Joao Rodriguez

Joao Leandro Rodriguez Gonzalez (American Spanish: [ɟʝoˈao roˈðɾiɣes]; born 19 May 1996) is a Colombian professional footballer who last played as a forward for Liga MX club Necaxa. He was the first Colombian to sign for Chelsea.

Club Career

Early career

Joao Rodriguez started part of his youth career with Colombian side Deportes Quindio. Eventually, Joao caught the eye as a prolific striker in the junior ranks of national Colombian football. His performances at the 2011 South American Under-15 Championships caught the eye of scouts worldwide, including those of Chelsea.

Chelsea

Joao spent two months on trial as an Under-16 and impressed enough to sign a pre-contract agreement for a five-year professional contract beginning on his seventeenth birthday. This made him the first Colombian in history to sign with the London club. As part of the agreement Rodriguez remained at Deportes Quindio to play for the 2012–13 season. The player officially joined Chelsea for the start of the 2013/14 season.

In January 2014, Rodriguez returned to Colombia to join Uniautonoma on loan for the remainder of the 2013/14 campaign. On 16 March 2014, Rodriguez made his Uniautonoma debut in a 4–2 victory against Independiente Medellin, in which he played the full 90 minutes and scored in the 75th minute to give Uniautonoma a 3–0 lead.

On 4 August 2014, Rodriguez joined French side Bastia, managed at the time by former Chelsea player Claude Makelele, on loan for the season. On 16 August 2014, Rodriguez made his Bastia debut in a 2–0 away defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, replacing Brandao with eighteen minutes remaining. On 8 January 2015, after only making four appearances at Bastia and failing to impress, Rodriguez's loan was terminated and therefore, he returned to Chelsea.

On 2 February 2015, Rodriguez joined Portuguese side Vitoria on loan for the remainder of the 2014–15 campaign along with Mexican team-mate Ulises Davila. However, Rodriguez faile

This page also has a version in other languages :  Хоао Родригес (russian)