Daniel Muñoz (footballer)
Colombian footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Muñoz Mejía (born 26 May 1996) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Colombia national team.[3]
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Muñoz in 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Daniel Muñoz Mejía[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1996[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Amalfi, Antioquia, Colombia | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Crystal Palace | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Águilas Doradas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Águilas Doradas | 81 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Atlético Nacional | 27 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Genk | 122 | (16) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Crystal Palace | 82 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Colombia | 50 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 July 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Muñoz began his career after being signed by Águilas Doradas aged 20, making his senior debut in 2017, before joining Atlético Nacional in 2019. The following year, he was signed by Belgian club Genk, where he won the Belgian Cup in 2021. After making nearly 150 appearances for Genk, Muñoz joined Crystal Palace in 2024. He played a key role in the team’s success, providing the decisive assist in the 1–0 victory over Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup final, earning man of the match honours, helping the club secure the FA Community Shield, and winning the UEFA Europa Conference League the following year.
Muñoz made his debut for Colombia in 2021. He represented his country at the 2021 and 2024 Copa América, helping Colombia to a runners-up finish in the latter, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Rionegro Águilas and Atlético Nacional
A lifelong supporter of Atlético Nacional, Muñoz was once part of the Los del Sur supporters' group; he left the terraces to focus on his playing career and soon impressed coaches with his energy and versatility.[4]
Daniel Muñoz's professional breakthrough came relatively late. After youth stints with Envigado and a failed attempt to sign with clubs abroad, he returned to Medellín and joined the amateur side Total Soccer. From there he earned a call-up to Rionegro Águilas (then Águilas Doradas) and made his professional debut at age 20 in early 2017.[4][5]
His performances for Águilas quickly drew attention, and within two seasons he secured a move to Atlético Nacional.[5] At Nacional, Muñoz developed into one of Colombia's most productive right-backs. In the 2019 Finalización tournament he scored seven goals and provided two assists, the most goal involvements in the team, while also leading Nacional in tackles (48) and aerial duels won (47).[6] His rapid rise saw him captain the side despite making only 33 appearances, fulfilling his childhood dream of representing Nacional and earning a call-up to the Colombian national team.[4]
Genk
In May 2020, Muñoz completed a transfer from Atlético Nacional to Genk in the Belgian Pro League for a reported fee of €4.5 million.[7] Muñoz quickly established himself as a key figure in Genk's defensive setup, noted for his versatility in playing both as a right-back and wing-back.
During his first full season, he contributed to Genk's victory in the Belgian Cup final against Standard Liège in April 2021, securing his first major European trophy.[8] Over subsequent seasons, Muñoz became one of the most consistent performers in the Belgian league, combining defensive solidity with attacking contributions. He regularly ranked among the top full-backs in the league for tackles won and progressive runs, while also chipping in with goals from set-pieces and late runs into the box.[9]
Muñoz was instrumental in Genk's 2022–23 campaign, where the club finished as league runners-up after a close title race with Antwerp.[10] His performances earned him recognition in the league's seasonal Best XI and further solidified his place in the Colombian national team.[11]
Crystal Palace
In January 2024, Muñoz joined Crystal Palace from Genk for a reported £6.6 million (€8 million), signing a contract until 2027.[12][13]
2023–24 season
Muñoz made his debut for Palace on 3 February 2024 in a 4–1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.[14] He went on to make 16 league appearances during the remainder of the season.[15]
2024–25 season
Operating under manager Oliver Glasner, Muñoz became a fixture in Palace's starting XI. On 5 April 2025, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Brighton at Selhurst Park.[16]
On 17 May 2025, in the 2025 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, Muñoz delivered the assist from the right flank that Eberechi Eze volleyed home for the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Manchester City.[17][18] He was subsequently named Man of the Match for his role in that final.[18][17] The win secured Palace's first-ever major trophy.[17]
In April 2025, the club confirmed that Muñoz had signed a contract extension through 2028, acknowledging his six goals, ten assists in 54 appearances across all competitions, and a cumulative 106 tackles (the highest among Premier League defenders for that season).[19]
