Armando González has PASSED his medical and SIGNED a five-year Olympiacos contract — only the official club announcement remains | OneFootball

The difficult business is finished. Olympiacos convinced the player. They negotiated through repeated Chivas rejections. They got González to Athens.

And now the 23-year-old has passed his examinations and signed a five-year deal. At this point, the transfer story is effectively over. The football story begins.

Five years tells us Olympiacos are buying both the present and the future

This is not a one- or two-season veteran solution. A five-year contract gives Olympiacos control through González’s prime development years. That matters because the club are making a significant investment in a striker who has never played European club football. They are betting that adaptation plus development can turn him into something substantially more valuable than he is today.

That is a very different model from Mehdi Taremi. Taremi represented known production and experience.

The reported €1.5m salary reinforces that this is not a depth signing

Even before considering the transfer fee, that salary tier signals serious first-team expectations.

Olympiacos are not signing González merely to cover El Kaabi when the Moroccan needs rest.

They expect him to play.

El Kaabi gives him the adaptation runway Olympiacos need

This is one of the strongest elements of the transaction. Olympiacos do not need González to become the starting No.9 in August. El Kaabi remains established and trusted by Mendilibar. That allows González to learn the parts of the role that will probably be most unfamiliar:

pressing triggers;

defensive angles;

timing his movements against compact blocks;

and the collective demands of Olympiacos’ attacking structure.

The goals matter, but Mendilibar will almost certainly judge the defensive work first.

The domestic environment will test him differently from Liga MX

Chivas often play in matches with more transitional space than Olympiacos will see domestically.

In Greece, opponents will regularly defend deep. That changes striker evaluation. González will need to find small pockets inside crowded penalty areas. Attack the first movement rather than wait for the obvious cross.

Combine quickly with wingers and attacking midfielders. And maintain concentration through long stretches when Olympiacos dominate possession without creating clear chances.

That adaptation may be more important than learning to finish.

Europa League football could accelerate his development

The European campaign offers the opposite challenge. There, Olympiacos will not always control the ball. González may get more space to run channels and attack unsettled defensive lines. That could suit him.

It also exposes him to faster centre-backs, more sophisticated pressing and greater tactical punishment for poor decisions.

For a 23-year-old striker making his first European move, the contrast between domestic league football and Europa League matches could be extremely valuable.

The fee means patience has limits

This is the unavoidable part. Whether one prefers the Greek €8.5m-plus-bonuses framing or the Mexican approximately-$12m-for-80% framing, Olympiacos have committed serious capital.

That cannot produce a passive long-term project. Over time, González has to become one of two things:

a major first-team striker;

or an appreciating asset capable of generating another large transfer.

Ideally both. If he spends years as El Kaabi’s understudy, the transaction will be difficult to justify.

Chivas retaining 20% shows they believe in the upside too

This is an important business signal. Mexican reporting consistently says Guadalajara preserve 20% of the player’s rights or future economic participation. That means Chivas are not simply cashing out.

They still expect to participate if González succeeds in Europe. For Olympiacos, that reduces the percentage of future upside they control. But it likely helped bring the guaranteed purchase price into a range they were willing to accept. That is a sensible compromise if the player genuinely develops.

The transfer also closes the striker restructuring

Taremi is moving out. González is signed. El Kaabi remains. Jota provides tactical flexibility. That is a much cleaner striker room than Olympiacos had only a week ago.

Mendilibar can now assign roles rather than manage multiple senior forwards whose expectations overlap.

The next job is integration. And for González, the five-year Olympiacos chapter has now effectively begun.