Rodrigo Prieto, the Mexican ‘Loco’ Abreu
The Jalisco-born forward has starred for 20 different clubs throughout his career - the most recent, Venados de Merida.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Malaysia, England, Venezuela, Morelia, Puebla, Zacatepec, Aguascalientes, Culiacan, Tijuana, City of Juarez... well-travelled Mexican forward Rodrigo Prieto has played in all of them during a career that has spanned almost two decades.
The latest club to take on the 36-year-old is Venados from the Ascenso MX, who announced their new signing today. When asked how many teams he has played for, Preiro said that he has lost count but the last time he checked it was 20.
It's hardly surprising - Prieto started out in 2003 with Monarcas Morelia, then he went on to play for Merida, Tijuana, Cruz Azul, Oaxaca, Puebla, Dorados, Neza, Delfines, Zacatepec, Juarez, Atletico Zacatepec and now Venados - and that's only the clubs he played for in Mexico.
Prieto also played abroad for six different clubs in five different countries. He played in Malaysia for DPMM, then Heerenveen in Netherlands, Watford in England, Midtjylland in Denmark, Caracas and Carbobo in Venezuela.
And he has played for a club more than once during his career. With the announcement that he was going to play for Venados, he was already being tagged the Mexican ‘Loco’ Abreu on social media. Not that Prieto minded being compared with the great Uruguayan striker - who holds the Guiness Book of Records entry as the footballer to have played for the most teams - 28 in total.
“I think it’s funny and this career has allowed me to visit different places and make new friends. I am not going to lie but I do get sad when I have to leave a place because I am leaving friends behind but they are part of your life and you get to know a lot of people", Prieto said.
Prieto turns 37 next month, he is married with three children and he has had the support of his family throughout his playing career. “My wife understands it perfectly and she also likes to travel to new cities and countries with me. What is funny is that my kids get really excited when they have to change schools because they say they are going to have new friends and they tell me what places they want to visit.”