TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
CF Montréal have signed center back Fernando Álvarez from Liga MX side Pachuca, the club announced Friday.
The 19-year-old New York City native, who represented Colombia at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the spring, joins through the 2025 MLS season, with options for 2026 and 2027.
Álvarez is MTL's second major acquisition of the Secondary Transfer Window, after the club added forward Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku in an intra-league trade with LAFC for a near-record $1.75 million in General Allocation Money (GAM).
"We are delighted to welcome Fernando to the club," Montréal vice-president and chief sporting officer Olivier Renard said in a release. "He is a player who stood out this summer at the U-20 World Cup in Argentina as one of the tournament’s best central defenders. In addition to the advantage of his American citizenship, he has a solid physical frame with the ability to quickly restart play."
Born to Colombian and Mexican parents, Álvarez has also gotten call-ups from Mexico's U-16 and U-18 sides. He's eligible to play for the United States as well.
At the club level, he's featured primarily with Pachuca's U-20s, but played three matches this year with their U-23 side. A lone Liga MX appearance with the first team took place in a 1-1 draw with FC Juárez in October 2021.
Currently 10th in the Eastern Conference standings at the Leagues Cup break, Montréal are in their first season under head coach Hernán Losada.
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