Johnny Cardoso’s reported move to La Liga has become official.
Cardoso has officially joined Real Betis on a permanent move from Internacional, both clubs announced Tuesday. He has signed a five-year contract, which will take him through December 2028.
Spanish outlet Relevo reported on the proposed transfer back in October, with Internacional set to receive $6.3 million (€6 million) and a future 20% sell-on clause from Real Betis for his services.
The U.S. men’s national team midfielder 49 combined appearances for Internacional this season, which included a run to the Copa Libertadores semifinals. The 22-year-old broke into the Internacional first team in 2020 and has proceeded to total seven goals and three assists in 144 appearances for the club.
A Denville, New Jersey native, Cardoso opted to represent the United States and has earned nine caps to date for the USMNT. He recently featured during the October international window against Germany and Ghana.
Real Betis are currently seventh in La Liga with 28 points earned through 18 matches. Manuel Pellegrini’s squad also remain in the Copa Del Rey and Europa Conference League competitions.
Very good move for him. He will get playing time. Cardose can play as an 8 or 6.
As an 8? Hmmm…interesting…I have not seen that in him.
He played as an 8 and 6 for Internacional.
This could be a starter-level development since Tyler Adams has such a lengthy injury history and they’re not really the same kind of mid anyway. They’re both 6’s but Adams is an almost pure defensive midfielder who can cover an insane amount of ground…from what I’ve seen of Cardoso he doesn’t have the range or athleticism or defensive chops of Adams (though he does seem to read the game well) but he is a vastly better passer and far more technical player who can advance the ball.
Be interesting to see if he can force his way into getting heavy minutes for Betis.
Quozzel,
It will be interesting to see if he can work his way into the lineup for meaningful minutes. Betis have been playing with two defensive mid’s. Guido Rodriguez is out with a broken leg. Since the injury to Rodriguez, Betis rotate Marc Roca, who played at Leeds last season with Adams and McKennie, Sergi Altimira ( 22 years old ) , and Andres Guardado ( 37 years old ).
That does seem like a good opportunity. Generally teams don’t bring in a player in January unless it’s to fill a perceived hole, so Betis, anyhow, would seem to be feeling they need him. Looking at the table, Real Betis is in seventh and probably out of contention for Europe unless they get super-hot, but it’s still a huge distance from being the worst team in La Liga.