Argentina international, FIFA World Cup and two-time Copa América winner Guido Rodríguez joined West Ham United on 6 August 2024.
Defensive midfielder Rodríguez arrived at London Stadium on a free transfer, having departed Spanish club Real Betis, where he had spent four-and-a-half seasons, at the expiry of his contract.
Rodríguez started with Argentinian giants River Plate before winning Mexican league and cup titles playing alongside future West Ham teammate Edson Álvarez at Club América, and the Spanish Copa del Rey with Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis in 2022.
Career
Born in Sáenz Peña, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 12 April 1994...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, aged 20...Made his first league appearance on 12 October 2014 in a 1-0 win at Newell’s Old Boys...Scored his first league goal in a 5-1 Primera División win at Atlético de Rafaela on 18 July 2015...Went on loan to Primera División club Defensa y Justicia in February 2016...Appeared 16 times for the Buenos Aires club Defensa y Justicia, 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...Joined Mexican side Club Tijuana on a permanent transfer in the summer of 2016...Made 42 appearances and scored five goals as Tijuana finished top of both the Liga MX Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura regular season tables, but they were defeated by León and UANL in the championship stage quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively...Moved from one Mexican club to another when he transferred to Club América in summer 2017, where he joined a certain Edson Álvarez and 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...On 9 June 2017, Rodríguez made his Argentina debut in a friendly match with Brazil in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 June 2017, when he came on as a substitute for Paulo Dybala in his country’s 1-0 win...Won the Liga MX Balón de Oro for his performances for América in 2018/19...Helped Argentina finish third at the 2019 Copa América, then scored his first international goal in a 1-0 group-stage win over Uruguay on the way to winning the tournament in 2021...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...Part of former Hammer Lionel Scaloni’s 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning Argentina squad in Qatar, starting the 2-0 group-stage win over Mexico...Joined Spanish club Real Betis in January 2020 and spent four-and-a-half seasons with the Seville-based side...Helped Betis secure four successive top-seven La Liga finishes, defeat Valencia to win the Copa del Rey in 2022 and appeared 21 times for the club in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League...A member of Argentina’s squad as they successfully defended their Copa América title in 2024.
Honours
Argentina
FIFA World Cup (2022)
Copa América (2021, 2024)
Finalissima (2022)
Club América
Liga MX Apertura (2018)
Copa MX Clausura (2019)
Real Betis
Copa del Rey (2022)
Liga MX Defensive Midfielder of the Year (2016/17, 2018/19)
Liga MX Balón de Oro (2018/19)