Edson Omar Álvarez Velázquez (; born 24 October 1997) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

the Mexico national team.

Early life

Álvarez was born in

Tlalnepantla de Baz Tlalnepantla de Baz ( Otomi: ) is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlall ...

, a municipality just north of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, to Adriana Velázquez and Evaristo Álvarez. As a child he worked for his family's business of manufacturing football kits for local teams, which he cites as his first foray into the sport. At the age of 10, Álvarez joined

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

, before leaving the club just two years later due to his short stature. Contemplating quitting football, to the resistance of his parents who believed he had the talent to pursue his dream of playing professionally, Álvarez decided to try out for

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

's youth team, eventually making the team after a three-month tryout. He would make it to the daily team practices by way of a three-to-four-hour round trip commute from his home in Tlalnepantla and the club's

training ground A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness. They also sometimes form part of a club's youth system, as clubs consider it important ...

in Coapa. According to Álvarez, he would spend almost 70 per cent of his monthly salary toward transportation.

Club career

América

In 2014, at age 16, Álvarez joined

's youth system, playing for the under-17 team. The following year, while still playing for the under-17 squad, Álvarez was promoted to América's

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

team. In August 2016, first team coach

Ignacio Ambríz Marcos Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz Espinoza (born 7 February 1965) is a Mexican professional manager and former footballer. Playing career Playing for various clubs in Mexico, Ambríz is closely associated with Club Necaxa, a club he had three spell ...

gave Álvarez his first call-up, sitting on the bench in América's week 5

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

match against Monarcas Morelia, using the jersey number 282. On 29 October, newly appointed coach

Ricardo La Volpe Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni (; born 6 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional footballer and manager. He is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper who played for most of his career in Argentina and Mexico. As a coach, La Volpe was i ...

gave 19-year-old Álvarez his Liga MX debut in the team's win over

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

; he played all 90 minutes and was voted third in a ''Man of the Match'' online poll by club fans. On 25 December, he scored his first career goal in the

Apertura The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is ...

final against

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

. Prior to the start of the 2017–18 season, Álvarez was handed the number 4 shirt, which was vacated following the departure of Erik Pimentel. On 16 December 2018, Álvarez was given the start for the return leg of the Apertura final against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

, playing in midfield in place of the injured

Mateus Uribe Andrés Mateus Uribe Villa (born 21 March 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Atlético Nacional and the Colombia national team. After coming through the ranks of Envigado's youth academy, Uribe m ...

, and scored twice as América won its 13th league title following a 2–0 aggregate score. On 23 February 2019, Álvarez made his 100th competitive appearance for América in the team's 3–0 victory over

Lobos BUAP Club de Fútbol Lobos de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla were a Mexican football club based in Puebla, Mexico. The club represented the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. The club's history goes back to the early 1930s ...

Ajax

On 19 July 2019, Dutch club

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

announced an agreement with Club América for the signing of Álvarez on a five-year contract, subject to a medical, for a reported fee of US$17 million. He passed his medical and was officially presented on 22 July, being handed the number 4 shirt which had been vacated following the departure of

Matthijs de Ligt Matthijs de Ligt (born 12 August 1999) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands ...

. The club announced an official transfer sum of €15 million. On 17 August, Álvarez made his competitive debut for Ajax as a 74th minute substitute in the team's 4–1

win over

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch association football, football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutc ...

. On 29 August, Álvarez scored his first goal in his first start against

APOEL APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

in the second-leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off round. On 17 September, Álvarez scored the second goal in the 3–0 Champions League group stage victory over

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, becoming the first Mexican player to score on his Champions League debut. On 21 March 2021, Álvarez scored his first

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

goal for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

in a 5–0 victory over

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

. On 18 April, in the Dutch Cup final against Vitesse, he played the entirety of the match in a 2–1 victory. At the end of his second season, he was nominated for the league Player of the Year Award. On 27 October 2021, it was announced Álvarez had signed a contract extension with Ajax, keeping him with the club until 2025. On 30 April 2022 he was inducted into the club's '' Club van 100'', making his 100th appearance in a 3–0 league victory over

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

, becoming the 174th player in the history of the club to join the ranks.

West Ham United

On 10 August 2023, English club

announced they had signed Álvarez on a five-year contract for a reported fee of £35 million. He was handed the number 19 jersey. He became the fourth Mexican player, after

Guillermo Franco Guillermo "Guille" Luis Franco Farquarson (born 3 November 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born and raised in Argentina, he played for the Mexico national team. Early life Guillermo Franco was born in Corr ...

