Thiago Almada has been having the year of his life so far this season. From being in the Argentina squad, and ultimately winning the World Cup, to this dominant season. He’s been tearing up the MLS with Atlanta Utd, and it’s not a shock to call him among the league’s best. The 22 year old attacking midfielder is due for a move to a exciting team, and we will show you why.
Thiago ALmada Biography
Thiago Almada was born (April 26, 2001) in Buenos Aires, Argentina in an extremely dangerous neighborhood called Fuerte Apache. He spent most of his youth selling fruits with his grandparents while his parents worked.
At just 5 years old he was scouted by Velez Sarfield, where he would play for 15 years. Atlanta United would come by to buy him for a league-record $16 million in 2021,
Since then he has become the first MLS player to win a World Cup and has set MLS on fire. He is valued at €29 million as of September 2023 according to Transfermrkt.
Analyzing Thiago Almada's Talent
Almada has been so good for Atlanta United that it’s hard to pick a specific trait that he excels at. In 28 matches he has 10 goals + 14 assists which is .85 contributions every game.
He stands at 5’7 (1.71m) which makes him an agile attacking midfielder who is a genius on the ball. The Argentinian has won Player of the Week, and Goal of the Week, on numerous occasions and is a player for the big moments.
He is a chance creating machine
If we are taking a look at Almada’s stats compared to other attacking midfielders in the Next 14…. wow. We mentioned that he is a magician on the ball and the stats back it up. He is in the top 10% for several chance creation statistics.
He has 6.62 shot-creating actions which can be broken down into take-ons, shots, and passes. Almada has .74 take-ons’, 4.34 live passes, and .47 shots per game that lead to a shot attempt. To be in the top 5% of all of these specific parts of the game, you have to be consistently creating chances like he has.
His abilities on the ball are elite
It’s not even just chance creation that Almada is good at, but rather anything on the ball. He is such a progressive player both while dribbling, and passing, that teams struggle against him. He is constantly involved in the play with 51 passes a game which is in the top 1% comparatively.
The number 10 averages an assist once every 2 games, but is probably benefiting from teammates’ good finishing. He plays 3 passes into the penalty area per 90, which helps Atlanta United break down low blocks on a consistent basis. Thiago Almada is genuinely such a bright spark in MLS, it’s a shame more people don’t know.
The Thiago Almada skill Conslusion
Thiago Almada is sort of a star in the MLS, which is why I hesitated to write about him, but why not? The world may not be aware of his capabilities yet, but certain fans are.
The area for concern is his size, but it hasn’t been something to hold him back yet. Lastly, make sure you check out some of our articles on another MLS player, Mosquera, or attacking midfielder Desire Doue.
