Among the trials and tribulations he's encountered during his time in Claret and Blue so far, Rodríguez lost his place in the starting line-up in November and also dropped out of the Argentina squad, having featured regularly for La Selección since 2019.
It was a tough stretch for the 31-year-old, who remained committed in training despite limited opportunities under new management.
After just one minute of competitive football since February, Rodríguez made his long-awaited return to the starting XI in West Ham’s 2-0 win away at Manchester United on Sunday 11 May, an emotional moment he later captured on social media.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always been used to playing every game at club level,” he said. “This year I arrived, I started to play, then there were changes at the Club and I was out of the team. I think I spent three months without practically having any minutes. I kept training the same, I kept working hard and then I was given the opportunity to start against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“After the game I got caught up in the emotions of playing. The Instagram post was really about the dream of ten-year-old Guido, who watched the Premier League at home, watching Carlos Tévez. It was a lot of emotions all at once, lots of accumulated feelings.”
Having backed up a strong showing against the Red Devils by starting a second successive fixture at home to Nottingham Forest last time out, Rodríguez is hoping to sign off for 2024/25 with another positive display on the final day at Portman Road, and continue building momentum into the summer.