Davinson Sánchez Mina (born 12 June 1996) is a Colombian 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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

and the Colombia national team. Sánchez relocated to

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

and made his professional debut for

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...

in 2013; collectively, he achieved four domestic league titles, two

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia (); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs affiliated to the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR) and is the ...

's, a

Superliga Colombiana The Superliga Colombiana (''Colombian Superleague''), officially known as Superliga BetPlay Dimayor due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is an official competition contested between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización t ...

, and a

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

during his time with Nacional. Sánchez made the leap to European football in 2016, joining

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

. In his first season with the club, he won the Ajax Player of the Year Award and reached the

2017 UEFA Europa League final The 2017 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 8th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Eur ...

. Sánchez became

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

's club-record signing in 2017, costing them around £42 million, a record that was topped by

Tanguy Ndombélé Tanguy Ndombele Alvaro (born 28 December 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice. Ndombele finished his youth career at Guingamp but was not offered a professional contract. He signed for Ligue ...

who signed for Spurs in 2019. In September 2023, Sánchez transferred to Turkish Süper Lig side Galatasaray for a fee of €9.5 million. At youth level, Sánchez represented

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

at the

2013 South American U-17 Championship The 2013 South American Under-17 Football Championship () was the 15th U-17 tournament for national teams affiliated with CONMEBOL. It was held in Argentina. This tournament gave four berths to the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which was held in Uni ...

and was part of the

squads that participated at the

2015 South American U-20 Championship The 2015 South American Youth Football Championship (, ) was the 27th edition of the biennial international youth association football, football tournament organized by CONMEBOL for the men's under-20 national teams of South America. It was held i ...

and the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

, respectively. He made his senior debut for Colombia in 2016 and has represented the nation at three editions of the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

, as well as at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

Club career

Atlético Nacional

As a youth, Sánchez played in the youth academy of

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

, but after his parents moved, he was transferred to

, where he was educated under the wings of

Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez (; born 8 June 1961) is a Colombian football manager and former footballer. Osorio began his playing career with Deportivo Pereira in 1982, and went on to play for Brazilian club Internacional in 1984 before re ...

. The defender made his debut for the senior team on 27 October 2013, in a 0–1 loss to

Boyacá Chicó Boyacá is the name of a region in Colombia. It may refer to other connections to Colombia: * Battle of Boyacá * Boyacá Department (Gran Colombia) * Boyacá Department ** Boyacá, Boyacá, a municipality * Boyacá State, a former state * Puerto ...

. Osorio put the player in the starting lineup and he completed the entire match. On 2 March 2016, Sánchez scored his first goal for Nacional in a 3–0 victory over

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

from Peru in the

. Due to his performances for Nacional, foreign clubs including

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

, and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

showed an interest in signing the player. Barcelona made a formal offer to sign the player, but Sánchez declined the offer because he didn't want to start in

FC Barcelona B FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, the reserve team. He won the Copa Libertadores 2016 against Ecuadorian

Independiente del Valle Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí Ecuador that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A. Founded in 1958, the club plays ...

Ajax

In June 2016, Sánchez signed a five-year contract with Dutch side

, until 2021. The club paid a transfer fee of €5 million to Atlético Nacional. A few days earlier, Ajax had signed Sánchez's compatriot

Mateo Cassierra Zander Mateo Cassierra Cabezas (born 13 April 1997) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Colombia national team. Career Deportivo Cali Cassierra made his debut for Depor ...

