Man Utd’s lost superstar is the apple of Ian Wright’s eye & their biggest post-Fergie regret

France isn’t generally a fan of monarchies, but it may just have a new king on its hands in Lille. All hail King Angel Gomes.

Adilson Angel Abreu de Almeida Gomes has had an unusual path to the precipice of stardom. He passed his way to the front of our minds, last weekend when he played his mate Jonathan David through on goal with a little outside-of-the-foot reverse pass that belonged on the display shelves of a gourmet patisserie, not a football pitch.

This most recent piece of creative brilliance only added to the body of evidence supporting Ian Wright’s recent call for the ex-under-17s World Cup-winning captain to be called up to the senior England squad. We reckon Wrighty’s got a point.

This pass from Angel Gomes to set up Jonathan David 🤤@IanWright0 isn’t wrong!pic.twitter.com/kABVghB8w5

— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) February 19, 2024

Gomes’s dad was a Portugal under-21 international, and was plying his trade at Hendon FC in London when Angel was born.

By the time little Angel was six, papa Gomes was playing for Middlewich in Chester, and chose to enroll his son in Manchester United’s youth academy.

His godfather was playing for Man United at the time — you might have heard of him, actually, since he won four Premier Leagues and a Champions League.

Have a guess — we’ll tell you at the end of the article.

In 2017, Gomes was transformed into the walking answer to a pub quiz question when he came on for Wayne Rooney for a few minutes against Crystal Palace, becoming the first player born after the turn of the millennium to play in the Premier League.

Store that information somewhere safe in your mind palace – might earn you a £20 bar tab in years to come.

The midfielder a lovely footballer to watch. He plays most often in central midfield or behind the strikers, these days, and cites Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Marco Verratti as inspirations.

He has a turning circle so small that it’s more of a turning dot, and the sort of vision and awareness that makes anybody who regularly watches football stop what they’re doing and go, “He’s special, him.”

Angel Gomes has sparks coming out of his magic calves.

As a child at Man United’s Carrington training centre, he was invited to practice free kicks by Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo, which we imagine would probably have a lasting effect on any young baller.

Gomes rose through the academy ranks, representing England at every youth level, captaining the likes of Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer along the way, before making that famous senior debut for the Red Devils.

At United, Gomes would room with Marcus Rashford, who he describes as an old brother, no doubt learning from each other and discussing their future world domination as they honed their skills.

In 2020, after only five first-team appearances for United in three years, Gomes made the brave decision to head abroad in search of first-team football.

Lille came knocking and snapped him up on a free before sending him out to Boavista on loan — a smart move since he already spoke Portuguese through his parents.

It was there that Gomes got his first real taste of regular action, and he returned to Lille prepared to do madnesses.

In his first proper season at Lille, Lionel Messi (then at PSG) asked Angel for his shirt.

CAN. YOU. IMAGINE. THAT?!

You play against Leo Messi, arguably the GOAT — already an incredible experience for a young baller, then HE asks YOU for YOUR shirt in the tunnel.

Now, you can believe us, or you can choose not to — up to you. We think Angel Gomes is the 5’6″ short king England’s midfield could very much use, and we reckon he’s destined for the absolute top.

The peak. Xavi Hernandez reincarnated with a British passport. A London-born Bernardo Silva. The Manchester Iniesta.

Messi was impressed enough to ask Angel for his shirt, though, and you’re not allowed to disagree with Messi on the ability of a footballer. Messi knows better than you. He just does. Angel Gomes = The Truth. Certified, locked in, signed off.

Oh, and his godfather is Nani.

By Andrew Martin

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