Joseph Dave Gomez (born 23 May 1997) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

for club

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Gomez began his career at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

, breaking into the first team at 17 and playing one full senior 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 The 2019 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, the 64th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA and the 27th season since it was rebranded the UEFA Champions League. ...

as Liverpool won the

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indiv ...

. He played in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

of the

2019 FIFA Club World Cup The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament bet ...

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 The 2019–20 Premier League was the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional football league, since its establishment in 1992, and the 121st season of top-flight English football overall. The season started on 9 August 2 ...

, 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 The 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, an annual football competition between men's under-17 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament was hosted for the first t ...

. He made his debut for the England senior team in November 2017.

Club career

Charlton Athletic

Gomez was born in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

, Greater London to a Gambian father and an English mother. He joined the academy at nearby

at the age of 10, making his debut for the club's under-18 team at just 13 years old. Despite strong interest from other clubs, Gomez signed his first professional contract with Charlton in October 2014. His senior debut came under manager Bob Peeters in a 4–0

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

victory over

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

at The Valley on 12 August 2014, playing the full 90 minutes as the right back. A week later he made his league debut in a 3–2 home win against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. Gomez went on to make 24 appearances during his first season.

Liverpool

On 20 June 2015,

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

signed Gomez on a five-year contract for a fee of £3.5 million. He made his debut against Stoke City on 9 August, starting as a left back in a 1–0 win, assisting

Philippe Coutinho Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team. He is known for his combination of vision, ...

's match-winning goal in the 86th minute. On 13 October 2015, Gomez suffered a season ending anterior cruciate ligament injury while playing for England U21. A full year later, Gomez returned to full first-team training on 13 October 2016. On 13 November, Gomez played 45 minutes in a behind closed doors friendly. On 8 January 2017, Gomez made his first start in an official first-team match since the injury, in an FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle.

2017–18 season

On 23 August 2017, Gomez made his European debut, in a 4–2 win over

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentione ...

in the UEFA Champions League play-off. Due to the injury of

Nathaniel Clyne Nathaniel Edwin Clyne (born 5 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Crystal Palace. Clyne began his career at Crystal Palace, playing regularly in four Championship seasons, before a ...

, Gomez was the first choice

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

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. 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. 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 UEFA Champions League final The 2018 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the ...

. Overall, Gomez made 31 appearances across the season for Liverpool.

2018–19 season

As a result of the lack of fitness of regular first-team defenders

Dejan Lovren Dejan Lovren (; born 5 July 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Croatia national team. Lovren began his career at Dinamo Zagreb before moving to ...

and

Joël Matip Job Joël André Matip (born 8 August 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool. Matip began his professional career with Schalke 04 in 2009, and was part of their teams that won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-S ...

, Gomez was able to establish himself as first-choice centre back in Liverpool's first games of the season alongside

Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, lea ...

, receiving praise for his performances and receiving the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

for his performance in a 2–1 win over Leicester City on 1 September. 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 Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

defender Ben Mee. In February of the following year, he underwent surgery in an attempt to assist his recovery from the injury. Regaining fitness in April, Gomez made a substitute appearance for Liverpool in the

, which the club won.

2019–20 season

Gomez began the next season deputising for the in-form Joël Matip, who had become a mainstay alongside

during Gomez's injury layoff the previous season. Gomez found himself recalled to the starting lineup 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 James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield and at full-back. ...

's early departure.

2020–21 season

Gomez provided a brilliant assist for

Diogo Jota Diogo José Teixeira da Silva (born 4 December 1996), known as Diogo Jota (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the Portugal national team. Jota started his car ...

in their Champions League away game against

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

, where Liverpool won 5–0. Gomez suffered a tendon injury to his left knee whilst away on international duty with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and underwent successful surgery on 11 November 2020 to correct the damage. 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 Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, lea ...

. FIFA agreed to pay Liverpool £2 million in compensation to cover Gomez's wages whilst he was injured.

2021–22 season

In May 2022, Gomez was an unused substitute as Liverpool won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. He was also on the bench as they lost 1-0 in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final to Real Madrid.

2022–23 season

On 7 July 2022 he signed a new five year contract with the club. On 9 November 2022, he captained Liverpool in the win against

in the third round of the EFL Cup at Anfield.

International career

Gomez has been capped by England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels. In May 2014, he was part of the squad that won the

in Malta, playing every minute of England's five matches and being named in UEFA's team of the tournament. Through his father he could have been eligible to play for Gambia. On 25 August 2015, he received his first call-up to the under-21 squad. On 30 August 2017, Gomez was announced as England U21 captain ahead of the qualifying campaign for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He received his first call-up to the

senior squad in November 2017. He made his England debut against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

in a friendly match, coming on as a substitute to replace Phil Jones in a 0–0 draw. Gomez received a man of the match award in the following game for his performance against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, earning praise for a number of crucial interceptions, and for his ability to nullify the threat of

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

Style of play

Gomez prefers to play as a

but can also play as a full back on either side. 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 Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...

whom he idolised growing up. 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.

Personal life

Gomez met his partner, Tamara, in 2014, on a bus on his way to school. They live together in Cheshire. They have a son, Kyrie. Gomez is a cousin of striker Muhammadu Faal, who currently plays for Havant and Waterlooville.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Liverpool *

: 2019–20 *

: 2021–22 * FA Community Shield:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

: 2018–19, runner-up: 2021–22 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* FIFA Club World Cup:

England U17 *

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain is the most successful team in this ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

England *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

third place: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, 2018–19 Individual *UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship#Team of the Tournament, 2014

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Joe 1997 births Living people Footballers from Catford English footballers England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England international footballers Association football defenders Charlton Athletic F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players UEFA Champions League winning players Black British sportspeople English people of Gambian descent