Maximiliano "Maxi" Gómez González (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaksi ˈɣomes]; born 14 August 1996) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Uruguay national team.
 Gómez with Valencia in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maximiliano Gómez González[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 14 August 1996[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Paysandú, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Litoral | |||
| 2013–2015 | Defensor Sporting | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Defensor Sporting | 47 | (28) |
| 2017–2019 | Celta | 71 | (30) |
| 2019–2022 | Valencia | 96 | (22) |
| 2022–2024 | Trabzonspor | 27 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | → Cádiz (loan) | 31 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017– | Uruguay | 32 | (4) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 September 2023 | |||
Having begun his career with Defensor Sporting, he moved to Spain in 2017, where he made 167 La Liga appearances and scored 51 goals for Celta and Valencia.
A full international for Uruguay since 2017, Gómez was selected for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and the Copa América in 2019 and 2021.
Club career
editDefensor Sporting
editBorn in Paysandú, Gómez joined Defensor Sporting's youth setup in 2013, from CA Litoral.[2] He made his first team debut on 15 September 2015, coming on as a late substitute for Héctor Acuña in a 1–0 away win against Universitario for the year's Copa Sudamericana.[3]
Gómez made his Primera División debut on 4 October 2015, but in a 0–4 away loss against Nacional.[4] His first senior goal came on 16 October, the last in a 2–3 home defeat against Montevideo Wanderers.[5]
On 31 October 2015, Gómez scored a brace in a 4–1 home routing of Juventud de Las Piedras; he repeated the feat on 20 November in a 2–2 home draw against El Tanque Sisley, and also in a 3–2 home success over Danubio the following 28 February. On 22 May 2016, he scored four goals in a 6–5 away win against El Tanque Sisley, and finished his first season with 14 goals in only 21 matches.[6]
After only four goals in 14 matches in the 2016 campaign, Gómez contributed with ten goals in 12 matches in 2017; highlights included a brace in a 2–0 away win against Danubio on 5 March 2017.[7]
Celta
edit_-_09.jpg)
In May 2017, Gómez signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Celta Vigo, moving abroad for the first time in his career.[8] He made his debut for the club on 19 August, starting and scoring a brace in a 2–3 home loss against Real Sociedad,[9] and finished his debut season with 17 goals from 36 games, seventh highest in the division.[10]
Gómez contributed 13 goals in 2018–19 as Celta finished one place above relegation. This included one on the final day, as they defeated newly crowned champions FC Barcelona 2–0 at Balaídos.[11]
Valencia
editOn 14 July 2019, Gómez signed a contract with Valencia CF until 2024, with his release clause set at €140 million.[12] The deal saw Valencia pay €14.5 million with Santi Mina and Jorge Sáenz moving in the opposite direction, the latter joining Celta on a two-year loan deal.[13] He made his debut on 24 August away to his former club, playing the first hour of a 1–0 loss before being replaced by Rodrigo.[14]
Gómez scored his first goal for the Che on 14 September, coming off the bench to net at the end of a 5–2 loss to Barcelona at the Camp Nou.[15] Against the same opponents on 25 January 2020, he scored both goals in a 2–0 victory at Mestalla, preserving his team's unbeaten home season and inflicting a first defeat of Quique Setién's spell in charge of the opponents.[16]
In 2021–22, Gómez was sent off twice against Athletic Bilbao, once for two yellow cards in a league match and the latter on 10 February in a Copa del Rey semi-final first leg away at the San Mamés Stadium. In the second instance, he was an unused substitute and was given a straight red card at half time for threatening the assistant referee.[17] He was issued with a two-match suspension and thereby missed the final, which his team lost on penalties to Real Betis.[18]
Trabzonspor
editIn the summer of 2022, Valencia sought to sell Gómez due to UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations and to free up a spot on their quota of non-European Union players. He was linked to a move to Fenerbahçe SK, whose sporting director came to negotiate in Spain,[19] but signed a three-year deal with the option of a fourth at fellow Turkish Süper Lig team Trabzonspor on 31 August. The fee was €3 million and his annual salary was set at €1.75 million.[20][21]
On 6 October 2022, Gómez was sent off after 11 minutes of a 3–1 loss at AS Monaco FC in the UEFA Europa League group stage, for a high boot into the face of Mohamed Camara.[22]
