Tomás Ángel

Tomás Ángel Gutiérrez (born 20 February 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for América de Cali. Born in England, he most recently represented Colombia at youth level.

Early life Ángel was born on 20 February 2003 to former footballer Juan Pablo Ángel, while Juan Pablo was playing in England for Aston Villa. Because of this, Tomás Ángel was born in Birmingham, England. Ángel inherited his passion for football from his father, and would accompany his father to training when he was playing for the New York Red Bulls.

His elder brother Gerónimo is a musician, actor and model who featured on Colombian kid's talent show, , while his younger brother Pascual is also a footballer. The three were raised in England until 2007, when they moved to the United States.

Atlético Nacional 2020–2021: Signing and debut In early 2020, he returned to Atlético Nacional, where, following good performances for the under-17 side, he was invited to train with the first team, and was named by English newspaper The Guardian in their "Next Generation 2020" list, highlighting the best players born in 2003 worldwide. Two months later, on 7 March, he scored his first goal for the club in an eventual 1–1 draw with Águilas Doradas; shortly after kick-off, Ángel received the ball from teammate Jefferson Duque, before avoiding a tackle and placing the ball past Águilas Doradas goalkeeper Carlos Bejarano from the edge of the area.

Having not added to his goal tally for the 2021 season, Ángel spoke with Caracol Radio, stating that he appreciated the support and advice of his father, and that while he knew he had to "earn people's respect by scoring goals and playing well", he had "shown that [he has] what [it takes] to play for Nacional". Following the departure of Atlético Nacional first team coach Alexandre Guimarães in June 2021, Ángel's former manager at Estudiantil, Alejandro Restrepo, was appointed manager, and despite him not having a consistent run in the first team, Ángel said that he respected Restrepo's decisions, and that he did not want to waste the opportunity to play in his natural position when it arose.

2022: Failure to build on debut Ángel did not feature at the beginning of the 2022 season, and having been played as a winger the previous year by manager Restrepo, rather than his natural centre-forward role, Ángel stated in a press conference that he had spoken with Restrepo and informed him that he wished to play in his natural position. Following Restrepo's departure from the club in February 2022, his replacement, Hernán Herrera, gave Ángel only one start, in a total of four appearances, between March and July 2022. After Herrera also left the club, interim manager Pedro Sarmiento stated that he also did not see Ángel as a centre-forward, and following this interview, Ángel would not feature for the rest of the season.

2023: Return to the first team Following the appointment of new manager Paulo Autuori, Ángel returned to the Atlético Nacional first team, and after a good start to the season, scoring five goals in the 2023 Torneo Apertura, Ángel was linked with a move to Spanish side Barcelona. On 16 February 2023, Ángel came off the bench to score two goals and provide an assist to help Nacional to a 4–3 victory over Deportivo Pereira to capture the 2023 Superliga Colombiana. However, after Autuori departed the club, his replacement, William Amaral, selected youth player Jayder Asprilla as his centre-forward for the 2023 Torneo Finalización, ahead of Ángel.

Los Angeles FC On 31 January 2024, Ángel joined Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC. Ángel scored his first MLS goal on 22 June 2024, in a 6–2 win over San Jose Earthquakes.

Phoenix Rising FC (loan) On 2 August 2024, Ángel was loaned to Phoenix Rising in the USL Championship for the remainder of the 2024 season.

San Diego FC On 9 December 2024, Ángel was traded to expansion club San Diego FC in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money with San Diego receiving a second-round pick in the 2025 MLS Superdraft.

América de Cali On 1 March 2026, was transferred to Colombian Liga DIMAYOR side América de Cali for an undisclosed transfer fee.

International career Having already represented Colombia at under-20 level, Ángel was left out of the squad ahead of the 2023 South American U-20 Championship, with manager Héctor Cárdenas stating that he had problems coexisting with other members of the squad. In an interview with Caracol Radio, Ángel responded, stating that Cárdenas' claim was "a lie", and that he and his teammates were "very fond of each other". Ahead of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in May 2023, Ángel stated in an interview with Medellín-based newspaper El Colombiano that he was hoping to be called up to the final squad. In the round of 16 game against Slovakia, Ángel provided two goals as Colombia won 5–1.

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