Daniel Muñoz Mejía (born 26 May 1996) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for club Nottingham Forest and the Colombia national team.
A former member of Atlético Nacional's organized supporters' group who was rejected by several clubs as a teenager, Muñoz made his professional debut with Águilas Doradas in 2017 and joined Nacional in 2019, where he became captain. He moved to Belgian club Genk in 2020, winning the Belgian Cup in his first season and finishing as league runner-up in 2021 and 2023. He joined Crystal Palace in January 2024 and, under Oliver Glasner, set up Eberechi Eze's winning goal in the 2025 FA Cup final, the club's first major trophy, and was named the club's player of the season. Palace went on to win the 2025 FA Community Shield and the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League, and in August 2026 he rejoined Glasner at Nottingham Forest in a deal worth up to £22 million.
Muñoz made his senior international debut for Colombia in 2021 and played in the team's third-place finish at the 2021 Copa América. He scored his first international goal in Colombia's first-ever win over Spain in March 2024, and scored twice at the 2024 Copa América, where Colombia reached the final, although a red card in the semi-final ruled him out of the defeat to Argentina. Muñoz represented Colombia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Early life Muñoz was born on 26 May 1996 in Amalfi, in the department of Antioquia, and moved with his family to Bello, on the outskirts of Medellín, at the age of five. Raised by parents who supported Atlético Nacional, he joined the club's Los del Sur supporters' group as a teenager and followed the team from the terraces of the Estadio Atanasio Girardot while playing in the youth ranks of Envigado. He spent around two years abroad as a minor seeking a club in Mexico, Spain and Italy without earning a contract, and returned to Medellín in 2015; he later said he had been turned down by clubs including Atlante, Cruz Azul, Udinese, Rayo Majadahonda, Independiente Medellín, Atlético Huila and Deportes Tolima. At 18 he planned to move to the United States to work, but his visa application was refused, and he came close to giving up football. Instead he joined the amateur club Total Soccer, where coach Gabriel Sepúlveda converted him from a striker into a right-back. In July 2016, the day after Nacional won the 2016 Copa Libertadores, he received the call for a trial at Águilas Doradas, whose sporting director Juan Eugenio Jiménez had watched him in a regional league match and pushed for him to join the first-team squad rather than the under-20 side.
Club career Águilas Doradas Muñoz made his professional debut for Águilas Doradas in the Categoría Primera A in 2017, at the age of 20. He became a regular at right-back, and in the second half of 2018 he was named in the DIMAYOR's team of the tournament after scoring three goals and leading the league in tackles and duels won.
Atlético Nacional On 26 June 2019, Muñoz joined Atlético Nacional, the club he had supported since childhood. He made his debut on 13 July in a 2–1 win at Once Caldas, Juan Carlos Osorio's first match back in charge of the club, and scored his first goal for Nacional in a 4–1 win over Huila on 6 August. On 14 September 2019 he scored inside the first minute against Cúcuta Deportivo, the 5,000th league goal in Nacional's history, although Cúcuta came back to win 3–2. He later scored the only goal of a 1–0 win against his former club, and on 10 November scored the first brace of his career in a 3–1 win over Cúcuta in the opening round of the championship play-off groups. Having declined the captaincy in the second half of 2019, he accepted it at the start of 2020, succeeding Alexis Henríquez at the age of 23. As captain, he opened the scoring in a 3–0 home win over Huracán in the first round of the 2020 Copa Sudamericana in February 2020. On 28 May 2020, Nacional announced that it had agreed his sale to Genk, retaining around 15 per cent of his economic rights; club president Juan David Pérez cited the financial pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Genk Muñoz signed a four-year contract with Genk, with an option for a fifth, for a fee reported in the Belgian press as €4.5 million. He made his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2020–21 season, starting in a 2–1 win at Zulte Waregem on 9 August 2020, and he played in every league match that season, moving from midfield into central defence and then to right-back after Joakim Mæhle left the club. His first goal for Genk came on 4 March 2021, a header in a 4–1 win over Mechelen in the quarter-finals of the Belgian Cup. On 25 April he started at right-back in the final, in which Genk beat Standard Liège 2–1 at the King Baudouin Stadium, and a month later Genk finished the season as runners-up to Club Brugge.
Muñoz scored his first league goal for Genk with a stoppage-time winner in a 2–1 win at Kortrijk on 8 August 2021, and played in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds and the UEFA Europa League group stage that season. In October 2022 he scored his first brace for the club in a 6–1 win over Westerlo, and by March 2023 he had scored seven league goals as Genk led the table. The title was decided on the final day of the championship play-offs on 4 June 2023, when Muñoz started against Antwerp at Genk and Toby Alderweireld's stoppage-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw gave Antwerp the championship by one point over Genk. Genk were eliminated from Champions League qualifying on penalties by Servette in August 2023 and then from the Europa League play-offs by Olympiacos, before Muñoz scored the winner in a 2–1 first-leg victory over Adana Demirspor in the Europa Conference League play-off round on 24 August. He also scored an equaliser against Ferencváros in the group stage in November 2023.
