Ritchie De Laet
![]() De Laet with Manchester United in 2010 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ritchie Ria Alfons De Laet[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 28 November 1988||
Place of birth | Antwerp, Belgium | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Royal Antwerp | ||
Number | 2 | ||
Youth career | |||
1994–1998 | KSK Hoboken | ||
1998–1999 |
Mechelen | ||
1999–2004 | KSK Hoboken | ||
2004–2005 | KFCO Wilrijk | ||
2005–2006 | Royal Antwerp | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2006–2007 | Royal Antwerp | 4 | (0) |
2007–2009 | Stoke City | 0 | (0) |
2008 | → Wrexham (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2009–2012 | Manchester United | 3 | (0) |
2010 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2010 | → Preston North End (loan) | 5 | (0) |
2011 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 22 | (0) |
2011–2012 | → Norwich City (loan) | 6 | (1) |
2012–2016 | Leicester City | 115 | (4) |
2016 | → Middlesbrough (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2016–2019 | Aston Villa | 8 | (0) |
2018 | → Royal Antwerp (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2018–2019 | → Melbourne City (loan) | 25 | (7) |
2019– | Royal Antwerp | 141 | (2) |
International career | |||
2009 | Belgium U21 | 4 | (0) |
2009 | Belgium | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 March 2024 |
Ritchie Ria Alfons De Laet (Dutch pronunciation:
De Laet played for various youth teams before joining the Royal Antwerp youth academy, where he was eventually picked up by Stoke City in 2007. Two years later, De Laet was signed by Premier League champions Manchester United where he mainly appeared for the reserves besides being sent on loan spells. In 2012, he joined Leicester City where he played more consistently and was part of the historic team winning the 2015–16 Premier League. He then had a three-year stint with Aston Villa, before returning to Royal Antwerp in 2019.
De Laet made his international debut for Belgium in 2009, and gained two caps for the national team.
Club career
Stoke City
Born in Antwerp, De Laet began his career at Belgian club Royal Antwerp.[2] On 17 August 2007, he signed a three-year contract with Championship team Stoke City for an initial £100,000 fee.[4] In July 2008, De Laet joined AFC Bournemouth on trial and played his first game in a friendly against Portsmouth, a 4–1 defeat. However, he later returned to Stoke. In October 2008, he joined Wrexham of the Conference National on a one-month loan deal, making his debut in a 2–0 victory over Lewes in the league. He made three appearances during his time at the club before his loan spell was terminated in order for him to undergo a hernia operation.[5]
Manchester United
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Ritchie_De_Laet.jpg/170px-Ritchie_De_Laet.jpg)
On 8 January 2009, De Laet was signed by
De Laet made his first appearance for the Manchester United first team on 24 May 2009, when he was named at left back for the last game of the 2008–09 Premier League season against Hull City.[8]In the 2009–10 season, De Laet featured in the
In September 2010, De Laet joined Championship side Sheffield United on a 30-day emergency loan deal after the Blades suffered a defensive injury crisis, with both Chris Morgan and Rob Kozluk ruled out for several weeks.[10] De Laet returned to Old Trafford at the end of his month having made six appearances for the Blades.[11]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Ritchie_De_Laet_-_Portsmouth.jpg/170px-Ritchie_De_Laet_-_Portsmouth.jpg)
On 17 November 2010, De Laet joined Championship team Preston North End on a 28-day loan after an injury to first-team defender Callum Davidson.[12] On 14 January 2011, De Laet joined Portsmouth of the Championship on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season.[13]
Norwich City loan
On 17 June 2011, De Laet joined newly promoted Premier League side Norwich City on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.[14] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw at Wigan Athletic, conceding the penalty for the Wigan goal. However, he redeemed himself with a number of excellent blocks to retain the scoreline. On 21 August, he scored his first goal for Norwich against former club Stoke City in a 1–1 draw. This was also De Laet's first senior goal. De Laet was sidelined with a back injury whilst at Norwich. He made his return from injury on 27 December 2011 against Tottenham Hotspur in a 2–0 loss.[15] On 18 January 2012, he returned to United after Norwich cancelled his loan.[15]
Leicester City
On 14 May 2012, De Laet signed a three-year deal with Leicester City. He was joined at Leicester by fellow United player Matty James, who signed on the same day.[16] De Laet scored his first goal for Leicester shortly before half time in the 6–1 thrashing of Huddersfield Town on 1 January 2013.[17] He scored his second just four days later, against Burton Albion in the first round of the FA Cup. De Laet ended his first season with Leicester having played 46 games and scoring twice in all competitions, steering City into the Championship play-offs. In the 2013–14 season, he helped Leicester gain promotion back to the top flight playing regularly in the first team once more. De Laet featured 35 times scoring two goals.[18]
In the 2015–16 season, De Laet started the first seven games for Leicester, scoring his last goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Aston Villa on 13 September 2015.[19] He eventually lost his place in the first team to Danny Simpson.[20]
Middlesbrough loan
