real Betis, Leaves Door Open for Mexico National Team

The best Club América player of the 2020s leaves the club after a historic era of success.

Álvaro Fidalgo left an everlasting mark in Club América’s history. | Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Three-time Liga MX champion and undisputed Club América legend, Álvaro Fidalgo, bid an emotional farewell to the club and joined Real Betis in La Liga on transfer deadline day.

Betis paid under €2 million ($2.3 million) to sign the 28-year-old midfielder, who traveled to Spain earlier in the week to put pen to paper on a contract until the end of the 2029–30 season.

Exactly five years on from Fidalgo landed in Mexico from his native Spain to join Las Águilas, he leaves after playing a massive role in an unprecedented era of success for the most decorated team in Mexican soccer.

“If five years ago you would’ve told me all this was going to happen,” Fidalgo said in his farewell press conference. “I would’ve said you were crazy ... but we did it.”

The Real Madrid academy graduate joined América in 2021 at the explicit request of former Los Blancos manager Santiago Solari. He instantly adapted to Liga MX’s style and impressed from the jump, but what he went on to achieve in the next five years is straight out of a fairytale.

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Álvaro Fidalgo: The Face of Club América’s Golden Era

Álvaro Fidalgo (middle) is one of Club América’s greatest ever players. | Hugo Rivera/Jam Media/Getty Images

“I’m coming from a giant club,” Fidalgo said in his introductory press conference with Betis. “You have no idea what Club América is.”

From the moment Fidalgo joined América until his last day at the club, it was evident he understood the responsibility that comes with donning the shirt of Mexico’s most successful side.

His quality on the pitch was never questioned, but team success avoided him and América during his first five Liga MX seasons. Consecutive quarterfinal exits ended the Solari era, and then Fernando Ortíz’s tenure began with back to back semifinal eliminations.

Fidalgo’s low point came in the Clausura 2023 semifinal, when he was sent-off for an egregious challenge in the home second leg, which opened the door for bitter rivals Chivas to mount a comeback, ending América’s season in the last four for the third-straight term and costing Ortíz his job. Fidalgo publicly took the blame for the defeat.

Álvaro Fidalgo was the villain in América’s Clausura 2023 semifinal exit. | Mauricio Salas/Jam Media/Getty Images

André Jardine arrived as manager the next season, with Fidalgo’s future very much in doubt following his semifinal blunder. The Brazilian manager trusted the midfielder with his full confidence and gave him the keys to his side, allowing him to become the orchestra leader of a team that was desperate for a league title. The rest is history.

With Fidalgo pulling the strings, Jardine’s América became the first team this century—and in all of modern Liga MX history—to win three consecutive league titles, a feat Las Águilas had never achieved in their 100-plus years of existence.

Between Dec. 2023 and May 2025 that América were Liga MX monarchs, Fidalgo was widely considered as the best player in Mexican soccer.

“You were the face of this team,” Jardine told Fidalgo as the entire squad bid farewell to him before he headed to Spain. “It’s not easy to become a historic [player] in this club. Maybe you don’t fully grasp that you wrote history of this club, forever. We will see your name every time we visit the [Estadio] Azteca, because you own an important page [of América’s history], and that isn’t a small feat.”

In total, Fidalgo played 227 games for América, registering 22 goals and 30 assists. A prototypical Spanish midfielder, he dominated for the majority of his time in Mexico and won six major trophies.

Although Fidalgo’s Liga MX chapter might be over, upon landing in Seville, he left the door open for a potential new chapter of his Mexican soccer career to begin, this time, on the international stage.

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Álvaro Fidalgo Could Play For Mexico in 2026 World Cup

Álvaro Fidalgo has been linked with potentially representing Mexico at the international level. | Sergio Mejia/Getty Images

Fidalgo obtained his Mexican passport back in 2024, which prompted plenty of speculation surrounding him potentially representing El Tri in the future. For this to happen, he had to spend five years as a Mexican resident, which he fulfilled to the exact date—it prompted many to suggest this was on purpose.

During his introductory press conference with Betis, Fidalgo was asked about playing for Mexico in the World Cup, and the midfielder had a telling answer.

“I don’t know,” Fidalgo said. “It would be a bit bold on my end, to tell you something [regarding going to the World Cup] when I’ve never player a game [for Mexico]. It’s a possibility, I’m Mexican, I have that possibility, everything is up in the air.”

Hours earlier, when he bid farewell to América, he was pressed on the subject as well, and he simply stated, “I’m Mexican, the door is open.”

According to ESPN, the Mexican soccer federation has already sent all necessary documentation to FIFA to make Fidalgo eligible to represent Mexico in the near future. Other reports indicate El Tri manager Javier Aguirre is planning to visit Fidalgo when he travels to Spain to check-in on midfielder Obed Vargas, who also recently completed his move to Atlético Madrid.

"I think Álvaro [Fidalgo], if he has the legal right to be Mexican, there’s no reason for me to close the door [of the national team] on him,” Aguirre said about the situation back in November.

The last time Fidalgo played at the mythical Estadio Azteca, he lifted his second Liga MX title. A little over two years later, he could potentially return to play at América’s spiritual home, only this time donning Mexico’s shirt in the 2026 World Cup.

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