1. He kickstarted his career at one of South America's biggest clubs
Guido Rodríguez was born in Sáenz Peña, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 12 April 1994. He joined River Plate as a teenager and made his first-team debut at 20 in a Copa Argentina quarter-final at Rosario Central on 9 October 2014. His first league appearance came three days later in a 1-0 win at Newell’s Old Boys. His first league goal arrived in a 5-1 Primera División win at Atlético de Rafaela on 18 July 2015.
2. A productive loan spell aided his development
After making 18 first-team appearances for River Plate, Rodríguez, then 21, went on loan to Primera División club Defensa y Justicia in February 2016. He appeared 16 times for the Buenos Aires club, helping them to finish fourth in the Zone 2 table and qualify for the Copa Sudamericana - the first time the club qualified for international competition since its formation in 1935.
3. He quickly made an impression after moving to Mexico
Rodríguez joined Mexican side Club Tijuana on a permanent transfer in the summer of 2016. He made 42 appearances and scored five goals as Tijuana finished top of both the Liga MX Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura regular season tables. However, they were defeated by León and UANL in the championship stage quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
4. He enjoyed domestic success at Club América
Rodríguez moved from one Mexican club to another when he transferred to Club América in summer 2017, where he joined a certain Edson Álvarez. The pair played alongside one another 74 times for América, winning the Liga MX Torneo Apertura championship stage and Torneo Clausura Copa MX, as well as the Mexican Golden Ball award, in 2018/19. The following season, he appeared in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage.
5. His strong showings soon earned international recognition
On 9 June 2017, Rodríguez earned his first call-up with the Argentina national team for a friendly match with Brazil in Melbourne, where he came on as a substitute for Paulo Dybala in his country’s 1-0 win. After helping Argentina finish third at the 2019 Copa América, he scored his first international goal in a 1-0 group-stage win over Uruguay on the way to winning the tournament in 2021. Rodríguez was in Argentina’s squad as they successfully defended their title in 2024.
6. He's performed and won on the biggest stages
Rodríguez played the full 90 minutes of Argentina’s Finalissima victory over Italy at Wembley in June 2022, which pitted the South American and European champions against one another. He was then part of former Hammer Lionel Scaloni’s 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning squad in Qatar, starting the 2-0 group-stage win over Mexico. He now has 30 caps to his name.
7. He got his hands on more silverware in Spain
Rodríguez joined Spanish club Real Betis in January 2020 and spent four-and-a-half seasons with the Seville-based side. He helped Betis secure four successive top-seven La Liga finishes, defeat Valencia to win the Copa del Rey in 2022 and he appeared 21 times for the club in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League.
