Alfredo Morelos facts for kids
Morelos with Rangers in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alfredo José Morelos Aviléz | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 June 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cereté, Colombia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Santos | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Independiente Medellín | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Independiente Medellín | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | → HJK (loan) | 30 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | HJK | 12 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2023 | Rangers | 178 | (78) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Santos | 20 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | → Atlético Nacional (loan) | 22 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Colombia U17 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Colombia U20 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Colombia | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Alfredo José Morelos Aviléz (born 21 June 1996) is a professional football player from Colombia. He plays as a striker for the Brazilian club Santos.
Alfredo Morelos started his senior career in his home country with Independiente Medellín. Later, he moved to Finland to play for HJK in Helsinki. In June 2017, he joined Rangers in Scotland. He holds the club record for scoring the most goals in European competitions, with 29 goals.
Morelos also played for Colombia's national youth teams, including the under-17 and under-20 squads. He was part of the under-20 team that finished second in the 2015 South American U-20 Championship. He made his debut for the senior Colombia team in 2018. He also helped his country finish third at the 2021 Copa América.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Alfredo Morelos was born in Cereté, Colombia. He grew up with his parents, sisters, and grandmother. When he joined Independiente Medellín, he had to live away from his family. He has shared that his father was the one who first got him interested in football and scoring goals.
Club Career Highlights
Independiente Medellín
Alfredo Morelos started his football journey at Independiente Medellín in 2011 when he was 15 years old. He moved up through the youth teams.
First Steps (2014)
He made his first team debut at 18 on 13 July 2014. This was in a Copa Colombia game that ended in a 2–2 draw. Just 11 days later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win. He even scored two goals in two minutes in another Copa Colombia match.
Morelos played in the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top league, for the first time on 31 August 2014. He scored his first league goal in a thrilling 3–2 win, scoring in the 92nd minute. Independiente Medellín finished second in the league that year. Morelos played 14 games and scored 6 goals in his first season.
Second Season (2015)
In 2015, Morelos played 11 games but did not score any goals. His team reached the final of the league but lost. He earned another runner-up medal. In total, he played 25 games for Independiente Medellín and scored 6 goals.
HJK Helsinki
On 5 February 2016, Alfredo Morelos joined HJK in Finland, first on a loan deal.
Making an Impact (2016)
He quickly made an impact, scoring in his very first game for HJK in the Finnish League Cup. A week later, he scored two goals in another League Cup match. He started the league season strong, scoring 6 goals in his first 5 games.
On 15 June 2016, Morelos scored his first career hat trick in a Finnish Cup game. He also scored 4 goals in the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. By the end of the 2016 season, Morelos was HJK's top scorer in the league with 16 goals. He scored 30 goals in all competitions. He was named the league's best striker of the year.
Continued Success (2017)
HJK decided to sign Morelos permanently in 2017. He continued his great form, scoring in the first game of the season. He scored 3 goals in the remaining group games of the Finnish Cup. He also scored the only goal in the semi-final, helping HJK reach the final.
In the league, Morelos scored in his first match of the 2017 Veikkausliiga season. He then scored 6 goals in 5 games in a row. For his amazing performance, he was named the Veikkausliiga Player of the month for both April and May 2017. He scored his last goal for HJK on 4 June 2017 before moving to Rangers.
Even though he left halfway through the season, Morelos was HJK's second-highest scorer with 11 league goals. HJK went on to win the league and the Finnish Cup that year. Morelos received two winner's medals for his contributions. In total, he played 62 games for HJK and scored 46 goals.
Rangers F.C.
Alfredo Morelos joined Rangers in Scotland on 19 June 2017.
First Season in Scotland (2017–18)
He made his debut for Rangers in a Europa League qualifying game. On 9 August, he scored his first two goals for Rangers in a 6–0 win. He quickly became a fan favorite, earning the nickname El Bufalo (The Buffalo). He finished his first season as Rangers' top scorer with 18 goals.
Building a Reputation (2018–19)
Morelos helped Rangers reach the group stages of the UEFA Europa League by scoring important goals in the qualifying rounds. He continued to score many goals early in the season, including a hat trick in a League Cup game. In September 2018, he signed a new contract with Rangers. He scored 10 goals in 13 games, including two goals in a Europa League match.
