On 2 August 2017, Giménez made his professional debut with Cruz Azul in a Copa MX group stage match against Tigres UANL in a 1–1 draw.[3] Two years later, on 28 August 2019, he made his Liga MX debut against Tijuana in a 3–2 loss.[4] He would score his first goal with the club on 2 February 2020, in a league match against Toluca in a 3–3 tie, scoring within the first two minutes of the match.[5]
In May 2021, Cruz Azul won its ninth league championship, ending a 23-year drought of league titles.[6]
In August, scoring in 4 separate league matches, Giménez was named Liga MX Player of the Month.[7] He won the award again the subsequent month.[8] On 26 June 2022, at the Supercopa de la Liga MX against Atlas, he scored in the match, ending at 2–2 and going into penalties, where he successfully converted his shot as his team won the cup.[9]
Feyenoord
2022–23: Debut season and Eredivisie champion
On 29 July 2022, Giménez joined Feyenoord on a four-year contract.[10]
He scored his first goal for the club on 27 August, scoring the second goal in the club's 4–0 win over FC Emmen while also providing the assist for Jacob Rasmussen to score the club's third goal.[11] On 8 September, he made his UEFA Europa League debut against Italian club Lazio in that season's edition in a group stage match, coming on as a substitute at the 64th minute and scoring twice in the club's 4–2 loss.[12] On 3 November, after coming on as a substitute, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory in the return game against Lazio in the Europa League group stage, securing Feyenoord's first-place finish in the group and directly qualifying to the round of 16.[13]
Feyenoord went on to win the 2022–23 Eredivisie, with Giménez scoring 15 goals in 32 matches, including the second goal in a 3–0 win over Go Ahead Eagles to secure the league title.[14]
2023–24: Individual success and KNVB Cup champion
In August 2023, Giménez extended his contract with Feyenoord for one year.[15]
Giménez began the 2023–24 season on 4 August in the Johan Cruyff Shield, playing 62 minutes as PSV Eindhoven defeated them 1–0 to win their third consecutive title.[16] On 20 August, Giménez scored his first goal of the season in a 2–2 draw against Sparta Rotterdam. In the following games, on 27 August and 3 September, Giménez scored two braces, one in a 6–1 win against Almere City and another in a 5–1 away win against Utrecht.[17][18][19] On 27 September, Giménez completed a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win over Ajax by scoring the first and second goals on 24 September, and scoring the third on 27 September after the game was originally abandoned on the 24th.[20] He won the Eredivisie Player of the Month award for September.[21]
In the Champions League, Giménez was suspended for the first two group stage matches, having received a red card against Roma in the Europa League quarter-final second leg from the previous season.[22] He made his Champions League debut on 25 October, scoring the first and third goal in a 3–1 home win over Lazio.[23] On 25 November, he scored his second hat-trick of the season in a 4–2 Rotterdam derby win over Excelsior at the Stadion Woudestein, ending his six-game goal drought.[24] On 7 December, following Feyenoord's 3–1 win over Volendam, Giménez scored his 31st Eredivisie goal in a calendar year, surpassing previous record holder Luis Suárez who scored 30 goals in 2009.[25] With 31 goals for the year 2023, Giménez set a record for the number of goals scored in the Eredivisie in a calendar year.[26]
On 21 April 2024, he assisted Igor Paixão to score the winning goal in a 1–0 win over NEC Nijmegen in the KNVB Cup final to clinch a fourteenth KNVB Cup title for Feyenoord.[27] On 5 May, he came off the bench against PEC Zwolle and scored twice as well as an assist in a 5–0 win, putting an end to his 7-game goal drought.[28] Due to injuries and lack of form, he missed the rest of the season.[29] In his second season with the club, Giménez made 30 league appearances and scored 23 goals (26 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions) as the team finished second in the league, trailing to PSV by seven points.
2024–25: Third season in the Netherlands
Likewise last season, Giménez began his 2024–25 campaign on 4 August in the Johan Cruyff Shield, he went on to convert two penalty kick goals, notching his 50th and 51st goals for the club, as well as assisting Bart Nieuwkoop's goal in a 4–4 draw with the three-time defending champions PSV. Following the end of extra time, Feyenoord were victorious in the penalty shoot-out, winning 4–2 as Giménez went on to win his third trophy with the club.[30] On 10 August, Giménez provided an assist for Antoni Milambo in Feyenoord's opening match of the Eredivisie following an attempt Bicycle kick in a 1–1 draw to newly promoted team Willem II.[31] In the following league match on 18 August, Giménez scored his first goals in the league, netting a brace in 5–1 away win over Zwolle.[32] On 22 September, Giménez was substituted during the first half of a league match against NAC Breda after sustaining an upper thigh injury, which was later confirmed on the 24th, keeping him out of action for three months.[33][34] After just two months out injured, he returned on 26 November in the Champions League against Manchester City; with Feyenoord 3–0 down, Giménez scored his team's second goal to inspire a 3–3 comeback away from home.[34][35]
International career
Despite having the option of representing Argentina, his country of birth, Giménez decided to represent Mexico after becoming a naturalized Mexican citizen, stating "I feel more Mexican than Argentine,"[36] having lived in Mexico for the majority of his life since his father moved there. He has been called up by Mexico's U-15, U-18, U-20, and U-23 teams.[37][38] He made 3 appearances with the Mexico U16s at the 2016 International Dream Cup.[39]
In September 2020, Giménez received his first senior national team call up by Gerardo Martino for a training camp.[40] That same month, it was reported that the Argentina under-20 coach Fernando Batista was interested in calling him up.[41]
On 27 October 2021, Giménez made his senior debut for Mexico in a friendly match against Ecuador.[42] On 8 December, he scored his first goal for Mexico in a friendly match against Chile that ended at a 2–2 draw.[43]
In October 2022, Giménez was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the World Cup, but did not make the final 26.[44]
Santiago is the son of footballer Christian Giménez, who also played with Cruz Azul. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Giménez moved to Mexico at the age of three with his father after he was transferred to Primera División side Veracruz.[2] His paternal grandfather is from Paraguay[46] and he is of Italian ancestry through his mother's side.[47][48] He is a devout Christian and was baptized in January 2019.[49][50] Giménez is engaged to Mexican model Fer Serrano.[51][52]
