Julian Quiñones is one of the most talked-about strikers in football right now, and honestly, his story is a fun one to explain. He was born in Colombia but plays for Mexico. He tore up Liga MX for years, then went to Saudi Arabia and outscored Cristiano Ronaldo. Here’s the thing though — a lot of people still don’t know the full journey behind the name. So let’s walk through it, step by step.
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Quick Bio: Julian Quiñones at a Glance
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Detail |
Information |
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Full Name |
Julián Andrés Quiñones Quiñones |
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Date of Birth |
24 March 1997 (age 29) |
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Place of Birth |
Magüí Payán, Nariño, Colombia |
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Height |
1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
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Position |
Forward / Winger |
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Current Club |
Al-Qadsiah |
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Nationality |
Mexican (naturalized) |
Who Is Julian Quiñones?
At his core, Julian Quiñones is a forward who can also play out wide as a winger. He’s quick, sharp in front of goal, and he just keeps scoring wherever he goes.
He currently plays for Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League. And even though he was born in Colombia, he now represents the Mexico national team. That switch is a big part of his story.
Early Life and Background
Quiñones was born on 24 March 1997 in Magüí Payán, a town in the Nariño department of Colombia. That makes him 29 years old right now.
To be honest, not much about his private family life is out in the open. His parents’ names and any details about children are not listed on public records like Wikipedia, so it’s fair to say those things simply aren’t publicly known. I won’t guess at what isn’t confirmed.
How His Career Began
What’s interesting is where it all started — an amateur club called Futbol Paz in Cali, Colombia. That’s where Quiñones first showed he could really find the net.
In the 2014–2015 season, he scored an eye-watering 50 goals in 38 matches. Numbers like that don’t go unnoticed. Tigres UANL in Mexico signed him for their U-20 team soon after.
The Move to Tigres UANL
Tigres brought him over, but breaking into the senior side wasn’t easy. He spent time on loan and stayed on the fringes of the first team for a while.
Later, under coach Ricardo Ferretti, he still struggled for regular minutes despite scoring goals elsewhere. Sometimes talent needs the right stage, and Tigres wasn’t quite it for him.
The Loan Spells That Shaped Him
Before he became a star, Quiñones learned his trade on loan. These moves mattered a lot.
Venados
In the Clausura 2016 tournament, he joined Venados in Ascenso MX on loan. He made his professional debut on 19 January 2016 and scored twice against Cruz Azul in a Copa MX match. Not a bad way to announce yourself.
Lobos BUAP
In June 2017, he moved to Lobos BUAP for a year. This spell really got people talking. He finished as the third-highest scorer in the Apertura 2017 with nine goals, then added eight more in the Clausura 2018. That’s when folks realized he was a proper goal threat.
The Atlas FC Era: Two Titles Back to Back
Here’s where things really clicked. In June 2021, Quiñones joined Atlas on loan, and six months later the move became permanent.
And then the magic happened. He won two straight Liga MX titles with Atlas, ending a 70-year drought for the club. Seventy years. For Atlas fans, he became a hero pretty much overnight.
His form during this stretch was excellent. He racked up goals, earned individual awards, and turned into one of the most dangerous attackers in the league.
Club América Tenure
In July 2023, América struck a deal with Atlas to sign Quiñones. It was a short stay, but it was a successful one.
During his brief time there, he picked up two more league titles. That pushed his personal trophy count to six league championships. To be honest, that kind of winning habit is rare.
The Big Move: Al-Qadsiah and a Record Fee
In June 2024, Julian Quiñones made a jump that raised plenty of eyebrows. He joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah for a reported $16 million.
That fee made him the most expensive player ever sold by a Mexican club. A record like that tells you how highly he was rated. He wasn’t just leaving for a payday — he was leaving as a proven winner.
Saudi Pro League Golden Boot: 33 Goals
Now this is the headline moment. In his first season, 2024–25, he scored 20 goals. Solid start.
But the 2025–26 campaign was something else. On 21 May 2026, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 away win over Al-Ittihad. That performance pushed him to 33 league goals for the season — enough to win the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer.
Here’s the kicker: he overtook Ivan Toney on the very last day, and he finished ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo too. Four days later, on 25 May, he renewed his contract with Al-Qadsiah until 2029.
International Career: From Colombia to Mexico
This is the part that makes Julian Quiñones’ story stand out. He didn’t just switch clubs — he switched national teams.
Colombia Youth Days
He first represented Colombia at youth level. He played at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and then the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, where he won gold and finished as top scorer.
Choosing Mexico
In May 2023, he turned down a call-up to the senior Colombia team. He’d been living in Mexico since he was 17, so it clearly felt like home. He completed his naturalization process in October 2023, becoming a Mexican citizen.
Mexico Debut and First Goal
He didn’t wait long to get going with El Tri. Quiñones made his Mexico debut on 17 November 2023 in a CONCACAF Nations League match against Honduras.
His first goal came on 21 March 2024, against Panama in a Nations League semi-final. He netted in the 43rd minute, and Mexico won 3–0. A dream start for a naturalized player trying to win over new fans.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Moment
For a player, it doesn’t get bigger than this. Quiñones was named in Mexico’s 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted partly on home soil.
Then came the moment that will stick with him forever. On 11 June 2026, he scored the opening goal of the entire tournament in a 2–0 win over South Africa at the Estadio Azteca. He was named Man of the Match.
He kept it rolling too. In the round of 32 against Ecuador, he scored the opener again and picked up another Man of the Match award as Mexico won 2–0 to reach the round of 16.
Honours and Awards
Julian Quiñones has built a seriously impressive trophy cabinet. Here’s a quick rundown of the big ones.
- Tigres UANL: Liga MX (Apertura 2016, Clausura 2019), CONCACAF Champions League 2020
- Atlas: Liga MX (Apertura 2021, Clausura 2022), Campeón de Campeones 2022
- América: Liga MX (Apertura 2023, Clausura 2024), Campeón de Campeones 2024
- Mexico: CONCACAF Gold Cup 2025, CONCACAF Nations League 2024–25
- Colombia U20: Central American and Caribbean Games 2018
- Individual: Saudi Pro League Golden Boot 2025–26, King’s Cup Top Scorer 2024–25, Liga MX Best XI (Clausura 2022)
Key Facts and Stats
If you want the fast version, here are the numbers worth knowing.
- Career club totals sit at 325 appearances and 154 goals.
- With Mexico, he has 26 caps and 5 goals so far.
- He scored 53 league goals across two seasons with Al-Qadsiah.
- He wears the number 33 shirt at Al-Qadsiah.
Those figures show a striker who delivers no matter the country or league. That’s consistency.
Final Thoughts on Julian Quiñones
So where does that leave us? Julian Quiñones went from a small Colombian town to World Cup goalscorer for Mexico, and he made winning look like a habit along the way. Titles in Mexico, a Golden Boot in Saudi Arabia, and a headline moment at a home World Cup — that’s a career most players only dream about. If you want to dig into every stat, match, and milestone, the full record is laid out on his Wikipedia page, and it’s a great place to keep tabs on where his journey goes next.
