Ricardo Rodriguez, born August 25, 1992, is a Swiss professional footballer who currently plays as a left-back for Serie A side Torino and the Switzerland national team. Rodriguez began his professional career in 2010 at FC Zürich after spending eight years in the development system.
Rodriguez was moved to VfL Wolfsburg in January 2012 for £7.5 million after getting into the first team at Zürich. He joined AC Milan in 2017. Rodriguez has represented Switzerland at every level of the national team, winning the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2009. Ricardo Rodriguez has been a full international for Switzerland since 2011, earning over ninety caps. He was a member of the Swiss Olympic squad in 2012, and he also played in the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018.
Ricardo Rodriguez Bio/Wiki
| Birth Name | Ricardo Ivan Rodriguez Araya |
| Nick Name | Ric |
| Age | 31 years (as in 2023) |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Sun Sign/Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Birth Place | Zürich, Switzerland |
| Date of Birth | August 25, 1992 |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Residence | Turin, Italy |
| Home Town | Zürich, Switzerland |
| Hobbies | Reading |
Family |
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| Mother’s Name | Marcela Araya |
| Father’s Name | Jose Rodriguez |
| Brother | Francisco Rodríguez and Roberto Rodríguez. |
| Sister | Not Available |
Girlfriends/Affairs |
|
| Affairs/Girlfriends | Unknown |
Marital Status, Wife and Children |
|
| Wife/Spouse | Unmarried |
| Marriage Date | None |
| Children | None |
Education |
|
| School | Not Available |
| College/University | Not Available |
| Educational Qualification | Not Available |
| Profession | Professional Footballer |
| Brands Endorsed | Not Available |
| Career Manager | Not Available |
Height, Weight, and Figure Measurements |
|
| Height (Approx.) | 1.80 meters |
| Weight (Approx.) | 77 kgs. |
Figure Measurements |
|
| Chest Size | 42 inches |
| Biceps Size | 15 inches |
| Waist Size | 34 inches |
Extra Ordinary Features |
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| Race / Ethnicity | White |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| S*xual Orientation | Straight |
| Dress Size | Not Available |
| Shoe Size | 11 U.S. |
Favourite Things |
|
| Favourite Food | Not Available |
| Favourite Book | Not Available |
| Favourite Colors | White and Red |
| Favourite Sport | Football |
| Controversies | None |
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Life of Ricardo Rodriguez
Ricardo Ivan Rodriguez Araya was born on August 25, 1992. He is a Swiss professional footballer who plays left defender for Torino in Serie A and for the Swiss national team.
Rodriguez began his professional career in 2010 at FC Zürich after spending eight years in the development system. Rodriguez was moved to VfL Wolfsburg in January 2012 for £7.5 million after getting into the first team at Zürich.
He appeared in 184 games for Wolfsburg in all competitions, scoring 22 goals and won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup in 2015. He joined AC Milan in 2017.
Rodriguez has represented Switzerland at every level of the national team, winning the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2009. Rodriguez has been a full international for Switzerland since 2011, earning over ninety caps.
He was a member of the Swiss Olympic squad in 2012, as well as the FIFA World Cup teams in 2014 and 2018, as well as the UEFA European Championship teams in 2016 and 2020. He was named Swiss Footballer of the Year in 2014.
Ricardo Rodriguez was born in Zürich to a Chilean mother and a Spanish father. Marcela Araya, his mother, died of cancer in 2015. Rodriguez got the year of her birth, 1968, tattooed on his back. He was born with a diaphragmatic hernia, which means that his stomach, spleen, liver, and intestine protruded into his chest.
Rodriguez was given a 50% chance of survival and was checked on every six months for the first three years of his life. He is the older brother of midfielder Francisco Rodrguez and the younger brother of footballer Roberto Rodrguez.
Playing Style
Rodriguez is recognised for his versatility, since he is equally effective at defending as he is at attacking. Although he is often a left-back, his stature and physicality have seen him used as a centre-back on occasion. Experts regard him as a capable defender who stands out for his excellent heading skills as well as his demeanour.
He is also seen as a continuous offensive danger, with analysts praising him for his remarkable endurance and pace, which enable for his persistent, buccaneering runs up the flank; he has also received acclaim from critics for seldom committing sloppy fouls.
On the other hand, he has been chastised for leaving too much space to opposing attackers, adopting bad positioning, and lacking in defensive discipline, while some observers have questioned his focus.
With superb technique and distribution, he has attracted comparisons to Everton and England left defender Leighton Baines for his precision crossing and accurate left foot. He is also known for his expertise in dead ball situations like as corner kicks, direct free kicks, and indirect free kicks, as well as his superb penalty kicking talents.
