Rodrigo Moreno · Biography

The first title of Rodrigo Moreno Machado’s career was the 2012 Portuguese League Cup, which he won with Benfica. He was born on 6 March 1991 in Rio de Janeiro and holds Brazilian and Spanish nationality. He is a forward who can lead the line or play wide. He came through the youth system in Galicia, spent time at Real Madrid and then played five seasons for Benfica, six for Valencia CF and three for Leeds United. For the Spain national team he made 28 appearances and scored 8 goals.

Early years and youth football in Galicia

His father, Adalberto Machado, played left-back for Flamengo in the 1980s. Rodrigo started in Flamengo’s academy in 2002, but grew up as a footballer in Spain: in 2003 he joined Ureca, a club in the Val Miñor area of Pontevedra. In 2005 he moved to Celta Vigo’s youth teams, where he stayed until 2009. That summer Real Madrid signed him. In 2009-10 he made 18 league appearances and scored 5 goals for Real Madrid Castilla in the Spanish third tier.

Benfica and a loan at Bolton

Benfica bought him on 31 July 2010 for a reported €6 million. He spent the 2010-11 season on loan at Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League. He made his debut in the League Cup away to Burnley on 21 September 2010, and scored his only league goal on 5 January 2011. Back in Lisbon, he scored 16 goals in 2011-12 and won the League Cup. His best year in Portugal was 2013-14, when Benfica won the Primeira Liga, the Portuguese Cup and another League Cup. He was a Europa League runner-up in both 2013 and 2014 and was named in the competition’s squad of the season for 2013-14. In January 2014 his economic rights passed to Meriton Holdings, the company owned by businessman Peter Lim.

Six seasons at Valencia

He joined Valencia on loan in the summer of 2014. On 15 June 2015 the club announced the permanent deal, for a reported €30 million. Between 2014 and 2020 he played 220 competitive matches for the Mestalla club and scored 59 goals. He was named LaLiga Player of the Month for March 2018. The title of that spell was the 2019 Copa del Rey: Valencia beat FC Barcelona 2-1 in the final, and Rodrigo finished as the competition’s top scorer with 5 goals.

Leeds United and the Premier League

On 29 August 2020, Leeds United announced his signing for a reported £27 million, the most the club had paid for a player up to that point. He joined Marcelo Bielsa’s side as they returned to the Premier League. He scored 7 goals in 2020-21 and 6 in 2021-22. His most productive season in England was 2022-23, with 13 league goals and 15 in all competitions. Leeds were relegated to the Championship that year, which triggered a clause allowing him to leave. He left Elland Road with 28 goals in 97 appearances.

Spain national team

He played for Spain at youth level. With the under-19s he was a European runner-up in 2010 and scored in the final against France. With the under-20s he reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup in Colombia, scoring three goals. He made his under-21 debut on 1 September 2011, scoring a hat-trick in a 7-2 away win over Georgia. He won the 2013 European Under-21 Championship in Israel and finished with 15 goals in 16 games at that level. He also played twice at the London 2012 Olympics. His senior debut came on 12 October 2014 in Luxembourg, in a Euro 2016 qualifier: he replaced Diego Costa in the 81st minute of a 4-0 win. His first goal came on 6 October 2017 against Albania. He went to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making his tournament debut against Iran on 20 June. He was also in the squad that won the 2023 Nations League, starting the semi-final against Italy. He won 28 senior caps and scored 8 goals.

Years in Qatar

On 13 July 2023 he signed for Qatari club Al-Rayyan. In September 2024 he joined Al-Gharafa on loan and won the Emir of Qatar Cup with them in 2025. He went back to Al-Rayyan for 2025-26 and that season won the QSL Cup and the Gulf Club Champions League. In July 2026 he joined Lusail, newly promoted to the Qatari top flight.