Joe Gomez (footballer)

Joe Gomez

Gomez with the victory parade following Liverpool's win in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final
Personal information
Full name	Joseph Dave Gomez
Date of birth	(1997-05-23) 23 May 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Catford, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Position(s)	Defender [2]
Team information
Current team	Liverpool
Number	2
Youth career
2007–2014	Charlton Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Charlton Athletic	21	(0)
2015–	Liverpool	140	(0)
International career‡
2012	England U16	2	(0)
2013–2014	England U17	19	(0)
2014–2015	England U19	4	(0)
2015–2017	England U21	7	(0)
2017–	England	13	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   England UEFA Nations League 2019
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:47, 13 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:10, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Joseph Dave Gomez (born 23 May 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team.

Gomez began his career at Charlton Athletic, breaking into the first team at 17 and playing one full season before joining Liverpool in June 2015. After establishing himself as a first-team regular, Gomez struggled with injuries, but appeared in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final as Liverpool won the competition. He played in the final of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup with Liverpool winning the competition for the first time in the club's history. He was part of the team that won the 2019–20 Premier League, Liverpool's first league title in 30 years.

Gomez has represented England at every level and played every minute of every match when England won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He made his debut for the England senior team in November 2017.

Club career

Early life and career

Gomez warming up for Charlton Athletic in 2015

Joseph Dave Gomez ^[3] was born on 23 May 1997 ^[4] in Catford, Greater London, ^[5] to a Gambian father and an English mother. ^[6] He joined the academy at nearby Charlton Athletic at the age of 10, ^[7] making his debut for the club's under-18 team at just 13 years old. ^[8] Despite strong interest from other clubs, ^[9] Gomez signed his first professional contract with Charlton in October 2014. ^[10] His first-team debut came under manager Bob Peeters in a 4–0 home victory over Colchester United on 12 August 2014 in the 2014–15 League Cup, playing the full 90 minutes at right-back. ^{[11] [12]} A week later he made his league debut in a 3–2 home win against Derby County in the Championship. ^[13] Gomez went on to make 24 appearances during his first season. ^[14]

Liverpool

2015–2017

Gomez lining up for Liverpool in 2017

On 20 June 2015, Premier League club Liverpool signed Gomez on a five-year contract for a fee of £3.5 million. ^{[15] [16]} He made his debut against Stoke City on 9 August, starting as a left-back in a 1–0 win, assisting Philippe Coutinho's match-winning goal in the 86th minute. ^[17]

On 13 October 2015, Gomez suffered a season ending anterior cruciate ligament injury while playing for England U21. ^[18] A full year later, Gomez returned to full first-team training on 13 October 2016. ^[19] On 13 November, Gomez played 45 minutes in a behind closed doors friendly match at Melwood. ^[20] On 8 January 2017, Gomez made his first start since the injury in an FA Cup 0–0 home draw against Plymouth Argyle. ^[21]

2017–2019

On 23 August 2017, Gomez made his European debut, in a 4–2 win over 1899 Hoffenheim in the UEFA Champions League play-off. ^[22] Due to the injury of Nathaniel Clyne, Gomez was the first-choice right-back for the first half of the season; even starting in games against rivals Arsenal and Manchester United; against the former he assisted the first goal in an eventual 4–0 win, and his performance against the latter received praise from fans. ^{[23] [24] [25] [26]} In late March 2018, it was confirmed that Gomez would miss the next few games as a result of suffering an injury during an international friendly game. ^[27] In May 2018, Gomez underwent surgery to his ankle injury, with Liverpool confirming via their official website that Gomez wouldn't play in Liverpool's last fixtures of the season, including the 2018 Champions League final. ^[28] Gomez made 31 appearances across the season for Liverpool. ^[29]

