USMNT's Johnny Cardoso set to move to Real Betis of La Liga as role under Gregg Berhalter increases

Cardoso has been on the books at Brazil's Internacional since his days in the academy

U.S. men's national team midfielder Johnny Cardoso will sign for La Liga side Real Betis following the conclusion of the Brasileirao season in December, according to ESPN. Betis will pay an initial transfer fee of $6.3 million for Cardoso's services, and his current club Internacional is expected to collect 20% from any future transfers of the player. Cardoso will reportedly sign a five-year contract with the Spanish club.

The 22-year-old has been with Internacional since 2014, when he joined the club's academy. The homegrown talent made his first team debut in 2019 and has since played 136 games, ranking third amongst Internacional's current squad for matches in their colors. He continued to be a mainstay in the team this season with 41 appearances and two goals.

A move to Spain would be quite the step up for Cardoso. Betis currently sit ninth in La Liga after 10 games but finished sixth last season and earned a Europa League berth as a result. They currently sit atop Group C in the Europa League after three games and most recently beat Cyprus' Aris Limassol in European action on Thursday.

Cardoso would make the jump just as his international career is taking off. He earned his first cap for the USMNT in 2020 but was unable to break into Gregg Berhalter's squad for the 2022 World Cup. He has found more success at the start of Berhalter's second spell in charge of the team and most recently played in both of the USMNT's friendlies against Germany and Ghana this month.

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