He scored 4 goals in a Scottish Cup game, bringing his total for the season to 27 goals in 39 games. In March 2019, he signed another new contract. He finished as the top goal scorer in the 2018–19 Scottish Premiership with 18 league goals. His goal in the last league game was his 100th career goal at club level.
European Success (2019–20)
Morelos started the 2019–20 season strong, scoring a goal in the Europa League qualifying round. He then scored his third hat-trick for Rangers in the return leg. He continued his excellent form in European games, scoring twice in a 2–2 draw against Feyenoord. He became the first Rangers player to score in four European matches in a row.
By the end of December, Morelos had scored 28 goals in 35 games. He also set a UEFA record for the most goals scored in a European campaign before Christmas, with 14 goals.
Winning the League (2020–21)
Morelos stayed with Rangers for the 2020–21 season. He started well, scoring 5 goals in his first 7 games. He continued his strong performance in the Europa League group stage. By scoring a goal against Benfica, Morelos passed Ally McCoist to become Rangers' all-time top scorer in European competitions, with 22 goals.
He scored his first goals of 2021 with two goals against Aberdeen. He was named Scottish Premiership Player of the Month for March 2021. On 2 May, Morelos scored against Celtic in a 4–1 win, helping Rangers stay unbeaten against their rivals in all league matches for the first time in many years. Rangers won the Scottish Premiership title for the first time in 10 years, and Morelos earned his first trophy with the club. He finished the season with 17 goals in 44 games.
Another Strong Season (2021–22)
Morelos scored his first goal of the season and his first ever UEFA Champions League goal on 10 August 2021. He became the first Rangers player to score a Champions League goal in ten years. He also scored the only goal in a Europa League Play-off game, helping Rangers reach the group stage for the fourth year in a row.
On 24 October 2021, Morelos scored his 100th goal for Rangers in his 199th game. He was the first player to reach 100 goals for Rangers in over five years. Three days later, he played his 200th game for the club, scoring his 101st goal.
Under new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Morelos found excellent form in December, scoring 4 goals in 5 league games. He broke another Rangers record by scoring his 107th goal, becoming the all-time overseas top goalscorer for the club. He won the Player of the Month award for December 2021.
Morelos continued to score in 2022, including two goals against Hearts. He became the first player to score double-digit league goals for Rangers for 5 seasons in a row. He also scored in a historic 4–2 European away win over Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League. His season ended early due to a thigh injury that required surgery.
Despite his injury, Morelos finished the season as Rangers' joint-top scorer with 18 goals. He was named Rangers Player Of The Year and was included in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year. Rangers reached the Europa League Final and Morelos received a runner-up medal for his contributions.
Final Season at Rangers (2022–23)
After almost five months out, Morelos returned to action on 6 August 2022, scoring his first goal of the season. He scored his second goal of the season on 1 October 2022. On 29 October 2022, he scored again, bringing his total for Rangers to 115 goals. This made him the 30th all-time top goalscorer for the club. In May 2023, Rangers announced that Morelos would leave the club when his contract ended.
Santos
On 4 September 2023, Alfredo Morelos signed a two-year contract with the Brazilian club Santos. He made his debut for the club eleven days later.
He faced a calf injury in October 2023, which kept him out for nearly two months. In January 2024, he accepted a lower salary after the club was moved down to a lower league. He scored his first goal for Santos on 14 February, from a penalty kick.
Loan to Atlético Nacional (2024)
On 18 July 2024, Santos announced that Morelos would be loaned to Atlético Nacional in his home country, Colombia. He made his debut on 25 July 2024. He scored his first league goal for Atlético on 10 August 2024. He also scored his first Copa Colombia goal on 24 September 2024.
Morelos became an important player during his loan. He scored four goals in two games in October 2024. In December 2024, he scored in the final two games of the league semi-final, helping Atlético reach the final. On 13 December 2024, Morelos scored in the Copa Colombia final first leg, helping Atlético win the cup. Two days later, he played in the second leg as Atlético won the Copa Colombia, giving Morelos his first trophy in Colombia. On 22 December 2024, he scored in the league final, helping Atlético win their second trophy of the season and their 18th league title.