Pablo Barrera Pablo Edson Barrera Acosta (born 21 June 1987) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga MX club Querétaro. Barrera spent the early part of his career playing for Club Universidad Nacional in Mexico, before transfer ...

, and

Javier Hernández Javier Hernández Balcázar (; born 1 June 1988), commonly known by the nickname Chicharito (, Mexican Spanish: ''little pea''), is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Guadalajara. He is known for his c ...

, to represent West Ham United. He made his debut on 20 August, coming on as an 81st minute substitute for

James Ward-Prowse James Michael Edward Ward-Prowse (born 1 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club West Ham United. Originally a member of Southampton's youth teams, Ward-Prowse made his first-team debut ...

in a 3–1 victory against Chelsea. On 14 December 2023, Álvarez scored his first goal for West Ham, scoring against

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

in a 2–0 victory in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. On 2 March 2024, in a 3–1 win against Everton at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

, Álvarez scored his first Premier league goal collecting a pass from

Jarrod Bowen Jarrod Bowen (born 20 December 1996) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger or Forward (association football), forward for and captains club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. He has also app ...

in the 5th minute of added-time.

International career

Youth

Álvarez was called up to the under-20 team camp preparing for the

2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2017 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 5th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (26th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted in Costa Rica between ...

en route to the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

. He was included in the tournament's best XI. Álvarez was included in the World Cup under-20 squad, and scored the winning goal in Mexico's 3–2 win over Group B minnows

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Senior

On 30 January 2017, Álvarez received his first call up to the senior national team for a friendly against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. He made his senior debut on 8 February against Iceland, replacing

Jesús Molina Jesús Antonio Molina Granados (born 29 March 1988) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. Club career UANL Jesús Molina debuted with Tigres UANL ...

in the 60th minute. Along with

Alejandro Mayorga Manuel Alejandro Mayorga Almaraz (born 29 May 1997) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga MX club Necaxa. Early life Mayorga joined C.D. Guadalajara's youth academy in 2011. Club career Guadalajara 2017–18: ...

, he was cited to be a supporting practice squad player with the

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six Continental football championships, continental champions ...

team. He was called up to the Gold Cup, making him the youngest player on the squad. The roster was largely composed of alternate players, as the primary squad was in Russia competing in the Confederations Cup. On 17 July, in the last game of the group stage against

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, Álvarez scored his first goal for the national team in their 2–0 win, becoming the youngest Mexican player to score a goal in a Gold Cup tournament at 19 years old. In May 2018, Álvarez was named to Mexico's preliminary 28-man squad for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. He was the youngest player on the list. He was ultimately included in the final 23-man roster revealed on 4 June. He appeared in all of Mexico's group stage matches; in Mexico's final group match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, Álvarez started at right-back and scored an own goal at the 74th minute when the ball deflected off his left thigh in Mexico's 3–0 loss. He also started in the round-of-16 defeat to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In May 2019, Álvarez was included in

Gerardo Martino Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino (born 20 November 1962) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who last coached Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Martino played mostly for Newell's Old Boys in his native Rosario. He ...

's provisional Gold Cup roster. In a friendly match against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, he suffered an apparent knee injury but was revealed to only be a scare. He was included in the final list for the competition. Álvarez appeared as a starter in five matches, including the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, as Mexico would go on to win the tournament. In October 2022, Álvarez was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

, and in November, was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster. Álvarez played in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

draw against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

as well as the win against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Álvarez goal.''

Honours

América *

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

: Apertura 2018 *

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: Clausura 2019 Ajax *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2021–22 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

Mexico *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Th ...

Best XI:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

Best XI:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Best XI:

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Men's CONCACAF Best XI: 2020, 2021, 2024 * Club van 100 * CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

References

External links

Profile
at the West Ham United F.C. website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Edson 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Tlalnepantla de Baz Footballers from the State of Mexico Mexican men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football central defenders Club América footballers AFC Ajax players West Ham United F.C. players Liga MX players Liga Premier de México players Eredivisie players Premier League players Mexico men's youth international footballers Mexico men's under-20 international footballers Mexico men's international footballers 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2024 Copa América players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Mexican expatriate men's footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Mexican expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 21st-century Mexican sportsmen