A versatile midfielder who was able to play in different positions but mainly in the centre, he was well known for his fierce shot, passing and work rate, being affectionately known as El Comandante (the commander) due to his leadership skills.

[4][5] After starting with Huracán and River Plate, he signed for Porto in 2005, where he played 241 games and scored 61 goals across two spells, winning ten major titles.

[8] Three years later, González transferred to another side in his hometown, River Plate, where he won consecutive Clausura tournaments in 2003 and 2004, contributing 23 goals in 120 games across all competitions.

[15] In November 2006, he agreed to an improved five-year deal and, in August of the following year, the club paid €6.65 million to Global Soccer Agencies (later renamed Rio Football Services) to achieve full ownership of the player, activating the clause by rejecting an offer from Everton.

[21] He scored his first official goal for his new side on 19 September, opening a 4–2 home victory over Montpellier,[22] and also found the net on 26 November in the 1–1 draw with AC Milan in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, at the San Siro.

[23] He scored against Real Madrid in an ensuing fixture on 8 December, but later missed a penalty kick in the 1–3 home loss, with the subsequent relegation to the UEFA Europa League.

[24] After the winter break, González also helped Marseille to reach the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, scoring against Lille in the quarter-finals (2–1) in late January.

[40] In 2012–13, Porto won a third consecutive league title after an unbeaten season with González as captain; he opened a decisive 2–0 win at Paços de Ferreira on the final day.

[41] In the Champions League, he netted in away and home group wins over Dinamo Zagreb with the former coming on the day of his father's death; the goals gave him the record figure of 16 in that phase of the competition, while he never scored any later on.

[45] He played as a substitute in their Copa Libertadores finals win over Tigres[46] and the victory against Gamba Osaka in the 2015 Suruga Bank Championship in his first year back.

[59] González joined Internacional in July 2023 as assistant to manager Eduardo Coudet,[60] taking part in their run to the Copa Libertadores semi-finals and climbing up the Brazilian League standings.