International Career
Youth Teams
Alfredo Morelos first played for the Colombia under-17 team in July 2012. He made his debut on 2 April 2013 and played four games for the team. In September 2014, he was called up to the Colombia under-20 team. He made his debut on 16 January 2015. Morelos was part of the Colombia squad that finished second in the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship. He played six games for the under-20 team.
Senior National Team
On 28 August 2018, Morelos was called up to the Colombian senior national team for the first time. He made his international debut on 8 September 2018. In the last minute of that game, he helped set up the winning goal for Colombia.
Morelos returned to the national team in October 2019. He scored his first international goal on 16 November 2019, in a friendly game against Peru, helping Colombia win 1–0.
On 10 October 2020, Morelos played his first FIFA World Cup qualification game for Colombia. He was also part of the 28-man Colombia squad for the 2021 Copa América in June 2021. He made his Copa América debut on 21 June 2021. Colombia reached the semi-finals and eventually finished third, earning Morelos a bronze medal.
Personal Life
Alfredo Morelos has been with his childhood sweetheart, Yesenia Herrera, since 2014. They have a daughter named Leonela Morelos, who was born in May 2020.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | State league | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Independiente Medellín | 2014 | Categoría Primera A | 6 | 1 | 8 | 5 | — | — | — | 14 | 6 | |||
| 2015 | Categoría Primera A | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 13 | 5 | — | — | — | 25 | 6 | |||||
| HJK (loan) | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 30 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | 43 | 30 | |
| HJK | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 11 | 7 | 5 | — | — | — | 19 | 16 | |||
| Total | 42 | 27 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | 62 | 46 | |||
| Rangers | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 43 | 18 | |
| 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 30 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 4 | — | 48 | 30 | ||
| 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 26 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 14 | — | 47 | 29 | ||
| 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | — | 44 | 17 | ||
| 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 26 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 6 | — | 42 | 18 | ||
| 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 32 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 45 | 12 | ||
| Total | 178 | 78 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 63 | 29 | — | 269 | 124 | |||
| Santos | 2023 | Série A | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | Série B | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | 17 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | 20 | 4 | |||||
| Atlético Nacional (loan) | 2024 | Categoría Primera A | 22 | 7 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | 28 | 11 | |||
| Career total | 263 | 115 | 44 | 28 | 17 | 13 | 69 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 404 | 191 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Morelos goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 November 2019 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States | 6 |  Peru |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honours and Awards
Club Trophies
Independiente Medellín
- Categoría Primera A runner-up: 2014 Finalización, 2015 Apertura
HJK
- Veikkausliiga: 2017
- Finnish Cup: 2016–17
Rangers
- Scottish Premiership: 2020–21
- Scottish Cup: 2021–22
- Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2019–20, 2022–23
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2021–22
Santos
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2024
- Campeonato Paulista runner-up: 2024
Atlético Nacional
- Categoría Primera A: 2024 Finalización
- Copa Colombia: 2024
International Trophies
Colombia U20
- U-20 South American Championship runner-up: 2015
Colombia
- Copa América third place: 2021
Individual Awards
- Veikkausliiga Striker of the Year: 2016
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: September 2016, April 2017, May 2017
- Rangers Player of the Year: 2018–19, 2021–22
- Rangers Players' Player of the Year: 2018–19
- Rangers Top scorer: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22
- Scottish Premiership Top scorer: 2018–19
- PFA Scotland Team of the Year: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Scottish Premiership Player of the Month: September 2019, March 2021, December 2021
Records
- UEFA Most goals scored in a European season before Christmas: 14 (during 2019–20 season)
- UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 3rd All-time top goalscorer: 32
- Scottish Premiership Most consecutive games scored in: 7 (during 2018–19 season, tied with David Clarkson)
- Rangers All-time European top goalscorer: 29
- Rangers All-time Overseas top goalscorer: 124
- Rangers Most consecutive European games scored in: 5 (during 2019–20 season)
- Rangers Most consecutive games scored in: 7 (during the 2018–19 season)
Images for kids
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Morelos with Rangers in 2018
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Morelos with HJK in 2017
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Morelos in a match against Celtic in August 2021.
See Also
In Spanish: Alfredo Morelos para niños
