Farewell to a legend: Paying tribute to Mexico & Real Betis icon Andres Guardado

Seville, 19 January 2023. Andrés Guardado's brilliant spell at Real Betis is coming to an end. At 37 years of age, the Mexican midfielder is returning to his country, leaving behind an unforgettable spell at Club Verdiblanco, with four qualifiers for European competitions (2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023) and the Copa del Rey title achieved in 2022. The captain, a reference in the dressing room and the foreign player who has worn the green and white shirt the most times with 218 official matches, says goodbye.

Real Betis wanted to give a well-deserved recognition to the '18' of the last six and a half seasons. The event, which took place at the Ciudad Deportiva Luis del Sol, was attended by members of the first team squad, the coaching staff, former captain and Club legend Joaquín Sánchez, the board of directors and the player's family and friends, as well as the national and Mexican media.

Ángel Haro, president of the Club, opened the event with an emotional speech addressed to the captain: "In today's football it is not normal for a player to stay seven years in the same team. Andrés arrived in July 2017 at a great moment of footballing maturity and, almost seven years later, he leaves as the foreigner with the most games played and a Copa del Rey. With his football and leadership he has made the Betis fans happy. He has always been a loyal captain and a great team-mate. Here you will always have an open door".

Joaquín, a legend at the Club, and the current captains of the squad, Nabil Fekir and Germán Pezzella, World Cup winners with France and Argentina respectively, also spoke warmly of Andrés Guardado, who wanted to symbolically hand over his baton to Nabil Fekir by putting the captain's armband on him. "A legend is