Armando “La Hormiga” González leaves Mexico after a difficult summer and begins a new adventure in Europe

The Mexican forward arrived in Athens on August 21 to begin his spell with Olympiacos, leaving Chivas behind and , with it, a summer that ended up being much more complicated than he could have imagined when the year began.

But who is “La Hormiga” González?

For many fans outside Mexico, his name may still be new. In Guadalajara, however, he has been showing for some time that he could become one of the country’s most important young forwards .

Born on April 20, 2003, in Celaya, Guanajuato, González came through Chivas’ youth academy and played for Tapatío before making his first-team debut in 2023. His development accelerated over the past year, when he scored 24 goals between the Apertura 2025 and Clausura 2026 .

His big breakthrough came in the Apertura 2025. With 12 goals, he finished as the Liga MX top scorer , sharing the honor with other players.

The 2026 World Cup opened a door that closed far too soon

That performance earned González a call-up to the Mexican national team and eventually took him to the 2026 World Cup .

He arrived at the tournament with a story that seemed perfect for a young forward: Chivas’ top scorer, a promising young player and a first World Cup opportunity in front of his home crowd . But reality turned out to be very different.

Javier Aguirre gave him just 14 minutes against South Africa . After that match, González did not play another minute during the World Cup.

Mexico were eliminated by England in the Round of 16, and the forward was seen crying after the match, aware that his long-awaited World Cup debut had not gone the way he had hoped.

And he still had to return to Guadalajara.

A problem Chivas had not planned for emerged

After the World Cup, González returned to Guadalajara to play in the Apertura 2026 and the Leagues Cup .

The problem appeared in an area he knew all too well: scoring goals .

Statistically, he was no longer the same dominant forward who had arrived at the World Cup. And just when he needed to rediscover that version of himself, a difficult possibility for Chivas fans began to take shape: seeing him leave for another country .

Greece appeared at the least expected moment

Olympiacos decided to bet on González and put a $12 million deal on the table, along with a five-year contract. Chivas retained 20% of his rights in anticipation of a future sale.

The move is particularly striking because of when it happened.

“Money is not the main thing,” and there is a reason behind it

Before leaving for Europe, González said that money was not what he was primarily looking for.

His priority, he explained, is his development as a footballer.

And there is a specific goal behind that decision: the Champions League .

The forward has acknowledged that playing in a European competition has been one of his goals since he was a child. Olympiacos cannot offer him that competition immediately, but it can give him a new setting to begin building a path toward it, something that would be difficult to achieve in Mexico, especially after experiencing a World Cup in which he barely had opportunities .