Crystal Palace On 30 January 2024, Muñoz joined Premier League club Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee on a contract until 2027, with the option of a further year; he was the club's first senior signing of the January transfer window. He made his debut on 3 February, starting at right-back in a 4–1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Muñoz became a regular at right wing-back under Oliver Glasner in 2024–25. He scored his first goal for Palace with a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time to earn a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United on 30 November 2024, a goal later voted the club's goal of the month. In February 2025 he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 FA Cup fourth-round win at Doncaster Rovers and finished a counter-attack in a 2–0 league win at Fulham, a goal nominated for the Premier League's goal of the month; he scored again in a 3–1 fifth-round win over Millwall on 1 March. On 5 April he scored the winning goal early in the second half of a 2–1 home win over Brighton, a match Palace finished with nine men. On 18 April he signed a new contract running until 2028; the club noted that his 106 tackles that season were the most by any Premier League defender.
In the 2025 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on 17 May 2025, Muñoz provided the low cross from the right that Eberechi Eze converted for the only goal of a 1–0 win over Manchester City, giving Palace the first major trophy in their history, and he received the official player of the match award. At the end of the season he was voted Palace's player of the season by both supporters and his teammates, and was named at right-back in the Premier League's fan-voted Team of the Season.
Muñoz played the full match in the 2025 FA Community Shield on 10 August 2025, in which Palace drew 2–2 with Liverpool and won 3–2 on penalties. On 2 October he headed the opening goal from a Yeremy Pino cross in a 2–0 win over Dynamo Kyiv, Palace's first match in the league phase of the UEFA Conference League, and on 22 November he opened the scoring in a 2–0 league win at Wolverhampton Wanderers. A knee injury sustained in training in December required surgery and kept him out for around seven weeks. He returned to help Palace reach the Conference League final, and on 27 May 2026 he started as they beat Rayo Vallecano 1–0 in Leipzig through a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal to win the competition.
Glasner left Palace at the end of the season, and Muñoz started the opening match of the 2026–27 season under his successor, Pierre Sage, a 2–0 defeat at Everton on 22 August 2026.
Nottingham Forest On 31 August 2026, Muñoz joined Nottingham Forest on a three-year contract, with the option of a fourth, in a deal worth up to £22 million; the move reunited him with Glasner, who had been appointed Forest's head coach on 6 July. He made his debut on 5 September as a second-half substitute in a goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur, wearing a protective mask following nose surgery after the World Cup.
International career Carlos Queiroz first called Muñoz up to the Colombia squad in August 2019, for friendlies against Brazil and Venezuela in the United States, but he withdrew with a hamstring injury. He was named in a preliminary squad for World Cup qualifiers in March 2020. He made his debut on 3 June 2021 in a World Cup qualifier away to Peru, coming on for Stefan Medina in the second half of a 3–0 win and being sent off within a minute, after a video review upgraded a yellow card for a foul to a red. Later that month he was selected by Reinaldo Rueda for the 2021 Copa América in Brazil, where he played five matches, including the semi-final defeat on penalties to Argentina in a midfield role, as Colombia finished third.
Under Néstor Lorenzo, who took charge in 2022, Muñoz became a fixture at right-back, playing in 35 of the 48 matches of Lorenzo's first cycle. He scored his first international goal on 22 March 2024, volleying in a cross from Luis Díaz in the 61st minute of a 1–0 friendly win over Spain at the London Stadium, Colombia's first victory over Spain.
On 14 June 2024, Muñoz was named in Colombia's 26-man squad for the 2024 Copa América in the United States. He headed in a James Rodríguez cross for the opening goal of a 2–1 win over Paraguay in Houston on 24 June, and on 2 July he equalised in first-half stoppage time in a 1–1 draw with Brazil in Santa Clara that sealed first place in the group. In the semi-final against Uruguay in Charlotte on 10 July, he was sent off for a second yellow card at the end of the first half, after catching Manuel Ugarte with his elbow; Colombia held on to win 1–0, but his suspension ruled him out of the final, which Argentina won 1–0 after extra time.
On 25 May 2026, Muñoz was named in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He scored the opening goal in the 40th minute of Colombia's first match, a 3–1 win over Uzbekistan at the Estadio Azteca on 17 June. On 23 June in Guadalajara he scored the only goal against DR Congo in the 76th minute, from a pass by Juan Fernando Quintero, securing Colombia's place in the knockout stage, and he was named player of the match. Lorenzo left him out of the starting line-up for the final group match, a goalless draw with Portugal that confirmed Colombia as group winners. Colombia beat Ghana 1–0 in the round of 32 before being eliminated by Switzerland on penalties after a goalless draw in the round of 16 in Vancouver on 7 July, a match Muñoz played.
Style of play