# Maxi Gómez
**Maxi Gómez**, full name Maximiliano Gómez González (born 1996 in Paysandú), is a Uruguayan forward who has played for Defensor Sporting, Celta de Vigo, Valencia, Trabzonspor, Cádiz, and Nacional, and won 32 caps for the Uruguay national team between 2017 and 2023.[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Maximiliano Gómez González, 1996, Paysandú, Uruguay[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) |
| Position / physique | Forward; right-footed; 186 cm, 91 kg[2](https://fbref.com/en/players/4c2e9442/matchlogs/c1/Maxi-Gomez-Match-Logs) |
| Club career | Defensor Sporting 2015–2017; Celta de Vigo 2017–2019; Valencia 2019–2022; later Trabzonspor, Cádiz (loan), and Nacional[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) • [3](https://nacional.uy/noticias/bienvenido-maxi-gomez) |
| Celta record | 30 goals in 74 matches; signed for €4.5 million and sold to Valencia for around €30 million, the most profitable sale in the club's history[4](https://as.com/futbol/2019/05/17/primera/1558052221_480831.html) • [5](https://as.com/futbol/2019/08/15/primera/1565901354_822040.html) |
| Valencia record | 21 goals in 98 games[6](https://breakingthelines.com/%40btl/player-analysis-maxi-gomez) |
| Uruguay record | 32 caps, 3 goals, 938 minutes; debut 10 November 2017 against Poland; last match 8 September 2023 against Chile[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) |
| Major tournaments | 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, Copa América 2019 and 2021, and World Cup qualifying campaigns[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) |
## Early career at Defensor Sporting
Gómez joined Defensor Sporting of Montevideo at 17, where he won tournaments with the under-17 and under-19 categories before debuting for the first team in 2015.[3](https://nacional.uy/noticias/bienvenido-maxi-gomez) The Uruguayan Football Association lists his senior spell there as 2015 to 2017.[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/)
## Celta de Vigo
Gómez moved to Celta de Vigo in 2017 and spent two seasons as the partner of [Iago Aspas](https://www.edgepedia.org/iago-aspas) in the attack. His debut season in [La Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-liga) produced 17 goals, 9 of them headed, and in his second season he scored 10 goals with 15 assists.[6](https://breakingthelines.com/%40btl/player-analysis-maxi-gomez) • [7](https://footballbh.net/2019/06/16/copa-america-2019-tactical-analysis-statistics/) Across both seasons he scored 30 goals in 74 matches, and at 22 years old he became one of the most sought-after forwards on the market, with a release clause of €50 million.[4](https://as.com/futbol/2019/05/17/primera/1558052221_480831.html)
**A record sale.** Celta signed him for €4.5 million and sold him to Valencia in the summer of 2019 in an operation worth around €30 million, which the sports paper AS described as the most profitable sale in Celta's history; 20 percent of the sale went to Defensor Sporting.[5](https://as.com/futbol/2019/08/15/primera/1565901354_822040.html) • [4](https://as.com/futbol/2019/05/17/primera/1558052221_480831.html) To replace him, Celta signed the similarly physical Uruguayan striker Gabriel Fernández from Peñarol.[5](https://as.com/futbol/2019/08/15/primera/1565901354_822040.html)
## Valencia
At Valencia, Gómez's output fell well below his Celta numbers: 21 goals in 98 games over his career there, including 3 goals in 25 games in one season. A tactical analysis in Breaking The Lines argued that his struggles reflected a system unsuited to his strengths, at a club that completed the fewest passes in the league and had a recent history of creating little for its strikers, rather than a simple decline in his own ability.[6](https://breakingthelines.com/%40btl/player-analysis-maxi-gomez) Early in his Valencia spell he was among the team's top scorers alongside [Dani Parejo](https://www.edgepedia.org/dani-parejo), with 4 of Valencia's first 12 La Liga goals of the 2019–20 season.[8](https://as.com/futbol/2019/10/18/primera/1571423819_910259.html)
## Later club career
Gómez transferred to [Trabzonspor](https://www.edgepedia.org/trabzonspor) in Turkey, where the 2022–23 season brought 5 goals in 26 [Süper Lig](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-lig) matches; he played only one league match there in 2023–24 before joining Cádiz on loan in La Liga, where he made 31 league appearances without scoring.[9](https://www.soccerway.com/players/maximiliano-gomez-gonzalez/413470/) He rescinded his contract with Trabzonspor in the summer of 2024 and was without a club until Nacional of Montevideo announced his signing on a contract running to December 2026.[10](https://cadenaser.com/andalucia/2024/09/05/los-ex-del-cadiz-cf-que-han-encontrado-equipo-radio-cadiz/) • [3](https://nacional.uy/noticias/bienvenido-maxi-gomez)
