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Sergio Ramos leads high-profile arrivals from Spain to Mexico
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FC Monterrey star Sergio Canalas credited with inspiring recent influx
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Club America’s Alvaro Fidalgo is seen as the greatest success story
During the mid-1990s, a number of Spanish stars found huge success on Mexican soil. Between 1995 and 1997 alone, icons such as Emilio Butragueno, Michel, Jose Mari Bakero, Miguel Pardeza, Rafael Martin Vazquez, Francisco ‘Paquete’ Higuera and Carlos Munoz thrilled Mexican fans with their sumptuous footballing talents. Now history appears to be repeating itself 30 years on.
Sergio Canales and Oliver Torres are strutting their stuff at CF Monterrey, who will feature at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, while Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos has also checked in at Rayados. And they are not the only Spaniards to have made the move to Mexico. FIFA looks back three decades and recalls the legends of a bygone generation before taking a closer look at the current crop of Spanish imports plying their trade in the North American country.
Butragueno was the first from the legendary Real Madrid group known as La Quinta del Buitre to land on Mexican turf, spending three years and racking up more than 50 appearances with Atletico Celaya between 1995 and 1998. The side were runners-up in the Mexican Primera Division in 1996, narrowly losing out to Club Necaxa on the away-goals rule over a two-legged final. That summer, Butragueno’s long-time team-mate both at Real Madrid and with the Spanish national team, Michel, joined the ranks at the Guanajuato-based outfit.
That set the ball rolling for several other Spain-born aces who would make their move a year later. Bakero, who was a member of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team, left Barcelona in January 1997 and made the switch to Veracruz. In July, Pardeza swapped Real Zaragoza for Puebla, while Vazquez departed Deportivo La Coruna and signed for Atletico Celaya, where Butragueno was still playing (Michel had since retired).
Legendary Spanish goal-getters reproduce exploits in Mexico
Pardeza’s team-mate at Zaragoza, ‘Paquete’ Higuera, followed him to Puebla, where he would spend one season. Another player waiting to welcome them there was Munoz, who had ended his seven-year spell at Real Oviedo in the summer of 1996 and became something of a leading light when he headed across the Atlantic to spend two seasons with La Franja. Munoz certainly had an impact during his time with the Mexican outfit, chalking up more than 30 goals.
The signing of Ramos to bolster Rayados’ chances ahead of the Club World Cup surprised fans across the planet. A FIFA World Cup™ winner with a bounty of more than 30 titles and accolades to his name, the opportunity in Mexico provided a new challenge and a chance to prolong his playing career, including at the highest level in FIFA’s new global club showpiece.
The number of Spanish expats in Liga MX has somewhat boomed in recent years, largely thanks to the positive feedback from those playing there, including big hitters who have attracted media interest and who come with a proven track record (like Ramos himself), to lesser-known performers looking to kick on in their careers.
“Sergio [Canales] was the one who paved the way for Spanish players in Mexico,” goalkeeper Pau Lopez told the press. The recently-arrived Toluca loanee explained that the Rayados playmaker had been an advocate for the league and quashed the concerns that Lopez had raised about leaving the European game, explaining that in Mexico, “there is real quality, there are great players, the stadiums are packed and you can enjoy your football”.
While Canales was hardly the first Spanish footballer in this latest wave to make the move from the Iberian peninsula, his arrival at Los Albiazules halfway through 2023 was seen as a statement of intent, as he brought his experience and quality to the table in the club’s quest for a sixth league title.
Today, there can be no questioning Canales’ star status at Rayados, not only because he has claimed more than 30 goals and assists, but also due to his leadership qualities, having been handed the captain’s armband for the past six months. As with Lopez, Canales is also credited with having influenced Torres’ decision to accept an offer from the Nuevo Leon-based club in 2024.
In an interview with FIFA, the ex-Sevilla schemer said that Canales, “opened doors for me, told me all about the project and the city and how he felt. He wanted to help me with everything.”
Being deployed as an attacking or central midfielder, Torres has shown an ability to both get involved in the build-up and carry out his defensive duties, and his versatility has made him a practically indispensable cog in Martín Demichelis’ starting XI. And if that were not enough, the pair also went some way to laying the groundwork for Ramos, who took their opinions on board when weighing up the decision to join the community of Spaniards in Mexican football.
Three-time champion Fidalgo shines brightly
The biggest success story among these Spanish imports can be found in the Mexican capital and belongs to Alvaro Fidalgo. It was February 2021 when Club America snapped up the then 23-year-old, who came with pedigree after having turned out for Real Madrid Castilla in the past.
However, what sets his case apart from those of the other members of the Spanish contingent in Mexico was that the midfielder found himself at a turning point in his career when he arrived in North America, driven by a desire to prove that he has what it takes to command a place at football’s top table. Las Aguilas put faith in his ability and soon reaped the rewards, as Fidalgo became a key player in guiding the club to a historic three successive league titles, among other trophy triumphs and individual honours.
Prior to winning the latest Mexican league championship, Fidalgo shared with the media his joy at obtaining a Mexican passport: “Everyone knows how happy I am here, which is why I decided to become a Mexican national.”
Notably, there is also a recent trend of Spanish goalkeepers signing for Mexican clubs. In addition to Lopez, who traded Girona for Toluca, on loan from Marseille, Alex Padilla has been loaned out to Pumas from Athletic Club. Padilla is a dual Spanish-Mexican national and is in search of playing time as he vies for a place in Javier Aguirre’s national-team squad ahead of the next World Cup.
Chivas’ Oscar Whalley is another Spanish shot-stopper with Mexican citizenship through his mother, while defenders Ruben Duarte and Unai Bilbao, at Pumas and Club Tijuana respectively, as well as midfielder Fran Villalba, at Santos Laguna, round off an extensive list of Spaniards earning their keep in Mexican football.