Therefore, he emerged as Wolfsburg’s first-choice penalty taker during the 2013–14 season. Rodriguez was dubbed “the greatest left-back in the Bundesliga” by his manager, Dieter Hecking, in 2014.
Ricardo Rodriguez Net Worth
Ricardo Rodriguez has been a consistent performer for whichever club he has played for. Thus, he has made a lot of wealth on the basis of his performances. His current net worth stands at about 15 Million Euros. Though the peak of his career was way back in the mid 2010s, he is still considered a worthy defender. His market value is about 3.5 Million Euros at present. His salary at Torino FC is 1,560,000 Euros per annum.
| Estimated Net Worth in 2023 (Approx) | 15 Million Euros |
| Estimated Net Worth in 2022 (Approx) | 14 Million Euros |
| Estimated Net Worth in 2021 (Approx) | 13.5 Million Euros |
| Annual Salary | 1.56 Million Euros |
| Monthly Salary | 130,000 Euros |
| Weekly Salary | 30,000 Euros |
| Market Value | 3.5 Million Euros |
| Car Collection | He owns an Audi. |
| Income Source | Professional Football |
Football Career
Club Career
Debut for Zurich
Rodriguez, who was born in Chile to a Spanish father and a Chilean mother of Basque origin, began playing football at the prestigious youth club FC Schwamendingen in 2001 before joining FC Zürich’s development system as an 11-year-old in 2002.
At the age of 16, he was promoted to the senior team, appearing on the bench for Zürich’s 2–3 loss to NK Maribor in the first leg of their third qualifying round Champions League encounter on July 29, 2009.
On 21 March 2010, he made his Zürich debut as a 17-year-old in the 25th round of the Swiss Super League, replacing the injured Hannu Tihinen in the first half of a 2–0 win against Bellinzona. In April, he made his complete debut in the Zürich Derby against Grasshoppers, playing the entire 3–2 triumph for the hosts.
On 20 July 2010, he earned his second start in the Swiss Super League, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–3 defeat to rivals FC Basel. On 28 April 2011, he scored his first professional goal for the club, starting the scoring as the hosts defeated Neuchâtel Xamax 3–0 at the Letzigrund.
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2011-2012
Ricardo Rodriguez made his European debut on July 27, 2011, in the first leg of their third qualifying round encounter against Standard Liège. He played the entire game and supplied a cross for fellow Zürich youth team graduate Admir Mehmedi as the Swiss earned a 1–1 draw at Belgium’s Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
Rodriguez missed an open goal from close range in the second leg, but Zürich prevailed 1–0 to go to the play-off round against Bayern Munich. He appeared in both play-off matches against Bayern, but the Swiss team lost 0–3 on aggregate and was relegated to the Europa League.
Rodriguez scored his second goal for the club on October 26, 2011, netting his side’s second from the penalty spot in a 2–0 win over FC Thun. In December 2011, the club’s penultimate Super League encounter before the winter break turned out to be Rodriguez’s final appearance in a Zürich shirt, as he played the full 1–1 tie with FC Sion.
On January 11, 2012, Zürich authorities confirmed that the club had accepted a proposal for Rodriguez from German club VfL Wolfsburg and that the move was nearing completion, subject to a physical. Despite being sold in the middle of the season, Rodriguez was chosen the Fans’ Player of the Season on 4 June 2012, beating out Oliver Buff and Pedro Henrique.
Wolfsburg
Early Career
Ricardo Rodriguez was signed as a 19-year-old by VfL Wolfsburg for £7.5 million on January 13, 2012, with a four-and-a-half-year contract. He soon established himself in the first-team roster, making his Bundesliga debut the next day against 1. FC Köln, which the Wolves won 1–0.
Rodriguez went on to start every game for the rest of the season, becoming a fan favourite on the left side of the defence for manager Felix Magath. He was an ever-present in the team for the first 10 league games of the next season, appearing in all of them and starting eight.
However, following a bad run of play in the league, Magath was fired, and when Lorenz-Günther Köstner was appointed as temporary manager, the more experienced Marcel Schäfer was picked at left back. Rodriguez returned to the first team after Dieter Hecking was named manager.
2013–14 season
In a home Bundesliga encounter against Borussia Dortmund on November 9, 2013, he scored his first goal for Wolfsburg, from a direct free kick. Wolfsburg won the match 2–1, despite being behind at halftime. His second goal for Wolfsburg came from the penalty spot against Hamburg on November 29th, resulting in a 1–1 tie.
On December 14, he started the scoring in their Bundesliga encounter, looping the ball past goalie Sven Ulreich as Wolfsburg triumphed 3–1. He ended the 2013–14 season with five league goals and nine assists. He was not named to the Bundesliga Team of the Season, but he was named to a list of the Best Defenders for the 2013–14 season.
