Miguel Borja

Miguel Borja
	Borja playing for Cortuluá in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Miguel Ángel Borja Hernández
Date of birth	26 January 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Tierralta, Colombia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	River Plate
Number	9
Youth career
2011	Deportivo Cali
Senior career*
Years	Team
2011	Deportivo Cali
2011	Cúcuta Deportivo
2012–2014	Cortuluá
2013	→ La Equidad (loan)
2013–2014	→ Livorno (loan)
2014	→ Olimpo (loan)
2015	→ Santa Fe (loan)
2016	Cortuluá
2016	Atlético Nacional
2017–2021	Palmeiras
2020–2021	→ Atlético Junior (loan)
2021	→ Grêmio (loan)
2022	Atlético Junior
2022–	River Plate
International career‡
2013	Colombia U20
2016	Colombia Olympic
2016–	Colombia
Medal record
Representing Colombia
Men's football
Copa América
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:43, 14 September 2024 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 July 2024 (UTC)

Miguel Ángel Borja Hernández (born 26 January 1993) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Colombia national team.

Debuting with Deportivo Cali in 2011, he transferred to Cúcuta Deportivo later that year, and then moved to Cortuluá the following year. While remaining contracted to Cortuluá, in 2013, Borja was loaned to La Equidad before joining Serie A club Livorno for his first experience abroad, followed by a loan to Argentine side Olimpo in 2014. He returned to Colombia in 2015, going on loan to Santa Fe, where he was part of the squad that won both the Superliga Colombiana and the Copa Sudamericana. He eventually returned to Cortuluá in 2016, where he had his breakthrough season, emerging as the top scorer in the league during the Apertura, netting 19 goals, which propelled the team to the semi-finals. In June of that year, he transferred to Colombian giants Atlético Nacional, quickly making an impact by scoring four goals in the 2016 Copa Libertadores semi-finals against São Paulo and netting the decisive winning goal in the final against Independiente del Valle to secure the team's second title in the competition, while also finishing as the top scorer with 8 goals in that year's Copa Colombia; a competition he played between Cortuluá and Nacional. His standout performances earned him a spot in the Copa Libertadores Best XI and the prestigious title of South American Footballer of the Year. In February 2017, Borja transferred to Brazilian side Palmeiras on a five-year deal for a reported fee of $10.5 million, making him the fourth most expensive transfer in Brazilian football history. The following year, he won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A title, finished as the top scorer in that year’s Campeonato Paulista, and was included in the Campeonato Paulista Team of the Year. In December 2019, Borja signed a one-year loan deal with Atlético Junior, where he played a key role in winning the 2020 Superliga Colombiana, scoring a crucial penalty in the first leg and helping secure a 3–2 aggregate victory over América de Cali. After a brief loan spell with Grêmio in 2021, he rejoined Atlético Junior in 2022. In July 2022, Borja moved to Argentine giants River Plate, where he signed a contract running until December 2025. He achieved his first titles with the club in 2023, winning the Argentine Primera División, Supercopa Argentina, and Trofeo de Campeones.

At youth level, Borja was part of the Colombia under-20 squad that won the 2013 South American Youth Football Championship. He also represented Colombia in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, reaching the quarter-finals. He made his senior debut for Colombia in November 2016 during a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Chile and scored his first two goals for the national team the following year in a 4–0 friendly win over China. Borja was included in Colombia’s squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and participated in the 2021 Copa América, where his country achieved third place, as well as the 2023 Copa América, where they finished as runners-up.

Club career

Colombia

Borja began his career with Deportivo Cali, making his professional debut in 2011. That same year, he was transferred to Cucuta Deportivo, club in which he had few chances to play. He would soon be transferred again, this time to play for Categoría Primera B side, Cortuluá. Borja would make a name for himself in the second division of Colombia, often being referred to as a 'fast' and 'complete goalscorer', as well as boasting impressive strength on the ball. His impressive performances with Cortuluá eventually led him to becoming an alternative striker for Colombia's national under-20 team in 2013. On 17 January 2013, it was reported that Independiente Medellin had been interested in acquiring Borja's services. However, nothing was finalized and Borja was eventually sold to first division side, La Equidad. In his 2 disputable games, Borja scored 4 goals before being transferred to Serie A side Livorno.

Livorno and Olimpo

During the summer of 2013, it was confirmed that Borja would join Italian club Livorno on loan. The loan consisted of a fee of €150,000 with an option to buy for €1.5 million.^[4]

His debut for Le Triglie came on 20 October, coming off the bench in a 1–2 loss to Sampdoria.

Borja made seven season appearances for the club but failed to score a goal. Livorno was eventually regulated to the Serie B after placing last for the season.

Shortly after Livorno were relegated, Borja was sent on loan to Argentine club Club Olimpo, where he scored three in sixteen games.

Return to Colombia

Borja was loaned to Independiente Santa Fe for the second half of 2015. That season, Borja scored ten goals in thirty-three matches. He won the 2015 Copa Sudamericana with the team (he played seven matches with no goals).

