Genk is the new team of Mexican Gerardo Arteaga, who reached an agreement for five years and more than three million euros
Gerardo Arteaga, defender of Santos Laguna, reached an agreement with KRC Genk of Belgium for 3.5 million euros and a five-year contract.
Sources close to Santos Laguna told ESPN Digital that the player's representatives are "in the process of obtaining visas and requesting the corresponding permits, as the idea is for Gerardo (Arteaga) to make the trip as soon as possible."
The five-year contract that Gerardo Arteaga agreed with Genk of Belgium also does not leave the club unprotected as they retained a portion of his transfer rights in case of a future sale of the defender.
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The idea is for him to make his debut in the upcoming season of the Belgian league, which was suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic and will restart on August 8, 2020.
Gerardo Arteaga joins Omar Govea as the Mexicans who will play in Belgian football in the 2020/2021 season.
Genk finished last season in seventh place, 26 points behind the leaders.
For months, Santos Laguna had been considering the possibility of Gerardo Arteaga moving to Europe. In fact, Gerardo García, from the player's agency You First Sports, stated in an interview with this website that the Mexican-Spanish defender had all the qualities required to play in Europe.
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According to García, the goal was for Gerardo Arteaga to first play in a league of Belgian quality to adapt and then make the jump to a more competitive league.
In fact, although Gerardo Arteaga agreed to a five-year contract with his new club, the intention is for him to stay there for one or two seasons and then move to a league with greater exposure.
Gerardo Arteaga made his debut on September 13, 2016, wearing the Santos Laguna jersey. Since then, the 21-year-old player has grown a lot in his football career, to the point of becoming an undisputed starter for the team.
He has been part of the U-21 national team and in August 2018, he was called up for the first time to the Mexican National Team by Brazilian coach Ricardo Ferretti, to play two friendly matches against Uruguay and one against the United States.