Rodrigo Ariel Melgarejo Ferreira

Rodrigo Melgarejo did not build his career at a single club. Since leaving the academy at Deportivo Capiatá, where he made his senior debut in 2019, the defender has moved almost every year, taking in spells in Panama, Peru and Mexico before returning home to Cerro Porteño. Costa del Este in Panama, Universidad San Martín in Peru and Atlético Morelia in Mexico each had him for a year or less, and by 2023 he had added Mexican side Celaya to that list as well. Every one of those moves came without a transfer fee changing hands, on loan deals or as a free agent.

That well-travelled path ended, for now, in June 2023, when Melgarejo signed for Cerro Porteño on a free transfer. At 188cm, he offers the kind of physical presence clubs look for at the back, and he now wears the number 18 shirt in Asunción.

His only international experience so far dates back to 2019, when he was part of Paraguay's under-17 squad at the South American Championship in Peru and the World Cup in Brazil, featuring in five matches without scoring. He also had a spell with the under-18s. A call-up to the senior national team has yet to follow.