## Uruguay national team
Gómez debuted for Uruguay on 10 November 2017 against Poland. Over his international career he earned 32 caps, scoring 3 goals in 938 minutes, one goal every 313 minutes, with a record of 20 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses; his final match came on 8 September 2023 against Chile in 2026 World Cup qualifying at the Estadio Centenario.[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) His 32 appearances comprised 20 friendlies, 7 World Cup qualifiers, 4 World Cup matches, and 1 [Copa América](https://www.edgepedia.org/copa-america) match.[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/)
He was part of the squads for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he was on the matchday squad for the group-stage win over Egypt but did not play, the Copa América tournaments of 2019 and 2021, and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[2](https://fbref.com/en/players/4c2e9442/matchlogs/c1/Maxi-Gomez-Match-Logs) • [1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) At the 2022 tournament he appeared in the group-stage matches, including the 2–0 loss to Portugal and the 2–0 win over Ghana that ended Uruguay's campaign.[1](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/) With Luis Suárez and [Edinson Cavani](https://www.edgepedia.org/edinson-cavani) ahead of him in the pecking order, he was generally a backup striker rather than a regular starter.[7](https://footballbh.net/2019/06/16/copa-america-2019-tactical-analysis-statistics/)
## Playing style
Gómez is a physical, right-footed target striker, 186 cm and 91 kg, in the mold of the corpulent, powerful Uruguayan center-forwards that Celta has repeatedly recruited.[2](https://fbref.com/en/players/4c2e9442/matchlogs/c1/Maxi-Gomez-Match-Logs) • [5](https://as.com/futbol/2019/08/15/primera/1565901354_822040.html) His signature trait is hold-up play followed by long balls: he drops deep toward the halfway line to receive, then spreads play to the wings, averaging 0.8 long balls per match at Celta, a useful asset for teams with pacey wingers. His passing accuracy of 73.5 percent reflects that most of his passes come in the final third.[7](https://footballbh.net/2019/06/16/copa-america-2019-tactical-analysis-statistics/) Analysts have also noted that he holds his position as a focal point up front rather than dropping too deep, and that his headed goals, 9 in his debut Celta season, are a significant part of his scoring.[11](https://www.thewesthamway.com/one-to-watch-maxi-gomez/) • [6](https://breakingthelines.com/%40btl/player-analysis-maxi-gomez)
## References
1. [Maximiliano Gómez, Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol](https://www.auf.org.uy/maximiliano-gomez/)
2. [Maxi Gómez World Cup Match Logs, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/players/4c2e9442/matchlogs/c1/Maxi-Gomez-Match-Logs)
3. [¡Bienvenido, Maxi Gómez!, Club Nacional de Football](https://nacional.uy/noticias/bienvenido-maxi-gomez)
4. [Maxi Gómez cerrará mañana su fructífero paso por Vigo, AS (17 May 2019)](https://as.com/futbol/2019/05/17/primera/1558052221_480831.html)
5. [El Celta vuelve a apostar por la ganadería uruguaya, AS (15 August 2019)](https://as.com/futbol/2019/08/15/primera/1565901354_822040.html)
6. [Player Analysis: Maxi Gómez, Breaking The Lines](https://breakingthelines.com/%40btl/player-analysis-maxi-gomez)
7. [Copa America 2019: Tactical analysis, FootballBH](https://footballbh.net/2019/06/16/copa-america-2019-tactical-analysis-statistics/)
8. [Giménez y Maxi Gómez se citan para su Clásico de los medianos, AS (18 October 2019)](https://as.com/futbol/2019/10/18/primera/1571423819_910259.html)
9. [Maximiliano Gomez Stats, Soccerway](https://www.soccerway.com/players/maximiliano-gomez-gonzalez/413470/)
10. [Los ex del Cádiz CF que han encontrado equipo, Cadena SER (5 September 2024)](https://cadenaser.com/andalucia/2024/09/05/los-ex-del-cadiz-cf-que-han-encontrado-equipo-radio-cadiz/)
11. [One to Watch: Maxi Gomez, The West Ham Way](https://www.thewesthamway.com/one-to-watch-maxi-gomez/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of South America › Uruguayan men's footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license