As a result of the lack of fitness of regular first-team defenders Dejan Lovren ^[30] and Joël Matip, ^[31] Gomez was able to establish himself as first-choice centre-back in Liverpool's first games of the season alongside Virgil van Dijk, receiving praise for his performances and receiving the man of the match for his performance in a 2–1 win over Leicester City City on 1 September. ^{[32] [33] [34]} He continued to feature in defence for the club during the opening half of the season before suffering a fractured leg in December following a challenge by Burnley defender Ben Mee. In February of the following year, he underwent surgery in an attempt to assist his recovery from the injury. ^[35] Regaining fitness in April, Gomez made a substitute appearance for Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final, which the club won. ^[36]

2019–2022

Gomez playing for Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup

Gomez began the next season deputising for the in-form Joël Matip, who had become a mainstay alongside Virgil van Dijk during Gomez's injury layoff the previous season. Gomez found himself recalled to the starting line-up following injury problems for Matip, and earned praise after a slew of clean sheets in the winter months as Liverpool extended a significant lead at the top of the Premier League table. Gomez was singled out for praise for his leadership and composure during a 1–0 victory over rivals Everton in the FA Cup in January; a match in which Gomez was the only senior player in the back-line after James Milner's early departure. ^[37]

Gomez suffered a tendon injury to his left knee whilst away on international duty with England and underwent successful surgery on 11 November 2020 to correct the damage. ^[38] This left Liverpool with an injury crisis at the centre of their defence, following the ACL injury of Gomez' centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk. FIFA agreed to pay Liverpool £2 million in compensation to cover Gomez's wages whilst he was injured. ^[39] In May 2022, Gomez was an unused substitute in the final as Liverpool won the 2021–22 FA Cup. ^[40] He was also on the bench as they lost 1–0 to Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League final. ^[41]

2022–present

On 7 July 2022, he signed a new five-year contract with the club. ^[42] On 9 November 2022, he captained Liverpool in the penalty shoot-out win against Derby County in the third round of the EFL Cup at Anfield. ^[43] On 16 October 2022, Gomez was highly praised for his performance against Manchester City. ^[44]

On 27 July 2023, following the departure of captain Jordan Henderson to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq, Gomez became the longest serving player of Liverpool. ^[45] At the beginning of the 2023–24 season, due to the injuries of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konaté as well as the two-game suspension of Virgil van Dijk, Gomez was a regular starter for Liverpool both at centre-back and full-back. ^{[46] [47]}

International career

Gomez playing for England U19 in 2015

Gomez has been capped by England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels. ^[48] In May 2014, he was part of the squad that won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Malta, playing every minute of England's five matches and being named in UEFA's team of the tournament. ^[49] Through his father he could have been eligible to play for Gambia. ^[6]

On 25 August 2015, he received his first call-up to the under-21 squad. ^[50] On 30 August 2017, Gomez was announced as England U21 captain ahead of the qualifying campaign for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. ^[51]

He received his first call-up to the England senior squad in November 2017. ^[52] He made his England debut against Germany at Wembley Stadium in a friendly match, coming on as a substitute to replace Phil Jones in a 0–0 draw. ^[53] Gomez received a man of the match award in the following game for his performance against Brazil, earning praise for a number of crucial interceptions, and for his ability to nullify the threat of Neymar. ^[54]

Style of play

Gomez prefers to play as a centre-back but can also play as a full-back on either side. ^[55] He has been described as a complete footballer and composed ball-playing centre-back with his style of play, being compared to that of Rio Ferdinand whom he idolised growing up. ^{[56] [57]} Gomez is also noted for his athleticism, pace and strength; he is able to produce powerful and dangerous runs up-field on the counter-attack and in defence is rarely physically dominated by an opponent. ^{[49] [57] [58]}

