# César Montes

César Jasib Montes Castro (born 24 February 1997) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow and the Mexico national team.

## Club career
### Monterrey

During a youth league playoff match with Pob. Miguel Alemán against Monterrey, he caught the attention of the opposing team. He was eventually brought onto Monterrey's youth team and on 2 August 2015, Montes played his first match with Monterrey against Portuguese team Benfica on the inauguration of the Estadio BBVA Bancomer. Montes came in as a substitute for the second half, and at the 48th minute he scored the first ever-goal in the Estadio BBVA Bancomer. Monterrey defeated Benfica 3–0.
Montes made his official debut for Monterrey on 29 July 2015, against Correcaminos UAT in an Apertura 2015 Copa MX group stage match, where Monterrey defeated Correcaminos 3–1. At the end of the 2016 Clausura, he was listed in the Best XI.
At the end of December 2019, Montes would win the 2019 Apertura finals against América.
With Monterrey's victory of the 2019–20 Copa MX, they had obtained the continental treble.
Clásico Regiomontano
Clásico Regiomontano matches against crosstown rivals Tigres UANL have proven to be significant for Montes, scoring three goals against them to date. He would make his league debut on 19 September 2015 against Tigres UANL, contributing a 40-meter long ball assist to Rogelio Funes Mori to score the only goal for Monterrey where they lost Monterrey lost 3–1. On 14 May 2016, he would score Monterrey's only goal of the second leg of the Clausura 2016 championship quarter-final against Tigres UANL, losing 2–1, but with an aggregate score of 4–3 in favor of Monterrey to allow them move onto the semi-final against América. On 29 October 2016, he would tie the game against Tigres UANL, 1–1. On 21 April 2017, Montes scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Tigres UANL.

### Espanyol

On 27 December 2022, Montes moved abroad and joined La Liga club RCD Espanyol, with a contract until 2028. He made his debut for the club on 7 January 2023, in a 2–2 home draw against Girona FC.

### Almería

On 1 September 2023, after Espanyol's relegation, Montes joined Almería. He reportedly signed to a six-year contract with a transfer fee of €14 million, making Montes Almería's most expensive signing.

### Lokomotiv Moscow

On 12 September 2024, Montes signed for Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow on a five-year deal.

## International career
### Youth

Montes was part of Marco Antonio Ruiz's roster that participated in the 2018 Toulon Tournament. He would go on to appear in all group stage matches including the semi-final, except for the final where Mexico would go to lose 1–2 against England since he picked up an injury in the previous match against Turkey. He would go on to be included in the Best XI team of the tournament.
On 7 July 2016, Montes was named by Raúl Gutiérrez to be included in Mexico's 21-man squad that would participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He would appear in all of Mexico's group stage matches but Mexico would finish third in their group and were thus eliminated from the competition.
Ruled out for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship as it was not a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, Montes was called up by Jaime Lozano to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won the bronze medal with the Olympic team.

### Senior

Montes was called up by the senior national team to participate in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He would make his debut on 13 July 2017 during a group stage match against Jamaica, coming in as a substitute for Rodolfo Pizarro at half-time, finishing the game at 0–0.
On 6 June 2019, Montes was called up by coach Gerardo Martino to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He appeared as a substitute in the group stage match against Cuba and as a starter in the final group stage match against Martinique as Mexico went on to win the tournament.
In October 2022, Montes was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.
Montes was included in the roster for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. During the semi-final match against the United States, Montes was sent off in the 69th minute after getting in a physical altercation with Weston McKennie, who was also sent off in the 71st minute after a VAR check. Montes was given a four-match suspension by CONCACAF, which included the third place match against Panama and the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage.
Montes was included in Diego Cocca's list to participate at the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico won the tournament after defeating Panama.

## Style of play

A ball-playing defender that has shown maturity despite at a young age, Montes has a great range of passing, and has shown on a few occasions that he's able to pick out long-range passes, can execute a well-timed, and accurate, slide tackle, has shown he is capable of contributing goals in set-pieces, and is good in the air and able to deal with high balls into the box.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 7 March 2025
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Monterrey | 2015–16 | Liga MX | 33 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 2 |
| Monterrey | 2016–17 | Liga MX | 33 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 5 |
| Monterrey | 2017–18 | Liga MX | 27 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 0 |
| Monterrey | 2018–19 | Liga MX | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 |
| Monterrey | 2019–20 | Liga MX | 24 | 1 | 10 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| Monterrey | 2020–21 | Liga MX | 30 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 |
| Monterrey | 2021–22 | Liga MX | 28 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 29 | 2 |
| Monterrey | 2022–23 | Liga MX | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| Monterrey | Total | Total | 216 | 9 | 31 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 265 | 13 |
| Espanyol | 2022–23 | La Liga | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 3 |
| Almería | 2023–24 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| Almería | 2024–25 | Segunda División | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Almería | Total | Total | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 11 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 269 | 12 | 36 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 323 | 18 |
* ↑ Includes Copa MX, Copa del Rey, Russian Cup
* 1 2 3 Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
* 1 2 Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Mexico :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 1 |
| 2022 | 15 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 51 | 1 |
* ↑ Montes additionally played a match against Martinique in 2019, which is not recognized by FIFA.

#### International goals

    Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 30 June 2021 | Nissan Stadium, Nashville, United States | Panama | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |

## Honours

Monterrey
* Liga MX: Apertura 2019
* Copa MX: Apertura 2017, 2019–20
* CONCACAF Champions League: 2019, 2021
Mexico U23
* Olympic Bronze Medal: 2020
Mexico
* CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2019, 2023
Individual
* Liga MX Best XI: Clausura 2016
* Liga MX Best Rookie: 2015–16
* Liga MX All-Star: 2021
* Toulon Tournament Best XI: 2018
* CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI: 2024