Product Code Database
Thiago Ezequiel Almada (born 26 April 2001) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team.
Almada was a member of the Argentina team that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, making history by becoming the first active Major League Soccer (MLS) player to win the tournament. He also won the 2024 Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian Série A with Botafogo FR.
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 the midfielder, due to the departure of several players in that position. Almada then earned 15 goals in 42 matches.
On 14 February, Almada made his official debut for Atlanta wearing the number 8 against C.D. Guadalajara during the team's pre-season tour of Mexico. Atlanta would end up losing the match 3–0. He made his MLS debut against expansion team Charlotte FC on 15 March as a substitute in Atlanta's 2–1 win. Almada scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 draw with CF Montréal four days later. The goal would end up winning the MLS Goal of the Week contest for Matchday 4.
On November, he was awarded 2022 MLS Newcomer of the Year after being chosen in the MLS Team of the Week five times, including back-to-back on September 12 and 15, becoming the second Atlanta United player ever to earn that prize.
His debut in the Argentina national team came on 23 September 2022, in Miami, during a friendly match against Honduras.
In November 2022, Almada was officially called up to the Argentinian World Cup squad to replace injured Joaquín Correa, only five days before Argentina's first game of the tournament. He was a member of the squad that ultimately won the tournament, becoming the first active MLS player to win a World Cup. In Argentina's final group stage game, he made his 2022 World Cup debut against Poland. He came on in the 83rd minute as a substitute of Alexis Mac Allister in which Argentina was victorious by 2–0.
On 23 March 2023, Almada scored his first international goal for Argentina at the senior level during a friendly against Panama in his third appearance for the senior team, becoming the first-ever MLS-based player to score for the national team.
Almada competed for Argentina at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
According to the victim's account, which was corroborated by a witness, she went up to one of the rooms in order to have consensual sex with Almada, but drank something that began to make her ill. Then, Brizuela and another woman entered the room and started to do various unconsented sexual acts to her. The victim stated that she had never wanted to include Brizuela, and that the three people continued even though she was screaming that she did not want anything to do with it.
After the investigation became public, his club suspended both him and Miguel Brizuela. 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."
In February 2021, Almada and Brizuela were charged with sexual abuse with the aggravating circumstances of carnal access and group abuse by prosecutor Laura Zyseskind. Acuña Delbene became a fleeing felon after being charged in December 2020, but was arrested at his home in Quilmes in July 2021, while Almada and Brizuela are still awaiting sentencing by the Argentine court.
Despite the charges, Almada was called up by Lionel Scaloni to play for the Argentine national team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This decision sparked controversy in Argentina and led to widespread international criticism of AFA's decisions. The victim's attorney pointed out several irregularities in the case because, according to FIFA and AFA regulations, “a player is not allowed to be part of a national team if the team can certify that he has a pending criminal case.”
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition !rowspan="2" | Club !rowspan="2" | Season !colspan="3" | League !colspan="2" | National cup !colspan="2" | League cup !colspan="2" | Continental !colspan="2" | Other !colspan="2" | Total |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 4 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 5 | ||||||
| 2020–21 | Argentine Primera División | 4 | ||||||
| 2021 | Argentine Primera División | 9 | ||||||
| Atlanta United | 2022 | MLS | 7 | |||||
| 2023 | MLS | 13 | ||||||
| 2024 | MLS | 6 | ||||||
| Botafogo | 2024 | Série A | 3 | |||||
| Lyon (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 2 | |||||
| Atlético Madrid | 2025–26 | La Liga | 0 | |||||
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals | |
| Argentina | 0 |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
Argentina
Individual
|
|
