Andrés Guardado

José Andrés Guardado Hernández (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes ɣwaɾˈðaðo]; born 28 September 1986) is a Mexican professional football manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Popularly known as Principito (Spanish for Little Prince), Guardado came through the youth ranks at Atlas, making his professional debut in 2005 before signing with Spain's Deportivo two years later, where he spent five seasons. In 2012 he joined Valencia, with brief loan stints at Bayer Leverkusen and PSV, before permanently joining the latter club in 2015 and winning two Eredivisie titles and two Johan Cruyff Shield titles. He returned to Spain in 2017 with Real Betis, where he won a Copa del Rey and made 218 appearances before returning to his native Mexico in 2024 to join León. He retired from professional football after the end of the 2024–25 season.

A Mexican international player from 2005 to 2024, Guardado represented the country in five World Cups, four Gold Cups–winning the 2011, 2015 and 2019 tournaments–two Copa Américas and two Confederations Cups. He is the most-capped player in the history of the national team with 180 appearances, and joint tenth on the all-time scorer list with 28 goals. He is regarded as one of the best North American players of all time.