Thiago Almada
Thiago Ezequiel Almada (born 26 April 2001) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United. Early life. Thiago 'Guayo' Ezequiel Almada was born on April 26, 2001, in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires in Argentina. He grew up in the neighborhood of Fuerte Apache, which is known for high crime rates and prevalent drug use. Almada spent many of his early years selling fruit and vegetables door-to-door to earn extra money. Much time was spent with his grandparents while his parents worked. Club career. Vélez Sarsfield . At the age of four, Almada was playing football for a local club, Santa Clara, where Carlos Tevez also began his career. He was picked up by Vélez Sarsfield at age five where he made his way through the youth academy. In August 2018, just four months shy of his 17th birthday, Almada made his professional debut with the club. In October 2018, he was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2018". Almada began his first-team career as a wing forward under manager Gabriel Heinze. He played alongside Matías Vargas, Nicolás Domínguez, Lucas Robertone, and Fernando Gago. In  his first two years with Heinze at the helm, Almada appeared in 46 matches and tallied nine goals. In 2020, new club manager Mauricio Pellegrino, moved Almada to midfielder, due to the departure of several players. In the two seasons since the move to midfield, Almada earned 15 goals in 42 matches. Atlanta United. On 4 December 2021, Vélez Sarsfield announced that it had reached an agreement with Major League Soccer club Atlanta United for the pre-transfer of Almada in February 2022. The transfer, reportedly worth a league-record $16 million, was officially announced by Atlanta on 9  February 2022. On 10 February 2022, Atlanta United had officially announced the transfer of Almada with a series of photos on the club's Instagram page, showing him with the club's owner Darren Eales at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in downtown Atlanta. Shortly afterwards, Almada was unveiled in the club's kit for the very first time in front of thousands of fans in a virtual welcome ceremony (due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic). On 11 February 2022, Almada came under scrutiny from supporters in Atlanta after it was revealed that in his final match for Sarsfield, he  had scored a goal, and celebrated with a racially insensitive gesture with his eyes, this had raised many concerns for the club and his future, but he had apologized shortly after being asked about the situation. On 14 February 2022, Almada made his official debut for Atlanta wearing the number 8, in a pre-season match versus Mexican outfit C.D. Guadalajara during Atlanta's pre-season tour of Mexico. Atlanta would end up losing the match 3–0. On 15 March 2022, Almada made his MLS debut against expansion team Charlotte FC as a substitute, in Atlanta's win against them , 2-1. Almada had 18 touches in 34 minutes, he said that "I wanted to be here,” “I wanted to get to know everybody. It worked out well in the end. I’m here. I’m ready to fight for everything that we have to fight for.” Shortly after the Charlotte FC game, on 19 March 2022, Almada scored his first ever MLS goal in a 3-3 draw vs CF Montreal. The goal would end up winning the MLS' Goal of The Week contest for Matchday 4. International career. Almada played for the Argentina U20 squad in 2019 and  the Argentina U-23 squad in 2021. Personal life. In February 2021, Almada was identified as a person of interest by local authorities after a party in San Isidro, Buenos Aires on 4 December 2020. A 28-year-old woman said she was sexually abused by several people in a house rented by Martín Lucero. His club suspended both him and Miguel Brizuela after the investigation became public. A week after Almada was suspended, he was reinstated with the club stating, "substantial modifications were generated by virtue of the incorporation of new evidence, expertise and testimonies."