Guillermo Ochoa: Bio, Salary, Net worth, Lifestyle, Club and International Career

Francisco Guillermo Ochoa Magana is a professional footballer for Primeira Liga club AVS. The 39-year-old goalkeeper had a normal club career, but he is one of the most renowned international players. His saves and performances on the biggest stages earned him cult hero status. He holds the joint record of being named in five World Cup squads. Every four years, Ochoa's name shines in the footballing world after his terrific performances in the FIFA World Cups.

Ochoa rose to fame with Mexican club Club America. He had an eventful career as he moved clubs frequently. He has fantastic reflexes and is quite athletic with his saves. He rises to the biggest occasions with fantastic saves and always positions himself wonderfully. Although he had world-class traits, he was never able to secure a move to a top club where he could see sustained success.
There were no such problems when he received his first national cap at the age of 20. He was named in five World Cup squads (2006, 2020, 2014, 2018, and 2022). He was the starter in three of them as well. He helped Mexico win plenty of silverware as well. The veteran shot-stopper could create history by going to a sixth World Cup when his home country hosts it in 2026.
Let us take a look at Guillermo Ochoa's bio, his family life, playing style, and net worth.

Guillermo Ochoa Bio

Guillermo Ochoa Family and Early Life

Ochoa was born to a Mexican couple, Guillermo Ochoa Sanchez and Natalia Magana Orozco, in the city of Guadalajara. He started playing the game at a very young age. He was a striker at first before one of his childhood coaches asked him to go into the goal once. His flexible build allowed him to adapt to the role quickly and change his entire trajectory.

Away from the football field, Ochoa is a lively person with multiple interests. He graduated with an online degree in Football Management from the Johan Cruyff Institute. He is also a keen investor and spends his riches smartly by investing in startups. One of his recent ventures was his investment in the digital music startup Trebel Music.

Playing Style and Strengths

Although Guillermo Ochoa is 6ft 1in, he is considered small in the goalkeeping community. This tells you how good his other attributes are to have an extremely long and eventful career. Ochoa resembles a cat in his goalkeeping style with swift jumps and dives. He is extremely agile and has lightning-fast reflexes. He has great reach thanks to his well-timed leaps and backhand extensions.

He can pounce onto crosses and high balls with his safe hands that cleanly catch the ball or even parry it to no man’s land. His positioning is top-notch thanks to his experience. He always gets his angles right while covering the posts. Ochoa is also comfortable sweeping off his line as he narrows the angle for the striker as soon as there is a bad touch or a loose pass.

Another ability that stands out in his game is his penalty-stopping ability. It all starts with psychological warfare even before the taker picks the ball. Through a series of antics, Ochoa instills a sense of doubt into the kicker’s mind. He has a smart reading of the kicks and dives swiftly to punish any poor penalties and make some stunning saves.

However, these attributes that come to the fore on the international front stay hidden in club football. Ochoa struggled to produce these saves consistently while playing for clubs in Europe, as he failed to earn a spell with a top club. Hence, he had to travel to multiple countries.

Guillermo Ochoa’s Net Worth

Ochoa’s long career saw him earn millions over the years. He was also a notable face for multiple adverts like Hugo Boss, Xbox, Nike, Expedia, and Konami. Through his investments in various startups, he earned a decent amount as well. His net worth stands at €35 million.

Guillermo Ochoa Salary

Guillermo Ochoa Wife

Ochoa had a history of dating before he found the love of his life. He started dating Karla Mora, a Mexican model, after moving to France in the early 2010s. Things got intense as they took their relationship to the next level. They welcomed a daughter and a son into the world while dating.

They took their relationship to the next stage by exchanging wedding vows in a grand ceremony in Ibiza in 2017. A third child was born in 2019 after their marriage.

Guillermo Ochoa Career

Club Career

Guillermo Ochoa got his breakthrough in 2004 when he made his debut with Club America in the Mexican league. His talent and skill made him stand out as he won the Rookie of the Tournament award in his debut season. He took time to become a regular goalkeeper after completing a loan move to San Luis.

