Guido Carrillo joined Southampton back in 2018 and he went onto be one of the worst signings in the club’s recent history.
Southampton’s signing of Guido Carrillo in 2018 was emblematic of their downfall, as the striker failed to score and only provided two assists in 10 appearances.
Carrillo’s performances in France had shown promise, but he couldn’t replicate that success in the Premier League, and his career took a downturn after leaving Southampton.
Both Southampton and Carrillo would probably prefer to forget about their ill-fated partnership, as it was a costly move that didn’t work out for either party.
Southampton were renowned for their shrewd transfer business when they were back in the Premier League and challenging for European places, but in 2018 they made a move that was emblematic of their downfall.
From 2014 to 2017, the Saints finished in the top half and also qualified for the Europa League as they were showing just how much they could bring to the Premier League.
However, things took a turn after they sacked Claude Puel in 2017 and hired Mauricio Pellegrino for what was an ill-fated spell in charge.
Pellegrino brought in Guido Carrillo for £19.2 million, as reported by The Guardian, as he wanted a reliable goalscorer. He got anything but that.
Carrillo joined from French side Monaco where he’d won the Ligue 1 title as a bit-part player but he still had a decent record for the club – 31 goal contributions in 95 games.
His performances in France had proven that he could be a threat in front of goal so there was optimism from supporters surrounding the signing.
But that would prove to be misplaced as the forward made just 10 appearances for the Saints – failing to score and providing two assists.
The Argentine made his debut in a cameo appearance against Watford in the FA Cup before getting his Premier League debut and a run of games. He started five games on the bounce in the league but Pellegrino’s exit did him no favours.
He came off the bench for a seven-minute cameo in new manager Mark Hughes’ first Premier League game but that would prove to be his last contribution for the South Coast club.
Southampton stayed up by the skin of their teeth in 2017/18 after a 1-0 win over Swansea City, which effectively relegated the Welsh club instead, but Carillo didn’t hang around.
He spent the next two seasons on loan in Spain with Leganes before having his Saints contract cancelled and signing for Elche on a free transfer in October 2020.
10 goals across two seasons at Leganes and then seven across two at Elche represented a staunch improvement on his time at St Mary’s but are still a fairly underwhelming return.
The 32-year-old now finds himself back in his home country with Estudiantes, where he has bagged six goals in 31 appearances, after a short spell in 2022 with Chinese side Henan Songshan Longmen.
The Carrillo affair looks a baffling one in hindsight. Southampton spent big on the forward and didn’t get the return they were hoping for while the player cannot have enjoyed his time on the South Coast.
