Francisco Rodríguez (Swiss footballer)


Francisco Rodríguez Araya is a Swiss footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for FC Lugano. His older brothers are the Swiss international Ricardo Rodríguez and the winger Roberto Rodríguez.

Club career

FC Zürich

Rodríguez is a youth exponent from FC Zürich. He made his Swiss Super League debut on 20 July 2014 in the derby against Grasshopper Club Zürich, playing the entirety of a 1–0 win.

VfL Wolfsburg

After a year with his first senior side, Rodríguez joined his brother Ricardo at German side VfL Wolfsburg signing a three-year-contract until 2018. The transfer fee was believed to be €1.6 million. He received his first call for the senior team on 26 September 2015, when he was an unused substitute in a Bundesliga match versus Hannover 96.
He was loaned to Arminia Bielefeld on 22 January 2016. On 31 August 2016, the loan deal with Bielefeld was terminated and Rodríguez joined FC Luzern.

FC Luzern

In June 2017, it was confirmed that Rodriguez had transferred to FC Luzern for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Rodríguez is a Swiss under-19 international, but by his parents' nationality, he can play for Chile or Spain. On 18 August 2014 Jorge Sampaoli called Rodríguez to play for Chile to play two friendlies against Mexico and Haiti, and he is set to make his full international debut. But on 21 August 2015 he refused to play for Chile having been called up to the senior squad for a match against Paraguay, saying that he still preferred to play for Switzerland's U21 team.