With nine assists, Rodriguez produced more goals than any other full-back in Europe. During the season, he averaged 2.3 critical passes per game, the same as Andrea Pirlo, the two-time Serie A Footballer of the Year, and 2.6 successful dribbles per game, which was higher than Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner.
2014–15 season
On 18 September 2014, he scored his first goal in European football for Wolfsburg, striking directly from a free-kick after earlier scoring an own-goal in a 4–1 defeat to English club Everton. Rodriguez scored twice again for Wolfsburg three days later, once from the penalty spot and once on a volley following a Kevin De Bruyne corner, as Wolfsburg thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4–1.
On September 27, he scored his third league goal of the season against Werder Bremen, converting a De Bruyne cross to put Wolfsburg up 1–0 in a 2–1 victory. He could not play for several weeks in October 2014 due to a strained patella tendon and thigh.
Ricardo Rodriguez’s representative, Roger Wittman, revealed on October 31 that he and Wolfsburg have begun contract discussions to extend his current contract beyond 2016. Rodriguez scored twice in Wolfsburg’s 3–0 triumph over Lille on December 11, advancing his team to the Europa League knockout stage rather than their opponents.
He signed a new contract through June 2019 in January 2015. On 7 April, he scored the game’s lone goal from the penalty spot as Wolfsburg overcame SC Freiburg to go to the DFB-Pokal semi-finals, also making a goalline clearance later in the game. On May 30, he played the whole 90-minute final as Wolfsburg won their first cup, defeating Borussia Dortmund 3–1.
2015–16 season
Ricardo Rodriguez played the whole 90 minutes of Wolfsburg’s 1–1 tie with Bayern Munich in the 2015 DFL-Supercup on August 1, scoring their first penalty shootout attempt.
On August 28, 2015, he scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot. Later in the game, he assisted Tim Klose’s goal as Wolfsburg defeated Schalke 3–0. On December 5, he scored another penalty in a 2–1 loss to Borussia Dortmund.
Rodriguez converted a penalty to begin a surprising 2–0 victory over Real Madrid. This was in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 6, 2016. By sending Keylor Navas the wrong way, he became the tournament’s first player to score against Real’s goalie in 738 minutes.
2016–17 season
Ricardo Rodriguez made his DFB-Pokal debut on August 20, 2016, scoring twice in a 2–1 victory over FSV Frankfurt. He also appeared in Wolfsburg’s first Bundesliga encounter of the season, scoring a freekick in a 2–0 win over Augsburg.
Rodriguez was a target for Inter Milan in January 2017 and agreed to a transfer, but the Italian club refused to pay a sum high enough to activate his £18.5 million release clause.
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AC Milan
Ricardo Rodriguez signed a four-year contract with Serie A club AC Milan on June 8, 2017. The deal costed about €15 million, with a further €2 million in incentives. He picked the number 68 jersey in honour of his mother’s birth year.
On July 27, he played his first official match for Milan and scored his first goal. He took a free kick, to help Milan win the first leg of their Europa League qualifying match against CS U Craiova. He also appeared in the second leg the following week, assisting Patrick Cutrone’s set-piece goal as Milan defeated their opponent 2–0.
Rodriguez made his Serie A debut on August 21 with a 3–0 home win over Crotone. His first league goal came in September with a penalty shot against SPAL at the San Siro. On 15 October, in the Derby della Madonnina, he gave away a late penalty, which Mauro Icardi converted to complete his hat-trick and help Inter win 3–2.
Since then, despite being a regular for Milan, he has not reached the heights that were anticipated of him, with Milan failing to reach the Champions League on many occasions. They failed most recently in 2019, when Atalanta qualified for the first time at their cost.
Loan to PSV
He played for the Dutch club PSV on loan. The loan lasted until the conclusion of the 2019–20 season on January 30, 2020.
Torino
Rodriguez signed a four-year contract with Torino on August 19, 2020.
International Career
Early Career
He was a member of the Swiss U17 squad that won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009. His first goal of the tournament occurred in Switzerland’s second group game against Japan on October 27, 2009, when he scored the game-winning goal in a 4–3 victory.
In the Round of 16 against Germany, he started the scoring for Switzerland in the 35th minute, and Switzerland went on to win 4–3 in extra time. He scored the game-winning goal in Switzerland’s 4–0 semi-final victory over Colombia, advancing the country to its first FIFA final since a 3–0 loss to Uruguay in the 1924 Olympics.
On November 15, he played the full final against Nigeria, assisting Switzerland to a 1–0 triumph. Switzerland became the third European nation to win the U17 FIFA World Cup.
Senior team debut
Ricardo Rodriguez made his senior national team debut against Wales in a Euro 2012 qualifying match. This happened on 7 October 2011 when he replaced Xherdan Shaqiri in the second half of the 0–2 loss. Four days later, Rodriguez played the entire match as Switzerland defeated Montenegro 2–0. This completed their qualification campaign on a strong note, albeit losing a playoff position to the Balkan side.
