How 'Little Prince' Andres Guardado surpassed Hugo Sanchez to reach 350 European Games

Andres Guardado is one of the most successful Mexicans to have played soccer and he just set a piece of record to confirm that. Andres Guardado became the only Mexican to have played 350 games in European elite divisions/top leagues. Guardado reached the landmark when he turned out for Real Betis against Osasuna on Matchday 6 of the 2021/22 Spanish La Liga season. In doing so, he surpassed another Mexican great, Hugo Sanchez, who previously held the record at 347 games with Real Madrid. 

Andres Guardado teams and 350 top-flight matches

Andres Guardado left Mexican Liga MX side, Atlas, in 2007 to start his European sojourn with La Liga side, Deportiva La Coruna. At Deportivo, Guardado played 101 times in the league and scored 12 times. His final season (2011/12) at Deportivo was in the Segunda (second) division, so his 36 league games there would not count. By 2012, Guardado was back in the top-flight with Valencia where he made another 48 leagues appearances in 2 seasons, scoring just 1 goal.

When Andres Guardado lost his place in Valencia starting line-up, he moved on loan to Bayer Leverkusen in 2013/14 where he made 4 league appearances. Guardado spent the 2014/15 season on loan again at PSV Eindhoven, where he had more success, putting in 28 league appearances. He spent another 2 seasons at PSV, to bring up his Eredivisie appearance statistics to 80.

In 2017, Andres Guardado made a move back to La Liga with Real Betis. At Betis, Guardado has been a solid and ever-present figure, putting in 117 league appearances so far for the club. His latest appearance made him the Mexican with the highest appearances in Europe's top-flight leagues. Guardado has scored 26 goals in all league appearances.

Mexicans with highest league appearances in Europe

Andres Guardado beat Hugo Sanchez' record of 347 games with Real Madrid to become the Mexican with the highest league appearances in Europe. Andres Guardado has also played for 15 consecutive seasons in Europe (2007 - 2021), edging past Hector Moreno (2007-2019), Hugo Sanchez (1982-1993) and Rafael Marquez (1999-2010).