For the 2016 season, he was sold to Cortuluá who was 17th in the league the previous season. In the Apertura tournament of the season, Borja scored a record of nineteen goals in twenty-one matches, breaking the record of most goals scored by a player in a league tournament (the previous record was held by Jackson Martínez, with eighteen goals in the 2009 Finalizacion).^[5]^[6] His team Cortuluá reached the Semifinals, which they lost to Independiente Medellín.

He was transferred again on 8 June, this time to Atlético Nacional. On 6 July, during his first match for his new team, while playing against São Paulo in the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, he scored twice, a feat he repeated in the second leg a week after. Then, on 27 July 2016, he went on to score the definitive goal in the final series against Ecuadorian team Independiente del Valle, which Atlético Nacional ended up winning 2–1 on the aggregate. At the end of the year, Borja was included in the best 11 of the year.^[7]

Palmeiras

On 9 February 2017, it was announced that Borja had agreed to transfer to Brazilian side Palmeiras. He signed a five-year deal for a fee believed to be around US$10.5 million.^[8] Borja became the fourth most expensive transfer of Brazilian football.^[9]

Junior

On 28 December 2019, Borja signed a one-year loan deal with Atlético Junior.^[10] On 8 September 2020, in the first leg of the 2020 Superliga Colombiana, which had been moved from January to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Borja scored a penalty in an eventual 2-1 loss against América de Cali.^[11] However, this goal later proved to be crucial in the second leg, with Junior winning the second leg 2-0 and winning the title 3-2 on aggregate.^[12]

Grêmio

On 5 August 2021, Borja signed with Grêmio until December 2022 on loaned from Palmeiras, and was given the number 9 shirt.^[13]

River Plate

On 12 July 2022, Borja signed a contract with Argentine giants River Plate, running until December 2025.^[14]

International career

Borja was included in Colombia's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, making one substitute appearance in the group stage match against Senegal.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 September 2024^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Deportivo Cali	2011	Primera A	0	0	1	0	—		—		1	0
Cúcuta Deportivo	2011	Primera A	5	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
Cortuluá	2012	Primera B	22	4	5	0	—		—		27	4
	2013	Primera B	11	4	4	2	—		—		15	6
	Total		33	8	9	2	—		—		42	10
La Equidad	2013	Primera A	2	4	0	0	0	0	—		2	4
Livorno (loan)	2013–14	Serie A	8	0	0	0	—		—		8	0
Olimpo (loan)	2014	Primera División	16	3	0	0	—		—		16	3
Santa Fe	2015	Primera A	33	10	5	0	11^[a]	0	—		49	10
Cortuluá	2016	Primera A	21	19	3	3	—		—		24	22
Atlético Nacional	2016	Primera A	7	1	6	5	12^[b]	11	2^[c]	0	27	17
Palmeiras	2017	Série A	24	6	4	0	7^[d]	0	8^[e]	4	43	10
	2018		16	3	4	1	12^[d]	9	12^[e]	7	44	20
	2019		9	1	1	0	5^[d]	2	10^[e]	3	25	6
	Total		49	10	9	1	24	11	30	14	112	36
Junior (loan)	2020	Primera A	23	14	1	1	11^[f]	5	2^[g]	1	37	21
	2021	Primera A	14	8	0	0	8^[d]	6	—		22	14
	Total		37	22	1	1	19	11	2	1	59	35
Grêmio (loan)	2021	Série A	14	5	2	0	—		—		16	5
Junior	2022	Primera A	17	10	2	1	8^[h]	5	—		27	16
River Plate	2022	Primera División	18	9	2	0	0	0	—		20	9
	2023		33	11	2	1	4^[d]	1	2^[i]	0	41	13
	2024		24	20	2	1	7^[d]	6	—		33	27
	Total		75	40	6	2	11	7	2	0	93	49
Career total			317	132	44	15	85	45	34	15	479	207

^ Four appearances in Copa Libertadores, seven appearances in Copa Sudamericana
^ Four appearances and five goals in Copa Libertadores, eight appearances and six goals in Copa Sudamericana
^ Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
^ ^a ^b ^c Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paulista
^ Five appearances and one goal in Copa Libertadores, six appearances and four goals in Copa Sudamericana
^ Appearance(s) in Superliga Colombiana
^ Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
^ Appearance in Supercopa Argentina

International

As of match played 14 July 2024^[17]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Colombia	2016	1	0
	2017	4	2
	2018	5	1
	2021	13	4
	2022	4	1
	2024	3	1
Total		30	9

Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.^[17]

List of international goals scored by Miguel Borja
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 November 2017	Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	China	3–0	4–0	Friendly
2	14 November 2017	Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	China	4–0	4–0
3	11 October 2018	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States	United States	4–2	4–2
4	8 June 2021	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Argentina	2–2	2–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	20 June 2021	Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico, Goiânia, Brazil	Peru	1–1	1–2	2021 Copa América
6	9 September 2021	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Chile	1–0	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	9 September 2021		Chile	2–0	3–1
8	24 March 2022		Bolivia	2–0	3–0
9	6 July 2024	State Farm Stadium, Glendale, United States	Panama	5–0	5–0	2024 Copa América