, thus making him the second Colombian in the squad. Sánchez joined Ajax after Nacional had finished its participation in the

. Sánchez's Ajax debut on 13 August ended in a 2–2 tie with

Roda JC Kerkrade Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the ...

in which he started and played the 90 minutes. His first goal with the club was on 24 September against

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

. On 8 May 2017, he was named as the best player of the season for

Tottenham Hotspur

On 18 August 2017,

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

announced that they had agreed a move for Sánchez signing a six-year contract subject to a work permit, for a reported transfer fee of up to £42 million. He made his debut on 27 August as a substitute for Mousa Dembélé in the 92nd minute in a 1–1 draw with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. In May 2018, Sánchez signed a new contract with Tottenham, keeping him at the club until 2024. Sánchez scored his first goal for Tottenham in the Premier League game against in the February 2019 match against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In February 2021, Sánchez scored twice, his first goals in two years, in the

2020–21 FA Cup The 2020–21 FA Cup was the 140th edition of the oldest football tournament in the world, the Football Association Challenge Cup. It was sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. The winners qualified for ...

fifth round match against Everton that eventually ended in a 5–4 loss for Tottenham after extra time.

Galatasaray

On 4 September 2023, Sánchez joined Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

for a transfer fee of €9.5m.

International career

Youth teams

In November 2011, Sánchez was called up to dispute the 2011 South American U-15 Championship, where his team finished as runner-up behind Brazil; Sánchez was appointed as his team's captain for the tournament. Sánchez represented Colombia U-17 side at the

, where he appeared twice in the group stage. On 6 January 2015, he was included in Carlos Restrepo's 23-man list for the

, where Colombia secured qualification to the

and the Olympic play-off for

Rio 2016 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

after finishing runner-up. On 6 May, Sánchez was named in Colombia final 23-man team for the U-20 World Cup, where his team exited the tournament in the round of 16 after falling to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Despite not disputing the Olympics, Sánchez appeared in both legs for the play-off series against the

, in which Colombia qualified to the Olympics for the first team since Barcelona 1992 after finishing the series 3–2 on aggregate.

Senior team

Colombia manager

José Pékerman José Néstor Pékerman Krimen (; born 3 September 1949) is an Argentine-Colombian professional football coach. His last team managed was the Venezuela national team. As a youth level coach for Argentina, he won the FIFA World Youth Championshi ...

called up Sánchez for a training squad with the senior

squad in February 2016. On 26 August 2022, he was named in Colombia's squad for the

2018 World Cup qualifiers Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 20 ...

against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. On 19 November, Sánchez made his debut against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. On May 2018, he was named in Colombia's preliminary 35-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

in Russia. In June 2018, he was named in Colombia's final 23-man squad for the

in Russia. He played in all three group matches and their round of 16 match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. On June 2019, he started in three of the four games at the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

, helped the team keep a clean sheet and beat Argentina for the first time in 12 years. The team however lost in the quarter-final against Chile after a penalty shoot-out. On 10 June 2021, Sánchez was included in

Reinaldo Rueda Reinaldo Rueda Rivera (born 16 April 1957) is a Colombian football coach who currently serves as a manager for the Honduras national team. When he was the coach of the Colombia U-20 team, they finished 3rd at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Cham ...

's 23-man squad for the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football, football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to ...

. He featured in all of Colombia's matches as the team secured bronze after defeating

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

3–2 for the third-place playoff. On 19 November 2022, Sánchez scored his first international goal in a 2–0 friendly win against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. On 14 June 2024, Sánchez was named into 26-man

for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

. During the competition, Sánchez played every single match in the competition, and helped the team to get into a Copa América final after 23 years, scoring a single goal, but being essential in the tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Colombia'a goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sánchez goal.''

Honours

Atlético Nacional *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

: 2013 Apertura, 2013 Finalización, 2014 Apertura, 2015 Finalización *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Galatasaray *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2024–25 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual * Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2016–17 * Copa América Team of the Tournament:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Davinson 1996 births Living people Colombian people of African descent Footballers from Cauca Department Colombian men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Atlético Nacional footballers AFC Ajax players Jong Ajax players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Categoría Primera A players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Premier League players Süper Lig players Colombia men's youth international footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen Colombia men's under-20 international footballers Colombia men's international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players 2024 Copa América players Colombian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Colombian expatriate sportspeople in England Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Copa Libertadores–winning players