Jordan Henderson’s departure at the end of last season sealed Joe Gomez’s status as the current longest-serving player at Liverpool. For many Liverpool fans, especially the young ones, Joe Gomez is a familiar face, and despite being just 27, his influence in the dressing room cannot be overlooked.
The 11-time England-capped player has been in Liverpool’s books since 2015, with his longevity being a huge achievement, eventually in a team as talented as Liverpool’s under a very high-standard manager like Jurgen Klopp.
This article delves into the key aspects of the English talent’s life, exploring his early years, family background, net worth, career, and more.
Full Name | Joseph Dave Gomez |
Place of Birth | Catford, England |
Date of Birth | 23 May 1997 |
Position | Defender |
Current Team | Liverpool |
Year Joined | 2015 |
Shirt Number | 2 |
Height | 6ft2 |
Joe Gomez | Early Life
While Joe Gomez may have seemed like a regular boy growing up, he was truly far from that. Another mix-raced boy who was born in a district in South London called Catford, Joe Gomez’s leadership shone through at a very young age. According to Life Bogger, Joe Gomez was a dreamer who exhibited leadership traits at a very young age.
His inquisitiveness also helped him develop greatly by studying different soccer greats like Jamie Carragher, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, and Sergio Ramos on YouTube.
Joe Gomez | Family
Gomez has, many times, credited his parents for his success and humility in the game, despite everything he’s achieved as a footballer. The Liverpool defender was born to a Gambian father and an Anglo-Spanish mother in Catford, a district in South London.
Gomez has claimed several times that his parents helped him keep his head down as a black British child growing up in South London. When Gomez broke into the first team at Charlton Athletic and big clubs were showing interest in him, his father instructed his agents to keep those reports away from his son to keep him level-headed.
“My dad didn’t want anything to get into my head that early,” the Liverpool defender said.
In terms of siblings, Joe is blessed with three sisters and one brother. He maintains a close relationship with all his family members and often talks about them in interviews.
Gomez is happily married to his long-time girlfriend, Tamara Tiago. The couple tied the knot in 2021 in front of family and close relatives.
Joe Gomez | Club Career
Youth Career
As a child, Gomez’s obsession with football was obvious. He always played in the Sunday League in his community, where a scout sent by Charlton Athletic picked him up. The scout spoke good words about him in his report back to the club, which made them offer him a six-week trial, which was sadly followed by a rejection.
Charlton Athletic
His persistence in his Sunday League caught the eye of Charlton Athletic again, who quickly signed him to their youth setup as a 10-year-old. His debut came for the U-18 three years later at age 13, and his professional debut came in 2014. Gomez signed a professional contract with the club a few months later.
He ended up spending just one season at the Championship club after ending the season with 24 appearances in all competitions and some strong performances in the season, enough to get him widespread interest from several top clubs, including Liverpool.
Liverpool
Of all the interested clubs, only Liverpool managed to convince Gomez of the project at the club, and they would get him for about £3.5 million from Charlton Athletic.
His debut came in August of that same year when he played left-back. He showed the club they made a decision by picking up when he assisted the winner, which Philippe Coutinho scored in the 86th minute.
Sadly, an ACL injury he suffered while playing for England’s youth team disrupted his Liverpool career, sidelining him for a full year. He made his competitive return in an FA Cup game against Plymouth in January 2017.
Since then, several players have come and gone, especially since Jurgen Klopp took over, but his versatility has made him an important asset for the German coach. Under Klopp, Gomez has played central defense, becoming Virgil van Dijk’s main partner in 2021, ahead of Joel Matip, whose injury paved the way for Joe Gomez.
Sadly, despite his versatility and role in central midfield or the wing for Liverpool, he’s yet to score a goal for Merseyside. However, there’s more than enough time to do that, considering that he’s only 26 and his peak years are still ahead of him.
Joe Gomez | International Career
Joe Gomez’s journey with England has been bright, but injuries have kept him from playing regularly. Though he made a big splash in youth, he has just 11 caps at the senior level. His debut in 2017 showed promise, but unfortunately, a serious knee injury quickly thwarted his progress.
He got back on track and helped Liverpool win the Premier League, but it was hard for him to get back on the national team. His appearances in 2020 were limited, and he hasn’t been seen on the field for almost three years wearing the national jersey.
Joe Gomez | Sponsors and endorsements
Joe Gomez’s only sponsorship deal is with German sports company Adidas. The Englishman makes sponsored posts about the German brand on his social media, especially Instagram.
He also wears Adidas boots during games and in training. He partakes in official marketing ads for the brand, which he also posts on his social media pages.
It’s hard to determine what he makes from this deal, but it’s good enough to keep him tied to the German company.
Joe Gomez | Philanthropic Activities
Joe Gomez has not publicly been involved in any philanthropic activities. However, as a footballer who made it out of the streets of South London, giving back to his community shouldn’t be a problem, but whatever he’s doing, he’s doing a great job at keeping it private.
Joe Gomez | Records and Statistics
Joe Gomez has only played for two teams in his career so far, so he’s not a big achiever in terms of records and statistics, especially regarding individual records. He’s one of the few players in the Premier League who have never scored a goal in their entire career, but in terms of opportunities on the pitch, he has gotten a lot of those.
Teams | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
Charlton Athletic | 24 | 0 | 1 |
Liverpool | 205 | 0 | 9 |
England | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Gomez has appeared in 229 appearances in his career so far, with 205 of those coming for Liverpool and 24 for Charlton Athletic.
Trophy collection is his biggest achievement, with the 26-year-old winning the Premier League in the 19-20 season under Klopp, playing a big part by partnering strongly with Virgil van Dijk.
Gomez is also a Champions League winner, which he played a part in during the match against Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the 2018-19 UCL final, coming on as a substitute to help kill the game off.
He has also won the FA Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Joe Gomez | Net Worth and Health
Joe Gomez’s salary when he joined Liverpool as a youngster was £520,000 annually. However, this improved in his following season at the club, where his annual pay jumped to £1,456,000. He was on that salary for the next two years until 2019, when he got a raise and was on an annual salary of £3,900,000. Gomez signed a new contract at Liverpool until 2027, which took his annual salary to £4,940,000, as he’s currently on a £95,000-a-week deal.
According to Sports Brief, Gomez’s net worth is estimated at $24 million if one factors in his previous sponsorship deal with Nike and his current one with Adidas.
Joe Gomez has struggled with injuries in the past but is currently on his best run as far as staying injury-free is concerned.
Joe Gomez | Cars and Tattoos
There’s nothing from Gomez’s social media activities that suggests he’s a car enthusiast. As a matter of fact, there’s not a single post of an automobile on his Instagram account, unlike other soccer stars, who always love to flaunt their car collections on social media.
Joe Gomez also doesn’t have any tattoos on his body.