Andres Guardado and the Mexican players who succeeded in Europe

European football is the biggest in the world in terms of audience and commercial, footballers aspire to play in Europe. Many play there and struggle, while others are successful. See the Mexicans who have succeeded in Europe.

Andrés Guardado

Andrés Guardado is one of the most successful Mexicans playing in Europe. He has spent most of his time in Spain but has also played for PSV Eindhoven in Netherlands and also a very short spell with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. He first signed for Deportivo La Coruna in Spain in 2007, he then played for Valencia before leaving Spain in 2014 to play in Germany and Netherlands. He returned to Spain with Real Betis in 2017 where he currently plays and captains. He won two League titles and two domestic cups with PSV Eindhoven.

Héctor Moreno

Hector Moreno played just one year of his senior career in Mexico before moving to Europe where he played for 11 seasons across the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. He played for AZ and PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and won two leagues and two cups. His time in Italy is the shortest and unsuccessful, he played just a season and only four games. He played for Espanyol in Spain where he had his longest stay in Europe and Real Sociedad before playing for Qatari club Al-Gharafa. He returned to Mexico with Monterrey in 2021.

Hugo Sánchez

Hugo Sanchez is regarded by many as the greatest Mexican footballer of all time. He dazzled in his time in Spain in the 1980s and 1990s. He played four seasons at Atletico Madrid before catching the eyes of Real Madrid, and there he had his most successful time, he played over 200 games and scored 164 goals. He won five La Liga titles and was La Liga's top scorer five times, four of which were consecutive between 1984 to 1988, and won the European Golden Shoe in 1990. He also had short spells with Rayo Vallecano and Linz in Austria.

Rafael Márquez

Rafael Márquez is regarded as the best Mexican defender of all time. He first played in Europe for Monaco in France league for four seasons and won the Logue 1 title before joining La Liga giants Barcelona where he played for seven seasons and won three La Liga titles, two UEFA Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup. He also played for Hellas Verona in Italy. 

Carlos Vela

Carlos Vela joined Arsenal in England as a teenager but didn't play for the club for three years after he was unable to secure a work permit and had three loans in Spain before he got work permit. Even after getting his work permit, he continued his loan adventure and only played just 29 times for Arsenal before joining Real Sociedad permanently in 2012 and played for six seasons before moving to the MLS in 2018.

Javier Hernández

Javier Hernandez spent ten years in Europe and played for Manchester United, Real Madrid (on loan), Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham United and Sevilla before moving to the MLS. He played five seasons for Manchester United and won two Premier League titles, won the FIFA Club World Cup with Real Madrid and the UEFA Europa League with Sevilla. He is Mexico's highest goalscorer.

Guillermo Ochoa

Guillermo Ochoa, one of the best Mexican goalkeepers spent eight seasons in Europe in Spain, France and Belgium. He had a more successful time in France and Belgium than in Spain. He spent a season in Granada in Spain and had an unwanted record of conceding 82 goals in 38 matches. In 2020, he returned to Club America where he first played before moving to Europe.

Héctor Herrera

Hector Herrera has been in Europe since 2013 and spent six seasons at Portuguese club Porto and captained the club from 2015 to 2019 before moving to Atletico Madrid. He won three titles with Porto in Spain and won the La Liga with Atletico Madrid last season.