| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Muñoz Mejía[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1996-05-26)26 May 1996 (age 29)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Amalfi, Colombia | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back/right wing-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 65 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Colombia | 42 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11 October 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel Muñoz Mejía (born 26 May 1996) is a Colombian professionalfootballer who plays as aright-back orright wing-back forPremier League clubCrystal Palace and theColombia national team.[3]
Muñoz began his career after being signed byÁguilas Doradas aged 20, making his senior debut in 2017, before joiningAtlético Nacional in 2019. The following year, he was signed by Belgian clubGenk, where he won theBelgian Cup in2021. After making nearly 150 appearances for Genk, he was signed by Crystal Palace in 2024, and won theFA Cup in 2025, being named man of the match inthe final.
Muñoz made his debut for Colombia in 2021. He represented his country at the2021 and2024 Copa América, helping Colombia to a runners-up finish in the latter.
A lifelong supporter ofAtlético 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 withEnvigado 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 toRionegro Águilas (then Águilas Doradas) and made his professional debut at age 20 in early 2017.[5][6]
His performances forÁguilas quickly drew attention, and within two seasons he secured a move toAtlético Nacional.[7] At Nacional, Muñoz developed into one of Colombia’s most productive right-backs. In the2019 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).[8] 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 theColombian national team.[9]
In May 2020, Muñoz completed a transfer fromAtlético Nacional toGenk in theBelgian Pro League for a reported fee of €4.5 million.[10] 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 theBelgian Cup final againstStandard Liège in April 2021, securing his first major European trophy.[11] 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.[12]
Muñoz was instrumental in Genk’s 2022–23 campaign, where the club finished as league runners-up after a close title race withAntwerp.[13] His performances earned him recognition in the league’s seasonal Best XI and further solidified his place in theColombian national team.[14]
In January 2024, Muñoz joinedCrystal Palace fromGenk for a reported £6.6 million (€8 million), signing a contract until 2027.[15][16]
Muñoz made his debut for Palace on 3 February 2024 in a 4–1 defeat toBrighton & Hove Albion.[17] He went on to make 16 league appearances during the remainder of the season.[18]
Operating under managerOliver Glasner, Muñoz became a fixture in Palace’s starting XI. On 5 April 2025, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory overBrighton at Selhurst Park.[19]
On 17 May 2025, in the2025 FA Cup final atWembley Stadium, Muñoz delivered the assist from the right flank thatEberechi Eze volleyed home for the winning goal in a 1–0 victory overManchester City.[20][21] He was subsequently named Man of the Match for his role in that final.[22][23] The win secured Palace’s first-ever major trophy.[24]
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).[25]
In October 2025, in theUEFA Conference League encounter againstDynamo 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.
Muñoz was called up to theColombia national team in September 2019, but had to withdraw with a hamstring injury.[26] In March 2020, he was again called up byCarlos Queiroz to the national team.[27]
He made his debut on 3 June 2021 in aWorld Cup qualifier against Peru. He substitutedStefan Medina in the 56th minute. In less than a minute he committed a foul which was upgraded to ared card after aVAR review.[28]
Muñoz scored his first international goal on 22 March 2024, on an assist fromLuis Díaz in a 1–0 win againstSpain in a friendly match, Colombia's first ever victory against the Spaniards.[29]
On 14 June 2024, Muñoz was named into 26-mansquad for2024 Copa América.[30] During the competition, Muñoz played six of seven matches as a starter, scoring two goals, the first one againstParaguay in first group phase game, scoring the first goal for a 2–1 win;[31] and the second one againstBrazil into third group phase game, drawing the match 1–1 for Colombia.[32] He played all matches except the final because of his expulsion after receiving a second yellow card in the semifinals againstUruguay,[33] being replaced withSantiago Arias for thefinal againstArgentina.
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 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 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5[f] | 1 | 1[g] | 0 | 20 | 3 | |
| Total | 65 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 9 | ||
| Career total | 295 | 32 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 357 | 39 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 3 | |
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.[34]
| 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 |
Genk
Crystal Palace
Individual
Colombia squads | |||||||
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