Angel Gomes

Adilson Angel Abreu de Almeida Gomes (born 31 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the England national team. A versatile player, he has been deployed as an attacking midfielder, central midfielder and wide midfielder in his career.

Joining Manchester United at the age of six, Gomes made his first-team debut for the club in May 2017 and became the first player born in the 2000s to play in the Premier League. After 10 appearances for the team, he was released at the end of his contract in 2020. He then signed for Lille in August and was immediately loaned out to Boavista for a season. Upon his return to France in 2021, he was included in the squad which won the 2021 Trophée des Champions, before making his Ligue 1 debut in August and his UEFA Champions League debut in September.

Besides his native England, Gomes could also have represented Angola or Portugal at international level. He made more than 50 appearances for England's youth national teams, from under-16 to under-21 level. He was the captain of the England under-17 team that won the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and was a member of the under-21 squad that won the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He debuted for the senior team in September 2024.

Early life

Adilson Angel Abreu de Almeida Gomes was born on in Edmonton, Greater London, England to the Angolan-born former Portugal under-21 international Gil Gomes during his father's time at Hendon. The Gomes family then moved to the Manchester area when Gil joined Middlewich Town, and settled in Salford, where Gomes grew up.

Former Portugal international and Manchester United winger Nani is Gomes' godfather, and he has said that Nani's influence was "massive" as he was somebody he idolised as a youngster.

Club career

Manchester United

2006–17: Early years

Gomes started training with the Manchester United youth system at the age of six, in 2006, and made his debut for the club's U18 team when he was 14. He captained the Manchester United U15 team in 2015 at the Manchester United Premier Cup and was named MVP, despite United finishing in 12th place at the tournament.

After signing as an academy first-year scholar ahead of the 2016–17 season, Gomes scored three goals against Everton on 27 August 2016, and became the third youngest Manchester United academy player to achieve the feat in the club's history at the age of 15 years and 362 days. He then sustained an injury in April 2017 towards the conclusion of the season. Despite this, he finished as the club's top goalscorer and was named Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year as the youngest recipient for the award. His form led him to train with the first-team ahead of the final game in the 2016–17 season of the Premier League.

2017–20: First-team appearances and departure

Gomes made his first-team debut on 21 May 2017, replacing Wayne Rooney in the 88th minute of a 2–0 home victory over Crystal Palace. At old, he became the youngest player to represent Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the Premier League.

On 13 December 2017, Gomes signed his first professional contract with Manchester United, and on 26 January 2018, he made his FA Cup debut, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Marcus Rashford in a 4–0 victory against Yeovil Town in the Fourth Round.

Two years and two months after his senior debut, on 25 July 2019, Gomes scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 pre-season friendly win against Tottenham Hotspur. However, he found first-team opportunities hard to come by during the 2019–20 season, playing just six times in all competitions. Despite protracted negotiations, Manchester United were unable to sign Gomes to a contract extension, and he was released on 30 June 2020.

Lille

2020–21 season: Loan to Boavista

On 4 August 2020, Gomes signed a five-year contract with French club Lille, and was immediately loaned out to Portuguese club Boavista for the 2020–21 campaign. In 2021, he revisited the signing in an interview with English media and explained his choice to leave his boyhood club to get more game time. Gomes stated: "There was a contract there that was on the table for me to sign. Everyone always says I left for money which, for me, makes no sense .. It was more to do with the pathway and the opportunity that Lille were bringing .. It was a big step, and I knew it was going to be one."

On his league debut for Boavista, he registered a hat-trick of assists and was awarded man of the match in a 3–3 draw against Nacional on 19 September. Two weeks later, Gomes scored his first goal for the club and as a professional with a wonder strike from the halfway line in a match against Moreirense. On 2 November, Gomes won a penalty and then converted the spot-kick in a 3–0 win against Benfica. He ended his Portugal stint with 32 appearances including two starts in the Taça de Portugal. Scoring six goals and providing six assists in the 2020–21 Primeira Liga, his first complete professional season as a starter, he helped the historic Porto side to avoid relegation.

2021–22 season: French Ligue 1 and European debuts

After a successful loan spell in the Primeira Liga with Boavista, Gomes returned to Lille on 1 July 2021. He was included in the squad for the club's Trophée des Champions win over Paris Saint-Germain at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel on 1 August. Despite not coming on the pitch, he earned his first trophy as a professional and the first French super cup in the history of the club. Three weeks later, he made his Lille debut in the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season 3rd round at Saint-Étienne on 21 August, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan David and playing the final minutes of the match.

The next month, on 14 September 2021, he played his first UEFA Champions League match against VfL Wolfsburg in the group stage, starting as a left midfielder. In December, Gomes then scored his first Champions League goal also against the German team, in the last round of the group stage, besides delivering an assist in the game after coming on in the 68th minute. For the remainder of the Lille season, he was then primarily used as a back-up attacking midfielder or forward and ended up playing an average of around 40 minutes per match.

2022–23 season: Repositioning and breakthrough

Following Paulo Fonseca's arrival as Lille head coach, Gomes started the 2022–23 season as a central midfielder alongside French and Ligue 1 veteran Benjamin André, behind playmaker and attacking midfielder Rémy Cabella, in a 4–1 home win over Auxerre. He ended the match with 8 ball recoveries and a 90% pass completion rate. After other good performances in August, he was praised by reporters for his importance in the Lille attacking system – appearing in ''L'Équipe'' and Prime Video Teams of the Week – and was named Lille Player of the Month. After a 4–3 home victory against Monaco on 23 October, where he played alongside André Gomes, he was again named in ''L'Équipe'' Team of the Week. He gradually became a steady and consistent player in the Lille midfield, within the rotation alongside Benjamin André and André Gomes, and eventually started as the playmaker in some matches in the second part of the season. Delivering a total of 6 assists in the Ligue 1 season and having one of the best pass completion rate in the league (87.89%), he helped Lille to secure the 5th place with a UEFA Europa Conference League qualification.

2023–24 season: Third season in France

During the offseason, Gomes decided to switch his Lille's shirt number. After wearing number 20 during his first two full seasons with the club, he chose to swap it for number 8. The shirt had previously been worn by former notable players such as Michel Bastos, Moussa Sow, Salomon Kalou, and Xeka. Lille OSC began their 2023–24 Ligue 1 season on 11 August 2023, with Gomes coming off the bench and assisting a late Bafodé Diakité's header in a 1–1 home draw against Nice

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