Munoz’s journey to the top of European football has been anything but conventional. Growing up in Medellín, a city once synonymous with cartel violence and some of Colombia’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, he had little margin for error.
"I come from a difficult neighbourhood," he told Belgian newspaper HLN. "One of the toughest in Colombia. There are few options. I don’t think you know that in Belgium. Young people don’t have the chance to just become what they want to become.
“It was difficult for me and my family. There have been certain moments that have shaped me, such as the death of several friends. You see a lot of things: death, hooliganism, robbery… it is a different world, one where everything does not always end well. At one point, I had to make a choice. Which way do I want to go? Do I choose the path that ends as it ended with one of my friends? Or do I walk a different path and make the best of it? I chose the latter."
Those experiences hardened him and shaped him into a player and person who understands adversity far better than most. Before he ever stepped onto a professional pitch, Munoz was part of the ultras at Atletico Nacional, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Los del Sur, as he sang and chanted for the club he adored. And at 16, he walked away from the terraces to pursue the game full-time.
