On 21 December 2013, on matchday 17 of the Bundesliga, Hertha Berlin won 2-1 at the Signal Iduna Park. Marco Reus put Borussia Dortmund ahead in the seventh minute, and Gustavo Adrián Ramos Vásquez equalised in the 23rd from a Sami Allagui pass before Allagui completed the comeback just before half-time. The 2013-14 season was the Colombian striker's most prolific in Germany, with 16 league goals, and when it ended he signed for the side he had scored against that afternoon. Ramos was born on 22 January 1986 in Santander de Quilichao, in the Cauca department.
Early years in Colombia
He had already played at a World Cup before his professional debut. At the 2003 U-17 World Cup in Finland he scored three goals for Colombia, who finished fourth. He made his debut for América de Cali in the 2004 Torneo Apertura. To get minutes he went on loan to Venezuela's Trujillanos in 2005 and to Santa Fe in Bogotá between 2006 and 2007. Back in Cali he became a regular and an important part of the side that won the 2008 Torneo Finalización.
Five seasons at Hertha Berlin
On 30 August 2009 he joined Hertha BSC. His first season in Germany ended in relegation, though he finished as the club's top league scorer with 12 goals. He stayed for the 2. Bundesliga campaign, and Hertha went back up as champions in 2011. The club were relegated again in 2012 and once more returned as winners in 2013. With two 2. Bundesliga titles, in 2010-11 and 2012-13, and 68 goals in 179 competitive matches, he left Berlin in 2014.
Borussia Dortmund
He arrived at Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2014, and that August the club won the German Super Cup with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich. He made 29 appearances with 6 goals in 2014-15, and his best season at the club was 2015-16, with 10 goals in 39 matches. Over three seasons in Dortmund he played 79 matches and scored 19 goals across all competitions.
Granada and the move to China
In January 2017 Dortmund loaned him to Granada. That July he was bought by China's Chongqing Lifan, who sent him back to the Andalusian club on loan without his ever playing in China. In 2018 he joined Granada permanently and was part of the side that won promotion to La Liga in 2019. In all he played 84 matches and scored 16 goals for Granada before his contract was terminated.
Back at América de Cali
On 1 January 2020 he returned to América de Cali, who won the 2020 Colombian league title that year. In 2024 he reached 100 goals in the club's red shirt. That January he had announced his departure, but ten days later the club reversed the decision and kept him in the squad. He played his last match of that spell in December 2024 and then spent almost nine months without a club.
Colombia national team
He made his senior debut on 20 August 2008, starting a friendly against Ecuador in New Jersey. On 14 October 2009 he scored against Paraguay in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a 2-0 win. He played at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, scoring the only goal against Costa Rica on 2 July, and was selected for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. There he started the 4-1 win over Japan and came off the bench in the round of 16 and in the quarter-final, where Colombia were knocked out. His other two international goals came in friendlies, against Slovenia in November 2014 and Bahrain in March 2015.
A third spell in Cali
On 29 August 2025, with América near the bottom of the Liga BetPlay and out of the Copa Sudamericana, the club announced his return for the second half of 2025.
América de CaliForward