Ochoa came back as a starter and proved his worth by winning back-to-back Golden Gloves in 2006 and 2007. His impressive performances earned him a Ballon d’Or nomination despite playing outside Europe. He started the next season in a similar form, where he scored a fantastic penalty against Monarcas Morelia to help his side win 1-0.

Despite generating great interest from Manchester United in 2010, he left for French club Ajaccio in 2011 after seven long years with Club America. He helped the recently promoted side to stay in the league by keeping 8 clean sheets and making 43 saves across the season. Despite his best efforts, he conceded joint-most goals in a season. The fans, however, recognised his importance to the side and voted him as Player of the Season. He repeated his heroics in the next season to win the same award again.

Lightning couldn’t strike thrice for him as Ajaccio were finally relegated in Ochoa’s third season with them. He marked 100 games in Europe and earned another European move to Malaga this time. The spell in Spain didn’t go as planned, as he wasn’t a starter at the club. He moved to Granada on loan, where he set up an unwanted record.

Ochoa won the Player of the Season for his excellent saves 162 times in the season. But he was powerless as they conceded the highest goals in a season (82) and were relegated to the Segunda Division. Belgium offered a better opportunity for him next up as he represented Standard Liege in the Europa League en route to yet another Player of the Season award.

The veteran goalkeeper returned home in 2019 with a lot of experience under his belt. Ochoa, who usually wears the number 13 representing his birthday, had to pick a different jersey number this time. He also wore the captain’s armband for the first time. After keeping his 111^th clean sheet with the club, he became their number-one goalkeeper of all time.

He jumped at the chance of getting another crack at European football when Serie A club Salernitana offered him a contract. As part of tradition, he won the Player of the Season in 2024 as the club were relegated to Serie B. Keeping the 2026 World Cup in mind, he decided to stay in Europe after moving to newly promoted Liga Portugal club AVS.

He kept six clean sheets as the club finished in the relegation playoff spot. He was left on the bench for the game as his deputy took his spot, leading them to a comfortable first-leg win.

International Career

International Career brought great recognition to Ochoa. His ability to perform when the lights shine the brightest made him a memorable player during the cup games. He made his international debut against Hungary in 2005 in a friendly. He received his first-ever World Cup call-up in 2006 as a third-choice goalkeeper.

He made sporadic appearances in the Gold Cup and Copa America as he tried to cement himself as the number one on the international stage. The 2009 Gold Cup triumph earned him excellent recognition as he found a spot on the All-Stars Team thanks to his excellent saves in the shootout in the semis.

Ochoa was banned alongside 4 other Mexican teammates in a doping test that was later proved to be a false positive. After being the backup at the 2010 World Cup, he finally got his chance in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. After a clean sheet on his debut against Cameroon, he saved the best for the hosts, Brazil.

He made a fantastic save from a powerful Neymar header to send the crowd into a frenzy. He was named the man of the match as the game ended 0-0, thanks to his saves. He was named the man of the match in the quarters against the Netherlands despite his side losing 2-1 late on.

His legendary status was further boosted during the 2018 World Cup when he made save after save to condemn Germany to a 1-0 defeat to seal Mexico’s progression to the knockouts. His parry of Toni Kroos’s free kick onto the crossbar remains an iconic save in the tournament’s history. He won yet another Gold Cup in 2019, along with the Golden Glove award.

Ochoa added a Bronze Medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics to his illustrious international career. His third World Cup as a starter saw him save a penalty against Robert Lewandowski in a goalless draw first up. However, Ochoa’s performances slipped up in the next two games as they exited the tournament in the group stages for the first time in over 50 years.

Ochoa donned the role of captain following Andres Guardado’s retirement in 2023. He led them to a record fifth Gold Cup win and was named in the best eleven, along with winning the Golden Glove award. He is trying to make history by making it to a sixth World Cup when Mexico plays at home in 2026.

Guillermo Ochoa Awards and Achievements

The most striking achievement in Ochoa’s career was the highest World Cup finals he appeared in. He is on the verge of history as he can hold the record on his own soon. He is also the most decorated player in the history of the Gold Cup.

Ochoa has won several titles with clubs around the world. The Belgian Cup title with Liege in 2018 stands out as an impressive feat. Despite his team’s suffering relegation, he always gives his best for them. This is proven by the number of Player of the Season awards he won throughout his career.