Kevin Facundo Gutiérrez

Kevin Facundo Gutiérrez has rarely settled anywhere for long. Since leaving Racing Club, his boyhood breakthrough, he has moved through four loan spells and as many clubs before finding a five-year home at Defensa y Justicia, where he made 83 appearances and scored five goals. That stint remains the longest and most productive stretch of his career, and it stands out against a résumé otherwise built on temporary moves.

The loan years took him from Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, where he was on the losing side in the 2018 Copa Argentina final, to Godoy Cruz, his busiest loan spell with 30 appearances including six in the Copa Libertadores, and then to Rosario Central, where he featured just once before a brief return to Racing. None of those moves produced a permanent switch, and it was only at Defensa y Justicia that Gutiérrez settled into a regular role.

He has now taken that experience to Necaxa in Liga MX, his first move outside Argentina. Fifteen appearances into his time in Mexico, he has yet to score but has already registered three assists, suggesting a player asked to create more than finish. He has not received a call-up to the Argentina national team.