Personal life

Gomez met his partner, Tamara, in 2014, on a bus on his way to school. They live together in Cheshire and have a son. ^[59] His cousin Muhammadu Faal is also a footballer. ^[60]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 May 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Charlton Athletic	2014–15 [61]	Championship	21	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		24	0
Liverpool	2015–16 [62]	Premier League	5	0	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		7	0
	2016–17 [63]	Premier League	0	0	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	2017–18 [29]	Premier League	23	0	1	0	1	0	6 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		31	0
	2018–19 [64]	Premier League	16	0	0	0	0	0	9 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		25	0
	2019–20 [65]	Premier League	28	0	2	0	2	0	7 [lower-alpha 2]	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	43	0
	2020–21 [66]	Premier League	7	0	0	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	12	0
	2021–22 [67]	Premier League	8	0	2	0	4	0	7 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		21	0
	2022–23 [68]	Premier League	21	0	3	0	2	0	5 [lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	31	0
	2023–24 [69]	Premier League	32	0	4	0	5	0	10 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		51	0
	Total		140	0	15	0	15	0	49	0	5	0	224	0
Career total			161	0	16	0	17	0	49	0	5	0	248	0

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. One appearance in FA Community Shield, one in UEFA Super Cup, two in FIFA Club World Cup
4. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[70]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England	2017	2	0
	2018	4	0
	2019	2	0
	2020	3	0
	2024	2	0
Total		13	0

Honours

Liverpool

• Premier League: 2019–20 ^[1]
• FA Cup: 2021–22 ^[71]
• EFL Cup: 2023–24 ^[72]
• FA Community Shield: 2022 ^[73]
• UEFA Champions League: 2018–19; ^[74] runner-up: 2021–22 ^[75]
• UEFA Super Cup: 2019 ^[76]
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2019 ^[77]

England U17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2014 ^[49]

England

• UEFA Nations League third place: 2018–19 ^[78]

Individual

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2014 ^[49]