On November 11, 2011, he played the full friendly match against the Netherlands, as the Swiss preserved a clean sheet in Amsterdam. He appeared in all three of Switzerland’s Olympic matches. In the Olympic games, Switzerland could not make it past the group stages.
Rodriguez played in nine of the Swiss’ ten World Cup qualifying matches. He accumulated 810 minutes as they qualified for the World Cup with a game to spare. Because of a 2–1 win against Albania on October 11, 2013.
Ricardo Rodriguez became a part of Switzerland’s team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on May 13, 2014. He recorded 5 tackles and 2.5 interceptions each game at the tournament finals in Brazil, gaining praise for his aggressive tackling as well as his ability to read the game.
2016-present
Ricardo Rodriguez played every minute of Switzerland’s run to the final 16 at UEFA Euro 2016 in France. Poland eliminated them on penalties at Saint-Étienne, despite Rodriguez scoring his shot.
On his 43rd cap, he scored his first international goal. His goal put Switzerland ahead in a 3–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Hungary. On September 3, 2017, he scored another penalty to cap a 3–0 away triumph over Latvia.
The Swiss finished second in their group, trailing only Portugal, and advanced to the play-offs, where they met Northern Ireland. A contentious penalty given against Corry Evans in the first leg at Windsor Park meant an opportunity to score. Therefore, Rodriguez scored the sole goal of the match.
He made a goalline clearing from a Jonny Evans header in the second leg in Basel to secure the Swiss win. He became a part of the 23-man Swiss national team roster for the 2018 World Cup.
Ricardo Rodriguez appeared in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in May 2019. In the opening encounter, he scored a penalty against Portugal, but it had little impact as Switzerland lost 3-1. His squad lost the third-place match on penalties to England. Therefore, Switzerland stood fourth.
UEFA Euro 2020 got postponed by a year because of the coronavirus outbreak. Rodriguez became a part of Switzerland’s 26-man team for the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020.
On June 28, 2021, he missed a penalty in the 55th minute of a UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 match against France. After a 3-3 deadlock, the game got down to penalties, which Switzerland won 5–4.
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Ricardo Rodriguez FIFA 22
Ricardo Rodríguez was born on August 25, 1992. He is currently 31 years old and plays as a Centre Back for Torino in Italy. His overall rating in FIFA 22 is 74 with a potential of 74. Rodríguez has got a 3-star skillmoves rating. He prefers to shoot with his left foot. His workrates are Medium / Medium. Rodríguez is 1.80 meters tall and weighs about 77 kgs. Currently, Ricardo Rodríguez is playing with number 13. His best stats are:
- FK Acc.: 81
- Curve: 80
- Penalties: 80
- Ball Control: 78
- Shot Power: 78
Ricardo Rodriguez FIFA 22 Stats
| Reactions | 75 |
| Curve | 80 |
| Dribbling | 74 |
| Free-Kick | 81 |
| Jumping | 73 |
| Shot Power | 78 |
| Interceptions | 77 |
| Penalties | 80 |
| Agility | 69 |
| Composure | 77 |
| Ball Control | 78 |
| Sprint Speed | 69 |
| Long Passing | 75 |
| Short Passing | 75 |
| Stamina | 72 |
| Aggression | 75 |
Facts about Ricardo Rodriguez
- Ricardo Rodriguez was born in Zürich to a Spanish father and a Chilean mother.
- In 2009, he was part of the Swiss U17 team who won the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
- In 2014, he won the Swiss Footballer of the Year.
- His manager Dieter Hecking once praised Rodriguez as “the best left-back in the Bundesliga”.
- He played for VfL Wolfsburg from 2012 to 2017, scoring 15 goals in 149 appearances.
- His mother, Marcela Araya, died of cancer in 2015. Rodriguez had the number 68, the year of her birth, tattooed on his back.
- Football runs in Ricardo’s family. He is the younger brother of midfielder Roberto Rodríguez and the older brother of midfielder Francisco Rodríguez.
- Rodriguez was born with a diaphragmatic hernia. Thus, his stomach, spleen, liver and intestine had migrated into the chest. Rodriguez got a 50% chance of survival. Therefore, there was consistent monitoring every six months for the first three years of his life.
- Due to his wide range of skills, Rodriguez became famous for being equally adept at defending as he is going forward. He usually plays as a left-back. But many a times he plays as the center back as well, due to his physique.
- Since 2011, Rodriguez has earned over ninety caps for the country.
FAQs
Ricardo is a defender since he plays Left central in Torino FC.
He is 29 years old.
He has scored 9 goals for Switzerland.
He plays for Torino FC and the Switzerland National Team.
