Hirving Rodrigo Lozano Bahena (born 30 July 1995), also known by his nickname Chucky, is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy, on loan from San Diego FC, and the Mexico national team.
Lozano began his career with Pachuca, winning the 2016 Clausura and the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, playing in 152 games and scoring 44 goals for the team. In June 2017, he signed for Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and won the Eredivisie in his first season in the Netherlands, also finishing as the team's top scorer. In 2019, Lozano signed for Italian club Napoli for a reported €42 million, making him the most expensive Mexican player of all time. He would win a Serie A title in his fourth and final season with the club, before rejoining PSV in 2023.
Participating with various youth teams, Lozano won the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and played at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He made his senior international debut for Mexico in February 2016 and represented the nation at the Copa América Centenario, the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League, and the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Club career Pachuca Born in Mexico City, 11-year-old Lozano joined the youth academy of C.F. Pachuca in 2006. After starring in the lower leagues, he was called up to the first team by Gabriel Caballero. On 8 February 2014, Lozano made his Liga MX debut against Club América, in which he scored five minutes after his substitution in the 1–0 win at Estadio Azteca. In his debut tournament with the first team – the Clausura 2014 – Lozano finished runner-up with Pachuca, even scoring the third goal in the 3–2 first leg final win over sibling club Club León. On 30 August, he scored his first brace in the 2–1 victory over León.
On 19 September 2015, Lozano scored an equalizer seven minutes after Dorados de Sinaloa scored first in a league match where Pachuca went on to win 2–1. On 27 February 2016, Lozano scored the first and only goal of the encounter on the first minute of the match against Toluca, with the win placing them first place on the general table. On 19 March, Lozano scored his first hat-trick in Pachuca's 6–0 defeat of Veracruz. Lozano contributed two goals during the semifinal legs of the Clausura championship against León, leading his side to a 3–2 aggregate victory. Pachuca won the league title after they defeated Monterrey 2–1 on aggregate in the finals of the Clausura tournament. He was subsequently included in the tournament's Best XI.
On 16 July 2016, Lozano scored a brace and contributed an assist in the first league match against León, winning 5–1. On 13 September, during the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League group stage, he scored four goals in their 11–0 defeat of Police United, helping Pachuca set the record for the biggest win in the history of the competition. He was named CONCACAF Champions League Player of the Week for his performance. Lozano finished the Apertura tournament as the highest-scoring Mexican player with 7 goals, and was again included in the Best XI.
On the opening matchday of the Clausura 2017, on 17 January, he scored a hat-trick against León in Pachuca's 4–2 victory. In April, during the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals against FC Dallas, Lozano scored twice within the last 10 minutes of the match to help lead Pachuca to a 3–1 win (4–3 on aggregate) to qualify to the finals. The following month, Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions League by defeating fellow Mexican club Tigres UANL, with Lozano winning the Golden Boot as the competition's top scorer with 8 goals, as well as the Best Young Player Award.
PSV 2017–18 season On 19 June 2017, following a lengthy transfer saga which had Lozano linked to a number of European clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Benfica and Ajax, it was announced that Dutch club PSV Eindhoven had secured the signing of Lozano on a six-year contract. He temporarily left the Mexican national side which was in Russia for the Confederations Cup in order to secure the transfer. He became the fifth Mexican player to join PSV.
Lozano made his competitive debut for PSV in the Europa League qualifiers against Croatian side Osijek, playing in both legs as they failed to make the group stage as a result of a 2–0 aggregate score. On 12 August, Lozano scored on his Eredivisie debut with PSV against AZ Alkmaar. He started and played 84 minutes in his team's 3–2 victory, receiving a standing ovation from the home fans as he was subbed off. A week later, he scored once again and provided an assist in PSV's 4–0 win over NAC Breda. The following week, Lozano scored again in PSV's 2–0 victory against Roda JC; he became the first player to score in his first three games with PSV, and he was later named Eredivisie Player of the Month for the month of August. On 10 September 2017, Lozano received his first red card for PSV in a 2–0 defeat against SC Heerenveen.
On 17 February 2018, Lozano received his second red card of the season, again during a league match against Heerenveen, for making contact with defender Lucas Woudenberg's face. He was handed a three-match suspension which was ultimately upheld by the KNVB disciplinary committee after a failed appeal by PSV. Lozano made his return on 18 March, scoring the second goal in PSV's 3–0 victory over VVV Venlo, his 14th goal of the season.
Lozano won the Eredivisie title with PSV following their 3–0 win over rivals Ajax on 15 April. He ended the season as the team's highest scorer in the league with 17 league goals and providing 11 assists. He was also named into the league's Team of the Season.
2018–19 season Lozano appeared as a second-half substitute in PSV's first match of the 2018–19 season, against Feyenoord in the 2018 Johan Cruyff Shield. With the match tied 0–0 at full time and going into penalties, Lozano successfully converted one but ended on the losing side of a 6–5 loss. On 11 August, Lozano scored in PSV's 2018–19 Eredivisie opener against FC Utrecht, scoring the third goal in their 4–0 victory. He scored again the following week in a 2–1 victory over Fortuna Sittard. Three days later, Lozano made his UEFA Champions League debut against BATE; he scored PSV's second goal in their 3–2 victory in the first-leg of the playoff qualification round.