Loan to Cádiz
editOn 22 August 2023, Gómez returned to Spain and its top tier, after agreeing to a one-year loan with Cádiz CF.[23]
International career
editGómez made his international debut for Uruguay on 10 November 2017 in a goalless friendly away to Poland, as a 74th-minute substitute for Giorgian De Arrascaeta.[24] Manager Óscar Tabárez called him up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[25] where he made his first competitive appearance in the final group game as an added-time replacement in a 3–0 win over the hosts in Samara.[26]
On 26 March 2019, Gómez scored his first international goal to round off a 4–0 victory over Thailand and win the China Cup.[27] He was called up for the Copa América in 2019 and 2021, both in Brazil.[28][29]
Gómez scored once in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, coming on with three minutes remaining against Chile on 8 October 2020 and scoring the winner in a 2–1 victory.[30] He was called up for the final tournament in Qatar,[31] playing two games as a substitute for Darwin Núñez in a group stage elimination.[32][33]
Personal life
editGómez's older brother Richard, also a footballer, played in Uruguay for Club Atlético Platense. He played for Galician amateurs Mondariz FC while Maxi Gómez was at Celta.[34]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Defensor Sporting | 2015–16 | Uruguayan Primera División | 21 | 14 | — | 4[b] | 0 | — | 25 | 14 | ||
| 2016 | 14 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 4 | ||||
| 2017 | 12 | 10 | — | 1[b] | 1 | — | 13 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 47 | 28 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 52 | 29 | ||||
| Celta Vigo | 2017–18 | La Liga | 36 | 17 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 17 | ||
| 2018–19 | 35 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 13 | ||||
| Total | 71 | 30 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 75 | 30 | ||||
| Valencia | 2019–20 | La Liga | 33 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 43 | 11 |
| 2020–21 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 7 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 29 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 5 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 96 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 109 | 23 | ||
| Trabzonspor | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 26 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5[e] | 1 | — | 34 | 7 | |
| Career total | 236 | 83 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 266 | 87 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Turkish Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
- ^ Three appearances, one goal in UEFA Europa League; two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
edit- As of match played 8 September 2023[37]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gómez goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 2019 | Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China |  Thailand |
4–0 | 4–0 | 2019 China Cup |
| 2 | 7 June 2019 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Panama |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 8 October 2020 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Chile |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 11 June 2022 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Panama |
4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
References
edit- ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Uruguay" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Un "inconsciente": con 19 años, "Maxi" Gómez hizo historia violeta" [An "unconscious": with 19 years, "Maxi" Gómez made history violeta] (in Spanish). Ovación. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Defensor vuela en la Copa, 1:0 en Perú" [Defensor fly in the cup, 1–0 in Peru] (in Spanish). Tenfield. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Nacional de gala, goleó 4:0" [Gala Nacional, thrashed 4–0] (in Spanish). Tenfield. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Wanderers derrotó 3 a 2 a Defensor en el Franzini" [Wanderers defeated Danubio by 3–2 at the Franzini] (in Spanish). Teledoce. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Maxi Gómez, el jugador de la etapa" [Maxi Gómez, the player of the season] (in Spanish). Tenfield. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Defensor Sporting clásico ganador, 2:0" [Defensor Sporting winners of the Clásico, 2–0] (in Spanish). Tenfield. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Maxi Gómez, imponente goleador de presente y futuro para el RC Celta" [Maxi Gómez, imposing goalscorer for the present and future for RC Celta] (in Spanish). Celta Vigo. 22 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "La Real Sociedad remonta con penalti polémico" [Real Sociedad comeback with a controversial penalty]. Marca (in Spanish). 19 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ Joseph, Naveen Ravi (18 August 2018). "LaLiga 2018/19: Top 5 U-21 players to watch out for". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Celta Vigo 2–0 Barcelona". BBC Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Comunicado oficial" [Official statement]. Valencia CF. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Burke, Dan (14 July 2019). "Valencia complete Maxi Gómez signing". Onefootball. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ López de Vicente, Sergio (24 August 2019). "Celta 1 - Valencia 0: resumen y goles de LaLiga Santander" [Celta 1–0 Valencia: LaLiga Santander summary and goals]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Mann, Mantej (14 September 2019). "Barcelona 5–2 Valencia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Valencia inflict first defeat of Setien reign on Barcelona". Shropshire Star. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Álvarez, Fernando (10 February 2022). "Maxi Gómez, expulsado en el descanso en San Mamés" [Maxi Gómez, sent off at the break in San Mamés]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Sanchis, Nicolo; Valle, Conrado (11 February 2022). "Maxi Gómez no jugará una hipotética final de Copa" [Maxi Gómez will not play in a hypothetical Copa final]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Torres, David (19 August 2022). "Jorge Jesús habla de Maxi Gómez y el Fernerbahce: ni frío, ni calor" [Jorge Jesús speaks about Maxi Gómez and Fenerbahçe: not bothered either way] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Torres, David (1 September 2022). "Maxi Gómez se marcha al Trabzonspor: "Con Valencia en su corazón"" [Maxi Gómez leaves for Trabzonspor: "With Valencia in his heart"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Gallego, Daniel (1 September 2022). "El club de fútbol turco Trabzonspor ficha al uruguayo Maxi Gómez" [Turkish football club Trabzonspor signs Uruguayan Maxi Gómez] (in Spanish). Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Monaco-Trabzonspor: le très vilain geste de Maxi Gomez sur Camara, sanctionné par un carton rouge" [Monaco-Trabzonspor: Maxi Gómez's highly villainous act towards Camara, punished with a red card] (in French). Radio Monte Carlo. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Maxi Gómez refuerza el ataque del Cádiz CF" [Maxi Gómez bolsters the attack of Cádiz CF] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Uruguay y Polonia empataron 0-0 en Varsovia" [Uruguay and Poland drew 0–0 in Warsaw] (in Spanish). Subrayado. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "World Cup 2018: Uruguay leave out Gaston Ramirez". BBC Sport. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Jennings, Patrick (25 June 2018). "Uruguay 3–0 Russia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Uruguay win 2019 China Cup". China Daily. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Suarez included in Uruguay's final Copa America squad despite injury concerns". Goal. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Escudero, Simón (10 June 2021). "Uruguay anuncia su lista para la Copa América: Suárez y Valverde" [Uruguay announce their squad for the Copa América: Suárez and Valverde]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Polo, Manu (9 October 2020). "Maxi Gómez da la victoria a Uruguay en el descuento ante una correosa Chile" [Maxi Gómez gives Uruguay victory in added time against a tough Chile]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ Lea, Greg (1 December 2022). "Uruguay World Cup 2022 squad: Diego Alonso announces [sic] final 26-man squad". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (28 November 2022). "Portugal 2–0 Uruguay". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ Hafez, Shamoon (2 December 2022). "Ghana 0–2 Uruguay". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ "Richard Gómez, hermano de Maxi, debuta con el Mondariz ante el Pontellas" [Richard Gómez, Maxi's brother, debuts for Mondariz against Pontellas]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 2 November 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Maxi Gómez at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Maximiliano Gómez". SofaScore. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ a b Maxi Gómez at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
edit
- Profile at the Trabzonspor website
- Profile at the Uruguayan Football Association website (in Spanish)
- Maxi Gómez – UEFA competition record (archive)