References

1. "Joe Gomez: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
2. "Joe Gomez". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
3. "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Liverpool FC" (PDF). FIFA. 5 December 2019. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2020.
4. "Joe Gomez: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
5. "Joe Gomez". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
6. Fadera, Lamin (29 June 2020). "REVEALED: Why Liverpool's Joe Gomez didn't play for Gambia". Africa Feeds. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
7. "Joe Gomez "honoured" to join Charlton's list of England international academy graduates". Charlton Athletic F.C. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
8. 2014/15 Charlton Athletic Club Handbook
9. "Liverpool vs Bournemouth: Joe Gomez takes slow approach to reaching life in the fast lane". The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 August 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
10. "Joe Gomez: Charlton Athletic youngster signs new contract". BBC Sport. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
11. "Joe Gomez impresses boss on his Charlton debut". The Football Association. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
12. "Charlton vs. Colchester United". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
13. "Charlton Athletic 3–2 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
14. "Liverpool defender Gomez unfazed by prospect of debut at Stoke". 4 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
15. "Reds complete Joe Gomez transfer". Liverpool F.C. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
16. "Joe Gomez: Liverpool sign Charlton defender for £3.5m". BBC Sport. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
17. Hafez, Shamoon (9 August 2015). "Stoke 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
18. Pearce, James (14 October 2015). "Liverpool injury shock as Joe Gomez set to miss rest of season with knee injury". Liverpool Echo.
19. Doyle, Ian (14 October 2016). "Joe Gomez back in Liverpool training – and gets emotional round of applause from team-mates". Liverpool Echo.
20. Kelly, Andy (13 November 2016). "Joe Gomez makes first Liverpool appearance in 13 months". Daily Mirror. London.
21. "Liverpool 0–0 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. 8 January 2017.
22. "Liverpool 4–2 1899 Hoffenheim (agg 6–3)". BBC Sport. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
23. "Liverpool 4–0 Arsenal: Player Ratings". This Is Anfield. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
24. "Liverpool 0–0 Man United: Player Ratings". This Is Anfield. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
25. "Who is Liverpool's first choice right-back? – LFC Transfer Room". LFC Transfer Room. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
26. "Is Joe Gomez Becoming a Right-Back?". AnfieldIndex.com. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
27. "Jürgen Klopp's injury update on Joe Gomez". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
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29. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
30. Lynch, David (12 August 2018). "Liverpool's Lovren out for a number of weeks, confirms Klopp". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
31. "Joel Matip injury overshadows Liverpool defeat to Borussia Dortmund" . The Independent. London. 23 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
32. "Leicester City 1–2 Liverpool: Player Ratings". This Is Anfield. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
33. "Liverpool maintain 100% start with nervy win at Leicester". BBC Sport. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
34. "Crystal Palace 0–2 Liverpool: Player Ratings". This Is Anfield. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
35. Shread, Joe (4 February 2019). "Liverpool's Joe Gomez to undergo surgery on fractured leg". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
36. "Liverpool beat Spurs to become champions of Europe for sixth time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
37. "How Liverpool's young defensive admiral proved world class credentials with masterclass vs Everton". Liverpool F.C. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
38. "Joe Gomez injury update". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
39. "FIFA will cover part of Gomez wages while he's out for Liverpool". OneFootball. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
40. "Liverpool win FA Cup after beating Chelsea again on penalties". The Guardian. London. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
41. "Liverpool 0 Real Madrid 1". The Guardian. London. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
42. "Joe Gomez: Liverpool defender signs new five-year contract". BBC Sport. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
43. "Kelleher's shootout saves see Liverpool scrape past Derby in Carabao Cup". The Guardian. London. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
44. "Liverpool 1–0 Man City: 'Why Liverpool had to wait for Joe Gomez to get back to his best' - Martin Keown analysis". BBC Sport. 16 October 2022.
45. "Joe Gomez: I'm striving to be my best version". Liverpool F.C. 13 August 2023.
46. Kieran King (11 September 2023). "Liverpool sweating on three defenders for Wolves clash with Virgil van Dijk already out". The Mirror. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
47. "Joe Gomez reveals when he almost left LFC – and how Virgil van Dijk stopped it". This is Anfield. 19 October 2023.
48. "Joe Gomez". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
49. "2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: Technical report" (PDF). UEFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2017.
50. "England U21s squad named for USA and Norway fixtures". The Football Association. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
51. "Gomez to captain U21s". The Football Association.
52. "England: Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez & Ruben Loftus-Cheek called up". BBC Sport. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
53. McNulty, Phil (10 November 2017). "England 0–0 Germany". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
54. McNulty, Phil (14 November 2017). "England 0–0 Brazil". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
55. Pearce, James (3 August 2015). "Gomez unfazed about prospect of Liverpool bow in Stoke showdown". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
56. "Valley View: Jordan Cousins, Joe Gomez and Morgan Fox are unsung heroes of Charlton's turnaround". London24. Archant. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
57. "Liverpool FC Joe Gomez Q&A: Charlton kid is "a ball-playing defender" in the Rio Ferdinand mould". Liverpool Echo. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
58. Hall, Joe (19 June 2015). "Joe Gomez: Why Liverpool have committed daylight robbery". MoreSport.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015.
59. Roddy, Tom (12 November 2019). "Steve Avory: Joe Gomez is a competitor but he never lost his temper at Charlton Athletic" . The Times. London.
60. Owen, Danny (4 December 2019). "Report: Crystal Palace, Watford and Norwich want 18-goal Muhammadu Faal". HITC .
61. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
62. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
63. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
64. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
65. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
66. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
67. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
68. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
69. "Games played by Joe Gomez in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
70. "Joe Gomez: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
71. McNulty, Phil (14 May 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
72. McNulty, Phil (25 February 2024). "Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
73. Hafez, Shamoon (30 July 2022). "Liverpool 3–1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
74. McNulty, Phil (1 June 2019). "Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
75. McNulty, Phil (28 May 2022). "Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
76. Rose, Gary (14 August 2019). "Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
77. Poole, Harry (21 December 2019). "Liverpool 1–0 Flamengo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
78. McNulty, Phil (9 June 2019). "Switzerland 0–0 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

External links

• Profile at the Liverpool F.C. website
• Profile at the Football Association website
• Joe Gomez – UEFA competition record ( archive )