From playing ‘tango’ with Messi to becoming a taxi driver… the harrowing journey of Argentina’s Luis Gomez | Sporting

Football players have always been associated with glory, fame and wealth, but there are also sad stories and the evaporation of players’ dreams and hopes, such as the story of Messi’s Argentina national team teammate right back Jose Luis Gomez, He eventually became a taxi driver and lived on the meager wages with his family.

In 2016, Luis Gomez was tipped to be Argentina’s right back of the future, with local media even commenting at the time that Barcelona would pursue him as a talented Athletic player while he joined Premier League club Lanus.

🔙 One year, José Luis Gómez played alone, intermittently with Tita Mattiussi in his PF, and for the past 30 years, in his the last race of racing

🗣️“We are happy with our families. We are here. Después de los… pic.twitter.com/KmXwdXBa2a

— Diario Olé (@DiarioOle) November 18, 2023

In 2017, after making his debut for the Albiceleste national team in a friendly match against Brazil, he tore the meniscus in his left knee. The dream turned into a nightmare when injuries affected his confidence and led to him being left out of the 2018 World Cup squad in Russia.

Today, José Luis Gomez lives in a harsh reality that is far from the one he imagined after starting with Argentina at the 2016 Rio Olympics and being named to the first team to play alongside Lionel Messi. Far.

Djokovican #Messi On the national team and/or guiding Uber: The story of Jose Luis #gomezhttps://t.co/RSqDzQ6Mis

— Davide Capano (@davide_capano) November 21, 2023

As his career came to an end, he became a taxi driver, according to Argentinian newspaper Ole.

“We’ve always been a humble family,” Jose’s father told Solskjaer. “After training, he drives out to work in the afternoon and sometimes in the evening.”

Luis Gomez excelled at Racing Argentina before switching to Lanus in 2016, where he won two championships.

But after injuries and behavioral problems, he returned to his old club and his contract expired in December and was not renewed.

The last game against his old club Lanus was in the 2021 “South American Cup” match, and ultimately lost 2-1 to the Brazilian team Gremio.

According to the newspaper, although Jose (30) works as a driver, he is currently training with a physical coach in the hope of receiving new offers from other clubs.