How the World Cup Left América’s Rebuild in Limbo

Club América opened the Apertura 2026 on July 16 with the same group that got knocked out in the quarterfinals three months earlier. Coach Guillermo Almada had promised four or five new faces. A week into the tournament, the club has signed exactly zero.

The gap between the promise and the reality traces back to a stage bigger than Liga MX. Two of América’s top targets spent July somewhere else entirely: on World Cup rosters, unavailable to close a deal, while rival clubs across Mexico quietly finished their own business.

Three Loan Returns Are the Only New Faces at América

The only players joining América’s squad this window are not new signings at all. Emilio Lara, Esteban Lozano and Franco Rossano are simply coming back from loan spells elsewhere, rejoining a roster that stalled in the quarterfinals of the previous tournament.

Almada has publicly acknowledged that the front office is working to land four or five outside additions before the transfer market closes. None of those conversations has produced a signed player yet. Several are described as ongoing, not dead, which is its own kind of pressure heading into a new season.

Why Borja Iglesias Could Not Talk Business Until July 19

América’s most ambitious target has been Borja Iglesias, the 33-year-old Celta de Vigo striker who joined the Galician club on a permanent deal last year after a loan from Real Betis. He scored 14 goals in Spain’s top flight this past season, enough to help Celta qualify for the Europa League, and Celta values him at roughly $10 million.

América’s president, Santiago Baños, has personally led the pursuit, including a meeting arranged in Los Angeles timed around a preseason friendly against LA Galaxy. But Iglesias asked the club to wait until his World Cup run with Spain was finished. He barely played, entering as a late substitute in Spain’s win over Portugal that sent La Roja into the quarterfinals, yet he remained part of the squad all the way to the final.

Spain did not lift the trophy until July 19, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on a goal from Ferran Torres in the 105th minute. It was Spain’s second World Cup title and its first since 2010. Liga MX’s Apertura had already kicked off three days earlier. América played its own tournament opener before Spain had even finished playing for the trophy.

I’m super happy at Celta, in Galicia, at home.

Borja Iglesias told reporters when asked about the América links, stopping short of ruling out a move once his contract situation is sorted. He remains under contract at Celta through 2027, with an option for a further year, which is why any deal still requires a transfer fee rather than a free exit.

Congo DR’s Underdog Run Made Moutoussamy a Bargain

América’s cheapest target has also been its most eye-catching. Samuel Moutoussamy, a box-to-box midfielder who holds Congolese and French nationality, was part of the Congo DR side that stunned Portugal with a 1-1 draw in their Group K opener in Houston. He played all 90 minutes, completed 84% of his passes and helped shut down a Portugal midfield built around Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite that performance, América’s reported cost to sign him sits at around one million euros, a figure the board sees as making the deal far easier to complete than the Iglesias or Luis Chávez pursuits. América has already been linked to the 29-year-old as the fix for a midfield the club itself admits needs urgent reinforcement.

The Seven Names Santiago Baños Is Actually Chasing

Plenty of names get attached to América in silly season. Only a handful have actually reached the negotiating stage. Here is the shortlist the club’s board has pursued so far this window.

The two left back options, Esquivel and Capixaba, illustrate how América is working every position in tandem rather than waiting on a single name to fall through before chasing the next.

Chivas, Monterrey and Atlas Already Have Their Reinforcements

While América waited on players tied to national teams, clubs that avoided the World Cup calendar simply got their business done. Several Liga MX rivals have already registered new faces for the Apertura.

• Monterrey signed Diego Rossi, a 28-year-old Uruguayan forward, from MLS side Columbus Crew.
• Chivas added Kevin Castañeda from Tijuana and winger Jordan Carrillo, 24, from Santos Laguna.
• Atlas brought in Moroccan-Belgian forward Ryan Mmaee from a Cypriot club and Cape Verdean striker Luís Henriques, known as Duke.
• Pumas landed Sebastián Córdova, while Toluca added Víctor Guzmán.

América remains the outlier among Liga MX’s bigger spenders. Mexican outlets have already flagged the club as a special case this window, one that talked a big game without landing a marquee name before kickoff.

The Real Cutoff Is September 11, Not Next Week

The sense of urgency around América’s window is real on the pitch, since a player cannot suit up until he is registered. But the hard legal deadline is further off than the panic suggests. Liga MX clubs have until contracts running through mid-2027 still get negotiated under normal transfer rules, and the league itself has set September 11 as the deadline to register foreign-trained signings for the Apertura 2026.

That gives clubs close to two months from kickoff to finish deals, not the single week América’s board has signaled internally. The gap between now and September matters because every week without Iglesias, Chávez or a settled left back is a week the squad that lost in the quarterfinals plays on unchanged.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much would Samuel Moutoussamy’s transfer actually cost?

Reports peg the fee at around one million euros, remarkably cheap for a player who started every minute of Congo DR’s shock draw with Portugal at the World Cup. Moutoussamy was born in Paris to a Congolese mother and a father of Indo-Guadeloupean and Tamil descent, and he has earned 57 caps for Congo DR.

Does Luis Chávez have a fixed price or release clause?

No release clause has been reported. Transfermarkt lists his market value at six million euros, and his Dynamo Moscow contract runs to June 2027 with a club option for a further year, giving the Russian side little reason to lower its asking price.

What is the actual deadline for Liga MX clubs to register signings?

September 11, 2026, is the cutoff for registering foreign-trained players for the Apertura, according to Mexican outlets covering the window. Clubs that miss it cannot use a new signing until the following tournament, whatever progress the negotiation has made by then.