Santiago Giménez

Santiago Tomás Giménez Zolotarchuk, born April 18, 2001, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a Mexican striker for Serie A club AC Milan and the most natural finisher Mexico has produced for Europe since Javier Hernández. He is also the rare modern forward whose story makes the goals feel secondary. At 17, a thrombosis in his shoulder put him through three surgeries, six months off the pitch, and a doctor’s verdict that he would never play football again. He came back, scored his way out of Liga MX, broke Luis Suárez’s Eredivisie record for goals in a calendar year, and became the most expensive Mexican signing in AC Milan’s history.

The arc has never been smooth. Giménez was left out of Mexico’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in a decision that became a national controversy, then answered by scoring the only goal of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. His 65 goals in 105 matches for Feyenoord earned a reported €32 million move to Milan in February 2025, where a bright first half-season gave way to a brutal 2025–26: months of playing through ankle pain, December surgery, and a Serie A campaign that ended with zero league goals.

Which makes this week the hinge of his career. Giménez is in Javier Aguirre’s 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, wearing No. 11, with Mexico opening the entire tournament against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca on June 11. The kid who was told to find another life now gets a home World Cup, and he has said, plainly, that he wants to win it.

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Quick Facts

Featured Video

Video courtesy of AC Milan.

Early Life & Education

Santiago Giménez was born in Buenos Aires on April 18, 2001, into a footballing bloodline. His father, Christian “Chaco” Giménez, was an Argentine midfielder who had come up through Boca Juniors, and when Santiago was three the family moved to Mexico after Chaco transferred to Veracruz. The father went on to become a beloved figure at Pachuca and Cruz Azul, earned Mexican citizenship, and was capped by El Tri, a path his son would later trace almost exactly. The family roots run wider still: Santiago’s paternal grandfather is Paraguayan, and his mother’s side carries Italian and Ukrainian ancestry, the latter visible in his full surname, Zolotarchuk.

Raised in Mexico from toddlerhood, Giménez came up through Cruz Azul’s youth system and made his professional debut on August 2, 2017, in a Copa MX match against Tigres UANL, aged just 16. Then came the moment that defines everything about how he carries himself. At 17, he noticed swelling and pressure in his arm during training. Doctors found a thrombosis in his shoulder, the same condition that had claimed the life of Pachuca goalkeeping legend Miguel Calero. Three operations followed, plus anticoagulants, six months away from football, and the prospect that the clotting risk would end his career before it began. He has recalled the doctor telling him directly that he would not play again.

He clung to his family and his faith through the recovery; his father told him that if there was an answer to “why me,” only God had it, and Giménez was baptized in January 2019, shortly after returning to the pitch. Like most Latin American academy products, he pursued football full-time through the club system rather than a university route, making his Liga MX debut in August 2019 and scoring his first top-flight goal against Toluca in February 2020, inside the opening two minutes.

Career Highlights and Milestones

Giménez announced himself during Cruz Azul’s Guardianes 2021 campaign, the season the club won its first league title since 1997 and exorcised one of the most famous droughts in North American sport. That August and September he won back-to-back Liga MX Player of the Month awards, and by the Apertura 2022 he was unplayable, scoring six goals in six matches before Feyenoord signed him for a reported €6 million, a fee that now reads like a clerical error.

Rotterdam is where he became a phenomenon. In 2022–23 he scored 23 goals across all competitions as Feyenoord won the Eredivisie, a record for a Mexican’s debut European season, ahead of Javier Hernández and Luis García. The following year he was better still: 26 goals in 41 matches, a hat-trick in a 4–0 demolition of Ajax, two goals on his Champions League debut against Lazio, and a December strike that gave him 31 Eredivisie goals in calendar 2023, surpassing the record Luis Suárez had set with Ajax in 2009. Voetbal International, the Netherlands’ most prestigious football magazine, made him its cover-star “Man of the Year.” He set up the winner in the 2024 KNVB Cup final, converted two penalties in the 2024 Johan Cruyff Shield triumph over PSV, and in January 2025 passed Hirving Lozano to become Mexico’s all-time leading Eredivisie scorer, with 45.

AC Milan paid a reported €32 million for him on deadline day, February 3, 2025. The opening months justified it: an assist on debut, a goal on his Serie A debut at Empoli, and a strike against his old club Feyenoord that made him the first Mexican to score six goals in a single Champions League season, passing Hugo Sánchez and Hernández. Then 2025–26 happened. Playing through ankle pain under new coach Massimiliano Allegri, he started eight of Milan’s first ten league matches without a goal, shut himself down in November, underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery in Amsterdam on December 18, and did not return until March 21, 2026. He finished the Serie A season with zero goals and one assist in 16 appearances as Milan collapsed from title contention to fifth on the final day. It was, by any honest accounting, the worst season of his career.

His international story is its own drama. Left out of the final squad for Qatar 2022 by Gerardo Martino despite making the preliminary list, Giménez responded with the only goal of the 2023 Gold Cup final against Panama at SoFi Stadium, earning CONCACAF’s “Mark of a Fighter” award. He led Mexico’s line at the 2024 Copa América, lifted the CONCACAF Nations League in March 2025, and won a second Gold Cup that July as Mexico beat the United States in the final. Now, four years after a snub he says left “a thorn” in him, he enters a home World Cup in a two-striker conversation with Raúl Jiménez, fighting back to sharpness for the biggest month of his life.

Selected Career Highlights

• 2017: Professional debut for Cruz Azul in Copa MX at age 16 (August 2)
• 2019: Returns from a career-threatening shoulder thrombosis after three surgeries; makes his Liga MX debut in August
• 2021: Cruz Azul wins the Guardianes 2021 title, the club’s first championship since 1997; wins consecutive Liga MX Player of the Month awards
• 2022: Scores six goals in six Apertura matches, then joins Feyenoord for a reported €6 million (July)
• 2023: Wins the 2022–23 Eredivisie with 23 goals in all competitions, a record for a Mexican’s debut European season
• 2023: Scores the only goal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Panama (July 16); breaks Luis Suárez’s Eredivisie calendar-year record with 31 goals; named Voetbal International’s “Man of the Year”
• 2024: Wins the KNVB Cup, assisting the winner in the final, and lifts the Johan Cruyff Shield with two penalties against PSV
• 2025: Becomes Mexico’s all-time Eredivisie top scorer (45 goals), passing Hirving Lozano (January 12)
• 2025: Joins AC Milan for a reported €32 million on deadline day (February 3); scores on his Serie A debut and sets the Mexican record for goals in a single Champions League season (6)
• 2025: Wins the CONCACAF Nations League (March) and a second Gold Cup as Mexico beats the USA 2–1 (July)
• 2026: Returns from December ankle surgery (March 21); named to Mexico’s 26-man squad for the home World Cup (June 1)

Major Recognition

• Voetbal International “Man of the Year,” the Dutch football magazine’s annual honor (2023)
• Eredivisie Player of the Month (September 2023) and two consecutive Liga MX Player of the Month awards (August, September 2021)
• CONCACAF “Mark of a Fighter” Award, presented after the 2023 Gold Cup final
• Eredivisie champion (2022–23), KNVB Cup winner (2023–24), Johan Cruyff Shield winner (2024), and Liga MX champion (Guardianes 2021)
• Two-time CONCACAF Gold Cup champion (2023, 2025) and CONCACAF Nations League champion (2024–25)
• Record holder: most Eredivisie goals in a calendar year (31, 2023); most goals by a Mexican in a debut European season (23); most goals by a Mexican in a single Champions League season (6); Mexico’s all-time Eredivisie scorer (45)

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Awards and Accolades

Career Stats & Records

Apps and Goals reflect all club competitions for the listed season. Consolidated all-competition assist totals are not uniformly published for every season, hence “N/A”; the 2025–26 figure is confirmed. Asterisk (*) marks record totals: 23 goals in 2022–23 set the mark for a Mexican’s debut European season, and 2024–25 includes a Mexican-record six Champions League goals. Career club totals: 247 appearances and 93 goals across Cruz Azul (105/21), Feyenoord (105/65), and AC Milan (37/7), per consolidated match records through 2025–26.

Club & National Team History

Club Career

National Team Career

Caps and goals per Transfermarkt as of late May 2026, ahead of Mexico’s final pre-tournament friendlies. Giménez also represented Mexico at the under-16 through under-23 levels, including the 2016 International Dream Cup in Japan.

Net Worth, Income, & Lifestyle

Social Media & Online Presence

NOTE: In addition to the official accounts listed above, many fan-run pages, clip accounts, and statistical tracker accounts exist across all platforms. These are not confirmed to be affiliated with Santiago Giménez, and links and usernames can change at any time.

Trivia & Lesser-Known Facts

• His two nicknames tell the family story: “Chaquito” (little Chaco, after his father) and “El Bebote” (the big baby), the latter so beloved that the Mexican press dubbed his 2024 wedding “la beboda.”
• He met his wife, Fernanda Serrano, playing Call of Duty online; they competed against each other before ever meeting in person.
• His full surname, Giménez Zolotarchuk, reflects Ukrainian ancestry on his mother’s side, and football databases also list Italian citizenship from his maternal Italian roots.
• He is part of a rare father-son pair of naturalized Mexico internationals: his Argentine-born father, Chaco Giménez, also took Mexican citizenship and was capped by El Tri.
• The thrombosis he survived at 17 was the same condition that took the life of Pachuca goalkeeping legend Miguel Calero, part of why the episode resonated so deeply in Mexican football.
• Mexico’s 2026 World Cup opener against South Africa repeats the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, a 1–1 draw in Johannesburg in which Javier Aguirre was also Mexico’s manager.

Quotes

“I remember this day the doctor told me, ‘You won’t be able to play football anymore.’ My dad and I went to a room, obviously both of us crying. I asked him, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ My dad said, ‘I don’t know. I honestly don’t have the answer, but there’s someone who has it. That’s God.'”

– Santiago Giménez, recalling his thrombosis diagnosis, CalienteTV interview (via Goal, 2022)

“When I was 17, due to thrombosis, the doctors told me I would never be able to play football again. It was then that I clung to my faith and God worked a miracle, allowing me to come back and play. There’s a phrase I really like: ‘Diamonds are formed under pressure.’ Life is exactly like that.”

– Santiago Giménez, “Born to Play” feature with Italian rapper Ernia, Billboard (June 2026)

“I believe we will make history. As I said before, I’m a big dreamer. I want to be a world champion with Mexico.”

– Santiago Giménez, interview with ESPN (via Fox Sports, January 2026)

“For various months, I’ve been playing with an ankle injury that hasn’t allowed me to be at 100%, nor feel comfortable on the pitch. With plenty of desire to continue helping the team, I’ve kept on playing, but the pain kept increasing and the time has come to stop.”

– Santiago Giménez, statement posted on X, November 4, 2025 (via Sports Illustrated)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is Santiago Giménez’s age?
A: He is 25 years old, born April 18, 2001, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Q: What team does Santiago Giménez play for?
A: He plays as a striker for AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A, wearing the No. 7 shirt, and represents the Mexico national team, where he wears No. 11 at the 2026 World Cup.

Q: Is Santiago Giménez playing in the 2026 World Cup?
A: Yes. He was named to Mexico’s 26-man squad on June 1, 2026, for the tournament Mexico co-hosts with the United States and Canada. Mexico opens the World Cup against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca on June 11.

Q: What is Santiago Giménez’s career highlight?
A: Scoring the only goal of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Panama stands out, along with his 31 Eredivisie goals in calendar 2023, which broke Luis Suárez’s record.

Q: Why does Santiago Giménez play for Mexico instead of Argentina?
A: Though born in Buenos Aires, he moved to Mexico at age three and became a naturalized citizen. He has said, “I feel more Mexican than Argentine,” and chose El Tri despite reported interest from Argentina’s youth setup.

Q: What are Santiago Giménez’s official social accounts and endorsements?
A: He is on Instagram at @sant.gimenez and X at @Santgimenez_. His anchor endorsement is adidas, which he lists in his own social bio.

Upcoming Projects / Season Outlook

• 2026 FIFA World Cup, Group A (June 11–24): Mexico opens against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca on June 11, faces South Korea at Estadio Akron in Zapopan on June 18, and closes the group against Czechia in Mexico City on June 24. Giménez is expected to compete with and complement Raúl Jiménez, whether starting in a two-striker look or arriving from the bench.
• Knockout ambitions: Mexico has never passed the round of 16 away from home soil; both quarterfinal runs (1970, 1986) came as host. A deep run is the squad’s stated goal, and Giménez has publicly said he wants to win it.
• Club future at AC Milan: April 2026 reports linked Milan to a possible swap involving Giménez and Fiorentina’s Moise Kean. Nothing is confirmed, his contract runs through June 2029, and Milan (fifth-place finishers headed to the Europa League) are reported to be changing coaches after Massimiliano Allegri’s departure. All of this remains subject to change.
• Brand activity: As an adidas athlete at a home World Cup, Giménez is expected to feature in tournament marketing, though no campaigns have been formally announced.

Interviews & Features

• Billboard, “Born to Play: Ernia Meets Santiago Giménez Ahead of the World Cup” (June 2026), a crossover conversation with the Italian rapper on faith, the thrombosis, and pressure as a forming force.
• Fox Sports, “Mexico’s Santiago Giménez: El Tri Can Make History At 2026 World Cup” (January 25, 2026), his most candid pre-tournament interview, covering the Qatar snub and his partnership with Raúl Jiménez.
• Goal, feature on Giménez’s recovery and rise with El Tri (2022), the fullest English-language telling of the thrombosis story, including the CalienteTV quotes.
• AC Milan, “Santiago Gimenez, new signing: focus and fun facts” (February 4, 2025), the club’s own introduction, covering his faith, his wife Fernanda, and the video-game meet-cute.
• Sports Illustrated, “Mexico National Team Striker Suffers Major Injury Setback” (November 5, 2025), the report carrying his own words on playing through months of ankle pain.

Public Appearances, Games, & Events

• Mexico vs. South Africa, 2026 FIFA World Cup opener (June 11, 2026): The opening match of the tournament at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
• Mexico vs. South Korea, Group A matchday two (June 18, 2026): At Estadio Akron in Zapopan (Guadalajara).
• Mexico vs. Czechia, group-stage finale (June 24, 2026): Back at the Azteca in Mexico City.
• World Cup send-off friendly (June 2026): Mexico’s 5–1 rout of Serbia in Toluca, capping an unbeaten run of 2026 warm-ups.
• CONCACAF Gold Cup final (July 6, 2025): Mexico beat the United States 2–1 at NRG Stadium in Houston for his second Gold Cup title.