Carlos Rodríguez (footballer, born 1997)


Carlos Alberto "Charly" Rodríguez Gómez is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga MX club Cruz Azul and the Mexico national team.
Starting at the Monterrey youth academy, Rodríguez made his official debut for the senior team in 2016. He briefly went on loan in Spain with Toledo before returning to Monterrey in 2018. During his tenure with Los Rayados, Rodríguez won one league title, one Copa MX title, and two CONCACAF Champions Cup titles, while making over 100 appearances and scoring four goals for the club. Since joining Cruz Azul in 2022, Rodríguez has won one Supercopa title and one CONCACAF Champions Cup title.
Rodríguez made his debut for Mexico in March 2019. He was involved in the squads that won the 2019, 2023 and 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, as well as the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League. With the U23 team, Rodríguez won the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship and the [Football at the Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|bronze medal] at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Club career

Monterrey

2016–17: Debut season

Rodríguez originally hailed from C.F. Monterrey's youth academy. He made his professional debut with Monterrey on 28 September 2016, in a 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League group stage match against Don Bosco, winning 3–0.

2017–18: Loan to Toledo

Loaned out to Spanish third division team Toledo, he made 30 league appearances along with scoring three goals.

2018–19: Return to Monterrey, Copa MX, and first CONCACAF Champions League title

Returning to Monterrey for the 2018–19 season, he made his Liga MX debut on 20 October 2018, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 victory over Toluca. He would score his first goal with Monterrey on 15 February 2019, in a 3–2 victory over Monarcas Morelia. He would prove to be a vital part of the club as they would win the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League Finals against town rivals Tigres UANL and be included in the competition's Team of the Tournament.

2019–20: First league title and ''El Triplete''

On 14 December, in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final match against Al Sadd, he would score Monterrey's third goal in a 3–2 victory. At the end of the month, he disputed in both legs of the [Apertura 2019 CONCACAF Champions League|2019 Liga MX championship stage|Apertura championship] finals against América. He would score an own goal in the first leg but Monterrey eventually won the match with a 2–1 score. After a 1–2 loss in the second leg, Monterrey would win the finals after defeating América in a penalty shoot-out. He was eventually included in the Best XI of the Apertura 2019.
With Monterrey's victory of the 2019–20 Copa MX, they had obtained the continental treble.

2021–22: Second CONCACAF Champions League title and departure

On 28 December 2021, it was confirmed that Rodríguez would sign for Cruz Azul in an exchange deal for Luis Romo.

Cruz Azul

On 6 January 2022, Cruz Azul officially announced the signing of Rodríguez with a four-year contract.

International career

Youth

2020–21: Olympic Qualifying Championship and Summer Olympics

Rodríguez participated at the 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, scoring one goal in all five matches, where Mexico won the competition. He was subsequently called up to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Rodríguez won the bronze medal with the Olympic team.

Senior

2019: Beginnings and first CONCACAF Gold Cup

Five months after his Liga MX debut, Rodríguez was included in Gerardo Martino's first minicamp, and on 22 March 2019, he made his debut for the senior national team in a friendly against Chile, as a starter. Following his debut, Martino stated "Carlos Rodríguez plays like he plays, which looks like a 30-year-old."
In May 2019, Rodríguez was included in the preliminary roster for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and was included in the final list. He would appear in all matches of the tournament as Mexico went on to win the final against the United States.

2022: First FIFA World Cup

In October 2022, Rodríguez was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.

Personal life

On 6 October 2020, Rodríguez tested positive for COVID-19. Following a self-imposed quarantine, he resumed training with Monterrey about two weeks later.

Honours

Monterrey
Cruz Azul
Mexico U23
Mexico
Individual