Cristian Gabriel Rodríguez Barrotti (; born 30 September 1985) is a Uruguayan former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a winger. Having received the nickname ''Cebolla'' (onion) from his

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

days, from his father, he was known for his speed and technical ability. He spent several seasons in Portugal with Benfica and

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, and also played in France, Spain, Italy, Brazil and Argentina. Rodríguez earned 110

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for Uruguay, representing the country in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

and four

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

tournaments and winning the 2011 edition of the latter.

Club career

Peñarol and Paris Saint-Germain

Born in

Juan Lacaze Juan Lacaze, or Juan L. Lacaze, is a city located in southwestern Uruguay, within the Colonia Department. Geography The city is located on Route 54 in southern Colonia, (by road) east of the city of Colonia del Sacramento, and west of Montevide ...

, Rodríguez started playing professionally with local

in the

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , , local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, football league in Uruguay organized b ...

, helping the side to the 2003 title aged 18. After an injury ruled him out for some games in late 2004, he was spotted by television cameras jumping in the stands alongside the supporters, but he eventually escaped a fine or suspension. In 2005, Rodríguez was transferred to French club

Paris Saint-Germain FC Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

on a free transfer, along with

Carlos Bueno Carlos Heber Bueno Suárez (born 10 May 1980) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Artigas F.C. as a striker. Club career Born in Artigas, Artigas Department, Bueno started his career at C.A. Peñarol. He moved abroad in 20 ...

. He appeared scarcely in his first season in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

, but was important in helping the team to barely avoid relegation in the second, scoring his only goal in a 4–2 home win against

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional association football, football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco, Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the Frenc ...

Porto

In late August 2007, Rodríguez moved to Portugal's

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

in a season-long loan, together with compatriot

Maxi Pereira Victorio Maximiliano "Maxi" Pereira Páez (; born 8 June 1984) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He played with Defensor in Uruguay, joining Benfica in 2007 and going on to remain with the club for eight ...

who arrived from

Defensor Sporting Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievement ...

. After being one of their most important players throughout 2007–08, he was bought by fellow

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

in June 2008 (but part of the transfer fee was paid to Play International B.V.). During the two teams' match in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, on 30 August 2008, he was subjected to vitriolic abuse from the stands in a 1–1 final draw. He eventually settled nonetheless, forming an attacking trio with Argentine Lisandro López and Brazilian

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

and also scoring occasionally through headers.

Silvestre Varela Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela (born 2 February 1985) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger. He represented mainly Porto during his career, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 268 matches and 47 goals over 12 ...

was bought by Porto in the 2009 off-season, and Rodríguez was relegated to a substitute role. He still made 28 competitive appearances in the 2010–11 campaign (two goals, including one in 11 matches in a victorious run in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

). On 17 February 2014, Rodríguez was condemned to pay a €45,000 fine for assaulting two stewards at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

, following a tunnel brawl during a 1–0 away league loss to Benfica on 20 December 2009.

Atlético Madrid

On 28 May 2012, Rodríguez signed a four-year contract with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

after being released by Porto. He scored his first two goals for his new team in the Europa League group stage, against

Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Tel Aviv)'' is an Israeli professional football club based in Tel Aviv that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club's traditional home ground is Bloomfield Stadium. To date, th ...

(3–0 away victory) and

FC Viktoria Plzeň Football Club Viktoria Plzeň () is a Czech professional Association football, football club based in Plzeň. It plays in the Czech First League, the top division of football in the country. As runner-up in the 1970–71 Czechoslovak Cup, the c ...

(home); in the latter, he netted the game's only goal through a thunderous left-foot shot in the 93rd minute. On 20 January 2015, Rodríguez joined

Parma F.C. Parma Calcio 1913 () is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, which competes in the Serie A, the top tier of Italian league system, following promotion from Serie B in the 2023–24 season. ''Parma Football Cl ...

until the end of the season. Less than two months later, however, due to the Italian club's precarious financial situation, he joined Brazil's

Grêmio FBPA Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense (), commonly known as Grêmio, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in Porto Alegre, the capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. ...

also on loan. Rodríguez left Grêmio on 8 May 2015, after struggling with injuries and totalling less than 80 minutes of action.

Independiente

On 24 July 2015, Rodríguez agreed to a two-year deal at

Club Atlético Independiente () is an Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its Association football, football team, which plays in the Argentine Primera Divi ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. After suffering from several injury problems, his contract was terminated on 19 December 2016.

Return to Uruguay

On 3 February 2017, Rodríguez announced his return to Peñarol. He went on to win the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and 2018 national championships as well as the

2018 Supercopa Uruguaya The 2018 Supercopa Uruguaya was the first edition of the Supercopa Uruguaya, Uruguay's association football, football super cup. It was held on 26 January 2018 between 2017 Uruguayan Primera División season#Torneo Intermedio, 2017 Torneo Intermedi ...

, ending his second stint in April 2021 with 126 appearances and 39 goals in all competitions. Rodríguez joined

Club Plaza Colonia de Deportes Club Plaza Colonia de Deportes, or simply Plaza Colonia, is a Uruguayan professional football club from Colonia del Sacramento, that competes in the Uruguayan Primera Division. Founded in 1917, the club plays its home games at the 3,000 seater ...

on 20 April 2021. On 17 January 2023, he announced his retirement at the age of 37.

International career

Rodríguez made his Uruguay national team debut at age 18 in a friendly against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and represented the nation in two

tournaments, scoring in the 2007 edition in a 4–1 quarter-final win over

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, the hosts. After assaulting

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Gabriel Heinze Gabriel Iván Heinze (; born 19 April 1978) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a player, he operated as a defender, either as a left-back or a centre-back. Nicknamed '' Gringo'', he made a name for himself at Paris Saint-Germai ...

during the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifying stage Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

(0–1 home loss) he received a four-match ban, and coach

Oscar Tabárez Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer J ...

opted to not select him to the final stages in South Africa. Picked for the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international association football, football tournament for national ...

in Argentina, Rodríguez featured against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

(1–1) and Mexico (1–0 victory) in the group stage. Uruguay went on to win the tournament for the 15th time in their history. Rodríguez was included in the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

squad, scoring the only goal in the tournament opener against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

. The 32-year-old was also selected to the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rodríguez goal.''

Honours

Peñarol *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Supercopa Uruguaya The Supercopa Uruguaya (''Uruguayan Supercup'') is an annual one-match football official competition in Uruguay organised by the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) which is played between the Primera División champions and the Torneo Intermedio ...

Paris Saint-Germain *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 2005–06 Porto *

: 2008–09,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2011–12 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2008–09, 2009–10,

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Atlético Madrid *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

: 2013–14 *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Uruguay *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Cristian 1985 births Living people People from Juan Lacaze Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Uruguayan sportspeople of Italian descent Uruguayan men's footballers Footballers from Colonia Department Men's association football wingers Uruguayan Primera División players Peñarol players Club Plaza Colonia de Deportes players Ligue 1 players Paris Saint-Germain FC players Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers FC Porto players La Liga players Atlético Madrid footballers Serie A players Parma Calcio 1913 players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Grêmio FBPA players Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético Independiente footballers Uruguay men's youth international footballers Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers Uruguay men's international footballers 2004 Copa América players 2007 Copa América players 2011 Copa América players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Copa América–winning players FIFA Men's Century Club Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in France Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina