Jony · Biography

The first trophy of Jonathan Rodríguez Menéndez’s career, the footballer known as Jony, came on 22 December 2019 in Riyadh. That day Lazio beat Juventus 3-1 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. The Asturian winger stayed on the bench, but he was part of the squad that lifted the trophy. Born on 9 July 1991 in Cangas del Narcea, Jony was a left winger who made his name at Sporting Gijón. He played in the Spanish top flight for Málaga, Alavés and Osasuna and also spent time in Serie A. His last recorded spell was at Cartagena, from 2023 to 2024.

Youth football in Narcea, Oviedo and Barcelona

He started out at Sociedad Deportiva Narcea, his hometown club, where he played from 1997 to 2006. That year he joined Real Oviedo’s academy, and in 2008 he moved to FC Barcelona’s La Masia, where he spent two seasons in the youth ranks. In 2010 he went back to Asturias to begin his senior career with Oviedo Vetusta, the Oviedo reserve side. He scored 4 goals in 24 league games for them in 2010-11, and that season he also played once for Real Oviedo’s first team.

Looking for a place in the third tier

He spent the 2011-12 season at Marino de Luanco in Segunda División B, playing more than thirty games and scoring 5 goals. In 2012 he joined Getafe B, where he made 8 appearances and scored once. In 2013 he returned to Asturias again to play for Real Avilés. That summer he found a home at Mareo, Sporting’s training ground: for Sporting B he scored 8 goals in 31 league games in 2013-14. That form earned him a chance with the first team.

Sporting and promotion to La Liga

He made his Sporting Gijón debut in the Spanish second division on 10 May 2014. He started the game and opened the scoring in a 2-1 home win over Hércules at El Molinón. In 2014-15 he became a regular under Abelardo Fernández, playing 41 games and scoring 7 goals as Sporting returned to La Liga after three years away. His top-flight debut came on 23 August 2015, when he started a 0-0 draw with Real Madrid in Gijón. A month later, on 23 September, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 2-1 defeat away to Rayo Vallecano. By the end of that first spell he had played more than eighty league games for the club.

Málaga, a return to Gijón and Alavés

In the summer of 2016 he signed for Málaga, then in La Liga. At La Rosaleda he played around thirty league games and scored 2 goals in a season and a half. In January 2018 he went back to Sporting on loan, with the club then in the second division. Those months were among the best of his career: he was named Segunda División Player of the Month for March 2018, and Sporting reached the promotion play-offs, although they did not go up. In June 2018 Málaga loaned him to Deportivo Alavés for the 2018-19 season, in which he played more than 35 La Liga games.

Lazio and further loans

Lazio announced his signing on 23 July 2019. In his first season in Rome, under Simone Inzaghi, he played in Serie A and was in the squad for the Supercoppa final in December 2019. In September 2020 he returned to Spain on loan at Osasuna for the 2020-21 season, with a purchase option that the Navarre club did not take up. In January 2022 Lazio loaned him to Sporting again, then in the second division, which began his third spell in Gijón. In July of that year the loan was extended for another season, until 2023.

Cartagena, the final chapter

After leaving Lazio, he signed for FC Cartagena of the Spanish second division on 1 September 2023. His time there was short: he played 66 minutes in competitive matches, and in January 2024 he left the club by mutual agreement.