Chicharito

Hernández was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and his love for football was evident from a young age. He first played in a recreation league when he was seven. Hernández lived in Morelia, Michoacán for over four years while his father, footballer Javier "Chícharo" Hernández, played for Monarcas Morelia. While living in Morelia, Hernández attended elementary school at the Instituto Piaget where he studied from third to sixth grade and played for the school's football team. At the age of nine, Hernández joined C.D. Guadalajara and signed his first professional contract when he was 15. He was set to play in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, a significant event in youth football, but an injury sidelined him from the team that ultimately won the championship. Whilst playing football professionally, Hernández was also taking business administration classes at Universidad del Valle de Atemajac. Hernández has held both Hugo Sánchez and Rafael Márquez as his football idols growing up.

C.D. Guadalajara Hernández (left) playing for C.D. Guadalajara against Laredo Heat Hernández began playing with C.D. Guadalajara's lower-division team, Chivas Coras in Tepic, Nayarit in the 2005–06 season. On 9 September 2006, he made his debut for Guadalajara in that year's Apertura in a win over Club Necaxa at Estadio Jalisco. With the score at 3–0, under manager José Manuel de la Torre, Hernández came on as a substitute for Omar Bravo in the 82nd minute, before scoring the fourth goal of the game five minutes later. It was his only goal in five appearances in 2006 as Guadalajara went on to win the league title. He made two appearances in the 2007 Clausura with no goals. He made six more appearances in 2007–08 without scoring. Hernández made 10 appearances in the 2008 Apertura without scoring. Still, he scored four goals in 15 appearances in the 2009 Clausura. On 25 February 2009, during a group stage match of that year's edition of the Copa Libertadores, Hernández came on as a substitute and scored a brace against Everton in a 6–2 home victory. In the 2009 Apertura, Hernández finished as the joint-third top scorer, with 11 goals in 17 appearances. He started the 2010 Torneo Bicentenario with eight goals in five games. He finished as a joint-leader in the goalscoring chart for the 2010 Torneo Bicentenario, with 10 goals in 11 games despite missing five matches due to injury. He also won the tournament's best forward award. Manchester United Transfer Hernández on his Manchester United debut Manchester United was first made aware of Hernández in October 2009; a scout went to Mexico that December and reported positively after watching a few games. Because of Hernández's age, the club originally planned to wait before making a move to sign him. Still, his potential involvement with the national team at the World Cup rushed the club into making a bid. United's chief scout, Jim Lawlor, was sent to Mexico for three weeks in February and March to watch Hernández. He filed another positive report on him before the club solicitor went to Mexico to finalize the paperwork. On 8 April 2010, Hernández agreed on a deal to sign for Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, subject to a work permit application. The previous day, Hernández had been present at Manchester United's Champions League quarter-final win over Bayern Munich at Old Trafford. The deal was conducted in complete secrecy; Hernández's agent was kept in the dark, as was his grandfather Tomás Balcázar, who thought Hernández was going on a trip to Atlanta in the United States. As part of the deal, United played a friendly against C.D. Guadalajara to open the Mexican club's new stadium on 30 July. On 27 May, the work permit was granted, allowing the transfer to be made official on 1 July. 2010–11: Premier League title and European final Hernández playing for Manchester United against the MLS All-Stars at the NRG Stadium, Houston in July 2010 Hernández made his United debut on 28 July, coming on as

Youth Hernández was set to play with the under-17 team in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, but an injury sidelined him from the team that ultimately won the championship. Two years later, he was one of the 21 players called up to the under-20 side for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. He came on as a late substitute in the opening game against Gambia and scored the final goal in Mexico's 3–0 victory. Senior Hernández playing for Mexico in 2010 On 30 September 2009, under Javier Aguirre, Hernández made his senior national team debut against Colombia, where he made an assist in a 2–1 loss. On 24 February 2010, Hernández scored two goals against Bolivia and had an assist for Braulio Luna's goal. On 3 March, Hernández scored a header against New Zealand, giving Mexico the lead in a 2–0 victory. On 17 March, Hernández scored his fourth international goal to give Mexico a 2–1 victory over North Korea. On 26 May, he scored a consolation header against the Netherlands in a 2–1 loss. On 30 May, Hernández scored yet again, netting twice in a 5–1 victory over Gambia. 2010 FIFA World Cup On 11 June, Hernández made his FIFA World Cup debut during the opening game of the 2010 tournament against South Africa in a 1–1 draw, coming on in the 73rd minute to replace Guillermo Franco. On 17 June, Hernández again came off the bench and this time scored his first ever World Cup goal, netting the first in a 2–0 victory over France by springing the offside trap, latching onto a through ball from Rafael Márquez, sidestepping Hugo Lloris and sidefooting into the net. By scoring he emulated his grandfather, Tomás Balcázar, who scored against France in the 1954 World Cup. He was elected as man of the match. It was also the 2,100th goal scored in all World Cup tournaments. On 27 June, Hernández made his first start at a World Cup and netted his second goal of the World Cup, by turning Martín Demichelis on the edge of the box before sending a left-foot shot into the roof of the net, in Mexico's 3–1 loss against Argentina in the round of 16. FIFA's statistical analysis showed that Hernández was the quickest player in World Cup 2010, reaching a top speed of 32.15 km/h (20 mph). Post-World Cup friendlies Hernández scored another goal in his first match for Mexico since the World Cup, in a friendly against recent 2010 FIFA World Cup winners Spain on 11 August 2010. He scored after just 12 minutes of the match, but David Silva equalised for Spain in the last minute of play to claim a 1–1 draw. Hernández scored his and Mexico's first international goal of 2011 as he opened the scoring in a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on 9 February. On 26 March, Hernández scored two goals in an international friendly against Paraguay. He first connected with a pass from Pablo Barrera in the sixth minute of the match, before scoring off a low cross in the 29th minute, three minutes after teammate Andrés Guardado had made the score 2–0. He exited to a standing ovation in the 65th m

