Claudio Amarildo Gomes (born 23 July 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Palermo.
Having spent the majority of his youth career at Paris Saint-Germain, where he made one reserve team appearance in the Championnat National 2 in 2017, he joined Manchester City the following year. He played three senior games for City, winning the FA Community Shield in 2018 on his debut, and was loaned to Jong PSV and Barnsley in the Dutch and English second tiers before transferring to Palermo in 2022.
Gomes represented France from under-16 to under-20 level, earning 50 caps from 2015 to 2019.
Gomes played as a youth for ASC Val d'Argenteuil and RFC Argenteuil, two teams in his hometown, before joining ÃÂvreux in 2011 and Paris Saint-Germain two years later.
Gomes made his senior debut for PSG's reserves on 18 November 2017, his one appearance for the club. He came on as a 79th-minute substitute for Abdallah Yaisien in a 2âÂÂ1 home loss to Yzeure in the Championnat National 2 (fourth tier).
On 25 July 2018, Gomes signed with Manchester City. He had trained with the club since the expiry of his PSG contract in June, and been on their pre-season tour of the United States, but they were forced to wait for him to turn 18 before signing him. He made his professional debut on 5 August in a 2âÂÂ0 win over Chelsea in the 2018 FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium, coming on in added time for John Stones. He was in the game for one second before the final whistle blew and his team won the trophy.
After making one further appearance for Manchester City in the EFL Cup, Gomes joined PSV Eindhoven on loan for the 2019âÂÂ20 season, joining up with the Jong PSV squad.
Gomes was back at Manchester City for the 2020âÂÂ21 season. On 10 February 2021, he made his FA Cup debut as a substitute for the injured Rodri in a 3âÂÂ1 away win over Championship side Swansea City.
On 31 August 2021, Gomes joined Barnsley in the EFL Championship on loan for the season. He played 32 total games, scoring once to open a 1âÂÂ1 draw at Swansea City on 15 April 2022. After the Reds were relegated to EFL League One, the loans of Gomes, Domingos Quina and Amine Bassi were terminated on 26 April.
On 1 September 2022, Gomes was signed by Italian Serie B club Palermo on a permanent two-year deal. He was the first player to join from Manchester City after Palermo had been taken over by the City Football Group. He made his debut eight days later as a late substitute for Leo à  tulac in a 1âÂÂ0 home win over Genoa.
Gomes was a youth international for France, having captained the France U17s at the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He was named in the team of the tournament at the former in Croatia, in which the French reached the quarter-finals. In France's opening match at the latter tournament in India, he scored in a 7âÂÂ1 win over New Caledonia.
In August 2018, Gomes was called up for the first time to the under-19 team for friendlies against Slovenia, Croatia and India. He was selected for the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Armenia.
Gomes is nicknamed "N'Golo Kanté" by his teammates, who liken him to the French international midfielder for his efforts in recovering the ball.
Gomes is the son of Bissau-Guinean footballer Amarildo Gomes, who was developing at Beauvais and Rennes before retiring through a knee injury. His brother Ylan Gomes is also a professional footballer. A 2016 profile of Gomes by Le Parisien noted his passion for history, particularly the French Revolution.
Manchester City
Individual