LALIGA SANTANDER
César Montes chooses the right time to join Espanyol
The 26-year-old defender has adapted quickly to La Liga and he has become a regular starter for Los Periquitos upon arrival.
César Montes made his eighth appearance with Espanyol in the 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid on Saturday at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The Mexican international has now made seven starts and was substituted once since arriving at the LaLiga side during the winter transfer window.
Montes is the future of Mexico
In Mexico there is an endless debate about the right time for young players to make the switch to Europe and Montes is the perfect example of that. The 26-year-old made his debut with Monterrey in 2015 and slowly became the leader of the defence. Montes showed progression tournament after tournament and was regularly included in the Best XI.
Montes spent seven years with Rayados and won the 2019 Apertura tournament, the Copa MX in 2017, 2019 and 2020 and the CONCACAF Champions League in 2019 and 2021. His performances at club level earned him a call up to the Mexico national team and he was a key player in El Tri winning the 2019 Gold Cup.
Following his World Cup participation with Mexico in Qatar, Montes talked to the people in charge at Monterrey and the head coach, Victor Manuel Vucetich, about making the switch to Europe during the winter transfer window. The 26-year-old showed maturity and thought it was the right time to leave Liga MX.
Now he is showing progression in a short period of time with Espanyol and he will become a leader in no time. Montes should be taken as an example for all the young Mexican players who doubt about the right time to make the switch to Europe in order to improve the quality of the national team.
LaLiga Santander 2022/2023
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13Real Valladolid | 28 | 8 | 4 | 13 |
| 14Espanyol | 27 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| 15Cádiz | 27 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| Upcoming matches | |
|---|---|
| Espanyol - Celta de Vigo | S-18/03 13:30 |
| Girona - Espanyol | S-01/04 08:00 |
| Espanyol - Athletic Club | S-08/04 10:15 |
*Data updated to date Mar 11th, 2023