A clinical goalscorer, Hernández has been described as a "goal-poacher" due to a number of his goals being scored from close range. His movement off the ball, pace, and ability to find space inside the box has also been praised. He has been described as one of the few players who seem capable of appearing behind a defender's back to knock in the ball from two yards, with his playing style being compared to that of German striker Miroslav Klose. Rudi Völler, sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen, has praised Hernández for his keen positioning in front of the goal, saying: "he certainly doesn't win every tackle, but he has an incredible sense of where the ball will end up". Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Hernández as two-footed, very quick, in possession of a good spring, and a natural goalscorer. Ferguson also said Hernández's style reminds him of former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær – the so-called "baby-faced assassin" who scored the injury time winner against Bayern Munich in United's 1999 Champions League triumph. Hernández's former teammate Jesús Padilla described him as "amazing in the air" despite his height. Due to his small stature, he is extremely quick and agile, also possessing good technique. Since he often came on as a substitute at United, Hernández's minutes per goal ratio is among the most prolific in the history of the Premier League. In a May 2016 interview with Sports Illustrated, Hernández commented on his abilities inside the penalty area, describing the intuition he has in knowing where an impending cross will fall from a teammate and outsmarting opposing defenders. Former Mexico national team coach Juan Carlos Osorio described Hernández as having "a knack for the goal. Sometimes, it seems like every rebound or every deflection goes into his path. Another thing is he doesn't dwell on a missed opportunity. He always looks forward to the next one. He has good ability in the air. He has a good pace and makes those diagonal runs, starting from the first defender and then going behind the second one. He also has the willingness to work defensively."

Hernández conducting his pre-match prayer before a match against Cardiff City in November 2013 Hernández is the son of Javier Hernández Gutiérrez, who played for three clubs in Mexico and was a member of the Mexico squad at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Hernández Gutiérrez quit his job as manager of Guadalajara's reserve side in order to watch Hernández play in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Hernández is also the grandson of Tomás Balcázar, who also played for Guadalajara and played for the national side in the 1954 FIFA World Cup. On 26 May 2012, Hernández became the Mexican ambassador for UNICEF, making him the third Mexican to serve this position, following César Costa and Julieta Venegas in 2004 and 2009 respectively. As ambassador, he will participate in a number of activities to encourage children and teenagers to not abandon their education. He was commemorated in a news conference, where he said he felt "proud and committed". Hernández is a devout Roman Catholic. He is well known for his pre-game ritual where he gets on his knees and prays which he performs before most games. Hernández was featured on the North American cover of FIFA 14 and the Mexican cover of FIFA 15, alongside global cover star Lionel Messi in both titles. Hernández is an "honorary associate" of the Asociación Mexicana de Futbolistas (Mexican Footballers Association), created in October 2017. In January 2019, Hernández and his then wife Sarah Kohan, an Australian model of Romanian descent and travel blogger, announced on Instagram that they were expecting their first child. On 16 June 2019, their son, Noah, was born. One year later on 5 October 2020, their daughter, Nala, was born. Hernández is good friends with fellow Guadalajara natives, Canelo Álvarez, Checo Pérez, and Marco Fabián. In July 2025, Hernández was fined and warned by the Mexican Football Federation after he made a series of sexist remarks on social media that was widely criticized, including by Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. He subsequently expressed regret. Nickname Hernández is commonly known as Chicharito, meaning little pea in Spanish, and wears the name on his shirt. This is due to his father, Javier Hernández Gutiérrez, being nicknamed Chícharo (pea) because of his green eyes.