Rodrigo (footballer, born 1991)


Rodrigo Moreno Machado, known simply as Rodrigo, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Valencia CF and the Spain national team as a winger or striker.
He started his career with Real Madrid, appearing solely for its reserve teams. In 2010 he signed with Benfica with whom he won four titles, most notably the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season.
Born in Brazil, Rodrigo represented Spain at youth level, and in 2013 he won the European Championship with the under-21 team. The following year, he earned his first cap for the senior side, appearing for them at the 2018 World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Rodrigo moved to Spain in his early teens, settling in Galicia and started playing organized football with RC Celta de Vigo. In 2009, aged 18, he moved to Real Madrid to complete his development.
Only a few weeks after arriving, Rodrigo started playing as a senior with the C-team. Shortly after, he was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda División B, making his debut with the latter on 29 November 2009 in a 4–3 away win against UD Lanzarote.

Benfica

On 31 July 2010, Rodrigo signed a five-year contract with S.L. Benfica for a reported fee of €6 million. Real Madrid had an option to re-buy the player for €12 million during the next two seasons; however, after Fábio Coentrão's transfer to the Spanish club, both parties agreed to cancel the buyback clause.
The following month, Rodrigo joined Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League on a season-long loan. He made his official debut in a League Cup fixture at Burnley on 21 September, starting in a 0–1 away loss.
Rodrigo first appeared in the league for the Trotters on 23 October 2010, coming on as a substitute for Lee Chung-Yong midway through the second half of a 1–1 away draw to Wigan Athletic. On 5 January 2011, against the same opponent, he scored his only goal of the campaign, with the game ending with the same result.
Returning to Benfica for 2011–12, Rodrigo played 38 competitive matches in his first year and scored 16 goals, including the opener in the season's Taça da Liga final against Gil Vicente FC, which his team won for the fourth year in a row. On 2 January 2013, he combined with Óscar Cardozo for five goals in a 6–0 home defeat of C.D. Aves in the fifth round of the Taça de Portugal.
On 31 January 2014, Benfica sold 100% of Rodrigo's economic rights to a private company, Meriton Capital Limited, owned by Peter Lim, for €30 million, plus another potential €10 million on performance-related bonuses– he remained with them until the end of the campaign. On 10 April he scored a brace in a 2–0 home win against AZ Alkmaar in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League, which took the hosts through to the last-four stage 3–0 on aggregate.
Rodrigo scored Benfica's first goal in a 2–0 final win over Rio Ave F.C. in the league cup, and was subsequently voted Player of the match as the Lisbon side won the competition for the fifth time in seven years. On 14 May he had his penalty shootout attempt saved by Sevilla FC's Beto, in an eventual Europa League final loss; in total, he contributed with 18 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions to win an unprecedented treble of Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and League Cup.

Valencia

On 23 July 2014, Rodrigo moved back to Spain, after agreeing to a one-season loan deal with Valencia CF. Although his economic rights were owned by Lim, a loan was arranged to take him and André Gomes to Valencia due to Lim's purchase of the latter club.
Rodrigo made his debut for the Che on 23 August 2014, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Sevilla. He scored his first La Liga goal on 22 September, netting the last of a 3–0 away win against Getafe CF through a penalty, but was later sent off; he was dismissed the following 30 May for striking Rayo Vallecano's Toño, and banned for three games by the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
On 15 June 2015, Benfica and Valencia announced they had reached an agreement on Rodrigo's federative rights, and he signed a four-year contract with the latter until 30 June 2019, for a reported fee of €30 million. After moderate returns in his first three seasons at the Mestalla Stadium, he scored a career-best 16 goals in 2017–18 as the Marcelino García Toral-led team qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League; in late November 2017, he was rewarded with a new deal through 2022 with a reported release clause of €120 million.
On 29 January 2019, Rodrigo scored a second-half hat-trick – including two goals in injury time – as the hosts defeated Getafe 3–1 in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, winning the tie 3–2 on aggregate. He also scored in the decisive match, a 2–1 victory over FC Barcelona at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.
On 17 September 2019, Rodrigo scored the only goal of the match in the first Champions League group stage fixture, providing Valencia's first ever win against Chelsea in the club's history.

International career

Rodrigo competed for Spain internationally, starting with the under-19s which he helped to the second position in the 2010 UEFA European Championship by netting two goals, including one in the final against France. He then competed in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, helping the national team to the quarter-finals with his three goals.
Rodrigo made his debut for the Spanish under-21 side on 1 September 2011, scoring three times in Georgia in the 2013 European Championship qualifiers. On 21 March 2013, in a friendly against Norway, he netted his 13th goal in the category to help to the 5–2 triumph in Toledo, thus becoming the highest goal scorer after surpassing Óscar García's record which had stood since 1992.
Rodrigo was included in Spain's squad at the 2012 Summer Olympics, appearing in two games in an eventual group stage exit in London. On 3 October 2014, he was one of 23 players selected by Vicente del Bosque for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg, making his debut in the latter game by replacing Diego Costa in the 82nd minute and assisting the fourth and last goal for Juan Bernat.
On 6 October 2017, nearly three years after his first cap, Rodrigo marked his second by starting and scoring the first goal in a 3–0 home defeat of Albania in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, in Alicante. He was then included in the squad for the finals in Russia, making his debut in the competition on 20 June when he replaced Costa for the final minute of the 1–0 group stage win against Iran.

Personal life

Rodrigo moved to Spain at a young age when his father, Brazilian footballer Adalberto, opened a football school in Vigo alongside 1994 FIFA World Cup winner Mazinho. He was a lifelong friend of the latter's sons Thiago Alcântara and Rafinha, who were raised in footballing terms at FC Barcelona and also represented Spain and Brazil respectively, and was erroneously reported to be their cousin.

Career statistics

Club

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain201410
Spain201721
Spain2018123
Spain201974
SpainTotal228

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.6 October 2017Estadio José Rico Pérez, Alicante, Spain'''1–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.23 March 2018Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany1–01–1Friendly
3.8 September 2018Wembley Stadium, London, England2–12–12018–19 UEFA Nations League A
4.11 September 2018Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain4–06–02018–19 UEFA Nations League A
5.23 March 2019Mestalla, Valencia, Spain1–02–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
6.8 September 2019El Molinón, Gijón, Spain1–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
7.8 September 2019El Molinón, Gijón, Spain2–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
8.15 October 2019Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden1–11–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
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Honours

Club

Benfica
Valencia
Spain U21
Spain U19