In July 1999, Fuertes was purchased for £2.3m by Jim Smith, manager of Derby County in England.

[2] However, weeks later, he was refused entry back into Britain when immigration officials discovered that his Italian passport was forged.

[3] Fuertes retired from professional football on 25 June 2012 in a match against Banfield, scoring two goals.

[4] A year following his retirement, Fuertes signed a six-month contract for Bolivian side Sport Boys which had been recently promoted to the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano.

In 2018, Fuertes coached Chilean club Fernández Vial in the Segunda División Profesional.