On 15 September, he would score two goals against ADO in a 7–0 thrashing, with former Pachuca teammate Érick Gutiérrez contributing the assist for the second goal three minutes after being substituted in. Three days later, he made his UEFA Champions League group stage debut against Barcelona, playing all ninety minutes in PSV's 4–0 defeat. His performance led him to be included in the league's best XI for September. Lozano scored another brace on 6 October against VVV, scoring the first and final goal in PSV's 4–0 victory.
On 20 October, he was directly involved in half of PSV's goals in their 6–0 victory over FC Emmen, contributing two assists and one goal. Four days later, he scored his first goal in the Champions League group stage as PSV drew 2–2 with Tottenham Hotspur, also managing to send Hugo Lloris off with a red card due to an outside-of-the-box infraction. On 24 November, Lozano would score twice and provide an assist in PSV's 3–0 victory over SC Heerenveen. Lozano scored in PSV's 1–1 draw with Inter Milan in the final group stage match of the Champions League on 11 December. He was subsequently named in the Champions League breakthrough team of 2018.
On 25 April 2019, during a match against Willem II, Lozano was stretchered off the field after a challenge from Freek Heerkens. It was initially thought that the player may have suffered cruciate ligament damage and was facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, however that was eventually ruled out. The club later released a statement stating Lozano would miss the remainder of the season.
Napoli 2019–20 season
On 23 August 2019, Lozano officially joined Italian club Napoli. He reportedly signed a five-year contract with a transfer fee of US$46.5 million (€42 million), making Lozano Napoli's most expensive signing at the time, as well as the highest transfer fee paid for a Mexican player, and the largest fee received by PSV Eindhoven for a player. Eight days later, Lozano made his Serie A debut as a second-half substitute against Juventus in Turin, scoring his side's second goal in a 4–3 defeat.
Following Carlo Ancelotti's sacking for mediocre results, Gennaro Gattuso was named as the new manager, with Lozano initially receiving little to no playing time. On 16 June 2020, he was asked to leave training by Gattuso, accusing him for lack of effort. Two days later, he appeared as an unused substitute in Napoli's Coppa Italia victory against Juventus, defeating them 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out following a scoreless draw, becoming the first Mexican to win a title with an Italian club. During the final fixtures of his first season with Napoli, Lozano received more playing time, finishing with 26 league matches and netting 4 goals.
2020–21 season Napoli faced Parma in their opening league match of the 2020–21 season, where Lozano was in the starting line-up in the 2–0 win. The following week against Genoa saw Lozano score his first brace with the club in a 6–0 victory. The following month, he scored his second brace against Atalanta in a 4–1 victory. On 26 November, he scored his first Europa League goal in a group stage match against Croatian side Rijeka, sealing a 2–0 home victory. Following a 2–1 win over Sampdoria, in which he scored and contributed an assist, sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport praised Lozano's performance, highlighting his improved form compared to that of his first season with Napoli.
On 24 January 2021, he scored his team's only goal in a 3–1 away defeat to Hellas Verona, which was clocked at 8.95 seconds from the start of the match, making it the third-fastest goal in the Serie A, the club's fastest goal, and Lozano's personal fastest. Four days later, in the Coppa Italia quarter-final match against Spezia, he scored his 100th goal across all competitions. He finished his second season with 32 league matches, notching 11 goals as the club's second highest scorer.
2021–22 season Lozano scored his first goal of the season on 20 September, the fourth in a 4–0 victory over Udinese at the Stadio Friuli. It was his 60th goal in Europe, surpassing Nery Castillo as the fifth-highest scoring Mexican in Europe. On 9 December, during Napoli's final Europa League group stage match against Leicester City, Lozano suffered a head injury after colliding with Wilfred Ndidi's knee in the 40th minute, being stretchered off the field. He returned to action four days later as a starter in the 1–0 defeat to A.C. Milan. On 6 January 2022, Napoli announced that Lozano had tested positive for COVID-19.
On 13 January, fully recovered from COVID-19, Lozano made his return as a 63rd-minute substitute in the Coppa Italia round of 16 match against Fiorentina, only to be sent off after twenty minutes following a late challenge on Nicolás González. Four days later, he scored his first brace of the season in Napoli's 2–0 league win over Bologna.
2022–23 season Lozano clinched the Serie A title with his club, becoming the first Mexican player to achieve this feat. He was also a key player of the team which reached the Champions League quarter-finals.
Return to PSV On 1 September 2023, PSV announced they had reached an agreement with Napoli to re-sign Lozano to a five-year contract. He was given the number 27 shirt. On 29 October, he scored his first hat-trick at the club in a 5–2 victory over Ajax, to be the first player to achieve this feat for PSV against their rivals since Mark van Bommel in 2005. Lozano won the Eredivisie title following a 4–2 win over Sparta Rotterdam.