2025–26 season
In October 2025, in the UEFA Conference League encounter against Dynamo Kyiv, Muñoz scored the first goal in a 2–0 win, thus making him the first Crystal Palace player ever to score in the main round of a European competition.[20] On 22 November, Muñoz scored again in a 2–0 league win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.[21]
In December 2025, Muñoz was ruled out of Crystal Palace's league and European matches due to a knee injury. Manager Oliver Glasner confirmed that the injury, sustained in training, prevented him from participating in the fixtures against Fulham on 7 December and subsequent matches later that month.[22]
In early 2026, Gradient Sports, an Advanced Stats site, named Muñoz the Most Athletic player in the Premier League. Gradient defined Athletic as "a combination of speed, endurance and acceleration ability."[23]
International career
Muñoz was called up to the Colombia national team in September 2019, but had to withdraw with a hamstring injury.[24] In March 2020, he was again called up by Carlos Queiroz to the national team.[25]
He made his debut on 3 June 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Peru. He substituted Stefan Medina in the 56th minute. In less than a minute he committed a foul which was upgraded to a red card after a VAR review.[26]
Muñoz scored his first international goal on 22 March 2024, on an assist from Luis Díaz in a 1–0 win against Spain in a friendly match, Colombia's first ever victory against the Spaniards.[27]
On 14 June 2024, Muñoz was named into 26-man squad for 2024 Copa América.[28] During the competition, Muñoz played six of seven matches as a starter, scoring two goals, the first one against Paraguay in first group phase game, scoring the first goal for a 2–1 win;[29] and the second one against Brazil into third group phase game, drawing the match 1–1 for Colombia.[30] He played all matches except the final because of his expulsion after receiving a second yellow card in the semifinals against Uruguay,[31] being replaced with Santiago Arias for the final against Argentina.
On 25 May 2026, Muñoz was named in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[32] On 17 June, he scored his first World Cup goal in a 3–1 victory over Uzbekistan.[33] A week later, on 23 June, he netted the only goal and earned Man of the Match award in a 1–0 victory over DR Congo, securing his country's place in the knockout stages.[34][35]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 27 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rionegro Águilas | 2017 | Categoría Primera A | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | Categoría Primera A | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 2019 | Categoría Primera A | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 81 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 3 | |||
| Atlético Nacional | 2019 | Categoría Primera A | 21 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 7 | |||
| 2020 | Categoría Primera A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 8 | |||
| Genk | 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 40 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 44 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 36 | 11 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 11 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 11[e] | 2 | — | 29 | 7 | |||
| Total | 122 | 16 | 10 | 1 | — | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 148 | 19 | |||
| Crystal Palace | 2023–24 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 37 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 6 | |||
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14[f] | 1 | 1[g] | 0 | 46 | 5 | |
| Total | 82 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 312 | 34 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 383 | 41 | ||
- Includes Copa Colombia, Belgian Cup, FA Cup
- Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearance in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
- Appearance in FA Community Shield
International
- As of match played 3 July 2026[36]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 50 | 5 | |
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.[36]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 March 2024 | London Stadium, London, England | 24 |  Spain | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 24 June 2024 | NRG Stadium, Houston, United States | 28 |  Paraguay | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2024 Copa América |
| 3 | 2 July 2024 | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States | 30 |  Brazil | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2024 Copa América |
| 4 | 17 June 2026 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico | 47 |  Uzbekistan | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup |
| 5 | 23 June 2026 | Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico | 48 |  DR Congo | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup |
Honours
Genk
Crystal Palace
Individual
- Crystal Palace Player of the Season: 2024–25[41]
- Premier League Fan Team of the Season: 2024–25[42]
- FA Cup Final Man of the Match: 2025[43]
