The 2025-26 European season is upon us. I check in with our Mexicans Abroad: their club status and how to catch their games.
Serie A
Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan): Its been a rough time at AC Milan since Gimenez moved from Feyenoord. AC Milan finished in a disappointing 8th place and will not play in Europe this season. Overall, Santi played in 19 games after his transfer and contributed 6 goals, 3 assists. Gimenez should get the bulk of the minutes up top for Milan and with that carries high expectations.
Johan Vasquez (Genoa):Still surprised he is at Genoa but fine with it. Especially going into the season before the World Cup. He will captain Genoa this season, joining a small club of Mexicans to captain European clubs. As long as he stays healthy, he is one of the first names on the teamsheet for club and country.
- How to watch: Serie A has been on Paramount Plus for a couple seasons now. I do not believe they have games on their tv channels that cannot be streamed like NBC does with Peacock. Another thing in favor of signing up for Paramount Plus: it has all the Champions/Europa/Conference League games.
English Premier League
Raul Jimenez (Fulham): Last season was the definition of a comeback season for Jimenez. He scored over 10 league goals for the first time since the 2019-2020 season with Wolves. Raul played in all 38 league games, starting 30 with Fulham finishing 11th in the table. As of today (8/19/25), Fulham have spent like $500k on incoming transfers (backup keeper) and only have 1 other striker on the roster (Rodrigo Muniz). I expect Raul to once again get the bulk of the striker minutes this season.
Julian Araujo (Bournemouth): Last season was a bit of a lost season for Araujo. He suffered an injury in October that basically kept him out for the rest of the season. He was able to recover in time for the end and get called up for Mexico in the summer. He should get every chance this season to become their starting RB. Vasco has options at RB for Mexico and Araujo is definitely in the mix but he is closer to missing out on the World Cup than starting the opener at Azteca. It is imperative that he balls out this season.
Edson Alvarez (West Ham): Last season was one to forget for West Ham and most of its players, Edson included. Coaching changes and PSR concerns are leading to several changes at the Hammers. The latest rumors have Edson going to Turkey or Germany.
- How to watch: By now we all know where to watch the EPL in the US: NBC, Peacock, and its other cable channels. Although they do a good job of rotating clubs, expect Bournemouth and West Ham to be relegated to Peacock for most of their games.
Belgium Pro League
Cesar Huerta (Anderlecht): Chino has been on the fringes of Mexico’s starting 11 since Vasco took over. If he wants to become more than the first attacker off the bench at next summer’s World Cup, he needs to shine in Europe this season. Chino has started his league campaign on the right with a goal off the bench. Anderlecht have a chance to advance to the Conference League group stage but face off against Orbelin Pineda & AEK. One of the very same players Chino is up against for more playing time with the national team. I’m excited to see how he develops this season in Belgium and hoping he can play well enough to make one of the national team winger spots his.
Heriberto Jurado (Cercle Brugge): Jurado is only 20yrs old and is not being rushed by Brugge. Since his move in January, he has only played in 2 First team games for a total of 11 minutes. He was making the bench by the end of the season and has continued doing so this season. The focus for Jurado will be the U20 World Cup. Mexico is in a brutal group with Brazil (9/28), Spain (10/1), and Morocco (10/4).
- How to watch: In previous seasons, Belgium Pro League would be on ESPN+ but that has changed for the 25-26 season. The rights have moved over to DAZN. Same type of coverage with 3 games per week being streamed. You need a subscription to stream the games but can watch replays/highlights with just a DAZN account.
Eredivisie
Mateo Chavez (AZ Alkmaar): One of the breakout players of the summer for Mexico was Mateo Chavez and he is keeping that momentum going in the Eredivisie. Chavez recorded an assist in his first league appearance for the club
- How to watch: Luckily for me, ESPN+ remains the US outlet with rights to the Eredivisie. They stream a few games a week on their platform. AZ Alkmaar is still in contention for Conference League and those games would be on Paramount Plus.
La Liga
Alex Padilla (Athletic Bilbao): After a so-so loan at Pumas, Padilla returns to Bilbao as the #2 keeper. He already saw action in 5 league games last season for Bilbao but look for him to get minutes in Copa games this season. He has a slim chance at making the World Cup roster but its more of a long shot than anything else.
- How to watch: ESPN+ remains the US outlet with rights to the La Liga and Copa del Rey. They stream every game and will show bigger games on ESPN/ABC. Bilbao will play in the Champions League as well, those games will be on Paramount Plus.
The Rest
Orbelin Pineda (AEK): Still in Greece and still involved in transfer rumors to Mexican clubs. I’m surprised he is still there after Matias Almeyda left for Sevilla. The club is in the middle of Conference League playoffs (plays Huerta next). At this point, I think Vasco has him as a lock for the World Cup roster, for better or worse. He’s not a bad player, just very inconsistent for the national team.
Rodrigo Huescas (Copenhagen): Did not play for Mexico this summer after some legal issues in Denmark and missed out on being in front of the coaching staff for 6 weeks. I think he will be called in for the September friendlies and get some minutes but he is at a disadvantage in the RB battle. I don’t think Mexico brings 3 natural RBs to the World Cup, especially with Israel Reyes on the team. Huescas will need to show Vasco he can be a better fit for his team over either Jorge Sanchez or Julian Araujo. Playing well in the Champions League would go far but Copenhagen still need to beat Basel to qualify for the Group stage.
Stephano Carrillo (FC Dordrecht): Carrillo is in the same boat as Jurado. They are being brought along slowly by their clubs and their biggest focus is the U20 World Cup next month. Feyenoord sent Carrillo out on loan to FC Dordrecht in the 2nd division, a club managed by Feyenoord legend Dirk Kuyt. I think he will get plenty of minutes and chances to develop while the club fight for promotion.
Cesar Montes (FC Lokomotiv Moscow): He is an every game starter in Russia and for Mexico. Him and Johan will be the starting CBs at the World Cup, just need to cover them in bubble wrap so both are healthy next summer. Have heard no transfer rumors so I expect him to stay in Russia.
Luis Chavez (FC Dynamo): He suffered a long term injury (torn ACL) this summer and is in a race to get healthy before the World Cup.
Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah): He finished 5th in the league in goals last season and had a decent showing over the summer for Mexico. He can be a weapon off the bench for Vasco but his spot is far from secure. He will need to ball out again in Saudi to stay on the radar for the World Cup
- How to watch: Other than the Saudi League, the rest of these leagues do not have an official tv/streaming presence in the US. Fox has the rights to the Saudi League but pretty much only show games involving Cristiano Ronaldo. I think they even had a CR7 Cam last time I tried watching a game. Huescas, either Champions League or Eruopa League, will have games on Paramount Plus but league ones have no distributor in the US. If Pineda qualifies for Conference League, those games will also be on Paramount Plus. So if you want to catch games for anyone else, you’ll have to sail the high seas of shady streams.
As Twitter slowly deteriorates into a timeline of shitty promoted tweets and the same 3 ads, I think its time to look at other platforms to keep building the #LigaMXEng community. I set up the TCK Discord server to help keep the conversation going. So whether you’re coming for the memes or for the streaming links to see a Mexican play in Holland’s 2nd division, I hope you stick around.