Guillermo Ochoa retires after 22 years and six World Cups: 'Today I hand over my gloves'
Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo 'Memo' Ochoa has announced his retirement from professional football at 41, after a 22-season career and a historic record: he is the only Mexican player to have been part of six World Cups, from Germany 2006 to the 2026 edition co-hosted by his country. 'I gave everything, I left everything on the pitch for my clubs and the national team, and today I hand over my gloves,' wrote the keeper, who bows out as a legend of Mexican football.
The curtain falls on an era. Guillermo 'Memo' Ochoa announced his retirement from professional football on Tuesday at 41, after a 22-season career and a legacy that will be hard to match. 'I gave everything, I left everything on the pitch for my clubs and the national team, and today I hand over my gloves,' the goalkeeper wrote on social media, ending a journey that took him through nine clubs in seven countries and made him a legend of Mexican football.
His defining hallmark is a historic record: Ochoa is the only Mexican player to have been part of six World Cups, from Germany 2006 to the 2026 tournament co-hosted by Mexico with the United States and Canada. He featured actively in four of them; at Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010 he was backup to Oswaldo Sánchez and Óscar 'Conejo' Pérez. At the home tournament, his last game with El Tri came on 24 June against the Czech Republic, on the final group-stage matchday, after coming on in the 78th minute. Mexico were later knocked out by England.
Ochoa had made his professional debut with Club América on 15 February 2004, under Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker, and with the Mexican national team on 14 December 2005, under Argentina's Ricardo La Volpe. In between came a career of extraordinary longevity: by the records, he played close to 800 professional club matches and more than 150 for his country.
His trophy cabinet holds honours on both sides of the Atlantic. With América he won the Liga MX (Clausura 2005), the Campeón de Campeones (2005) and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2006; in Europe he lifted the Belgian Cup with Standard Liège in 2017-18, starting the final. With the national team, he holds the record of five CONCACAF Gold Cups (2009, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023), the most-decorated player in that tournament's history, and was key to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
His personal honours include several golden gloves and team-of-the-tournament selections, plus a pioneering milestone: in 2007 he became the first Mexican nominated for France Football's Ballon d'Or. Remembered for his standout World Cup displays, notably against Brazil in 2014, Ochoa leaves as one of the great icons of Mexican sport. From today, the goal loses its most international guardian.