On 1 February 2016, De Laet joined Championship side Middlesbrough on loan for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. He helped Middlesbrough achieve promotion on the final day of the season, after a 1–1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. This meant that De Laet achieved the unique feat of playing with a club winning promotion from the Championship and then winning the Premier League title, courtesy of his 12 league appearances for Leicester in the same season.[21]
Aston Villa
On 23 August 2016, De Laet signed a three-year deal with Championship club Aston Villa.[22] On 14 September 2016, he was injured in the 67th minute in a 1–1 league game against Brentford.[23] Scans later revealed the injury to be a season-ending one.[24]
Royal Antwerp loan
On 23 January 2018, De Laet rejoined Royal Antwerp on loan for the remainder of the season.[25]
Melbourne City loan
In September 2018, De Laet completed a loan move to
In early 2019, Joyce shifted De Laet from defense to centre-forward with Ritchie scoring two goals in this position on 22 January 2019 against
He was released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2018–19 season.[31]
Return to Royal Antwerp
On 29 June 2019, after he was released by Aston Villa, it was announced by Royal Antwerp that he would sign permanently with the club that his career began at.[32]
During the 2022–23 season, De Laet was part of the squad that won the domestic double, including the club's first league title in 66 years.[33][34]
International career
A few days after his Manchester United debut, De Laet was called up for
Career statistics
- As of match played 17 March 2024[37]
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Royal Antwerp | 2006–07[38] | Belgian Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5[c] | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
2007–08[39] | Belgian Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Stoke City | 2007–08 | Championship
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2008–09 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
Wrexham (loan) | 2008–09 | Football Conference
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
Manchester United | 2008–09 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2009–10 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
2010–11 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2011–12 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
Sheffield United (loan) | 2010–11 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
Preston North End (loan) | 2010–11 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
Portsmouth (loan) | 2010–11 | Championship | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
Norwich City (loan) | 2011–12 | Premier League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||
Leicester City | 2012–13 | Championship | 41 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
2013–14 | Championship | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 2 | |||
2014–15 | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||
2015–16 | Premier League | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
Total | 115 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 129 | 5 | |||
Middlesbrough (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
Aston Villa | 2016–17 | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
2017–18
|
Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
Royal Antwerp (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8[e] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
Melbourne City (loan) | 2018–19 | A-League
|
25 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 7 | |||
Royal Antwerp | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[f] | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||
2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 7[f] | 1 | — | 48 | 2 | |||
2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[f] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |||
2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 32 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 6[g] | 0 | — | 44 | 2 | |||
2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 6[h] | 0 | 1[i] | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
Total | 141 | 2 | 15 | 4 | — | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 186 | 7 | |||
Career total | 354 | 14 | 24 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 437 | 20 |
- FFA Cup, Belgian Cup
- Football League Cup
- ^ Appearances in Belgian Pro League promotion play-offs
- ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
- ^ Appearances in Belgian Pro League Europa League play-offs
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
Honours
Manchester United
- 2008-09
Leicester City
Middlesbrough
Royal Antwerp
Individual
References
- ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
- ^ a b "Ritchie De Laet: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ "De Laet Signs!". Stoke City F.C. 17 August 2007. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
- ^ "Tsiaklis agrees Wrexham extension". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ^ "Man Utd sign De Laet from Stoke". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ^ Bartram, Steve (13 April 2009). "Reds reign in Italy". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (24 May 2009). "Hull 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ a b Bostock, Adam (4 May 2009). "De Laet's delight". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 8 May 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ "Blades bring in defender". Sheffield United F.C. 24 September 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ "Loan still in the mix". Sheffield United F.C. Sheffield United FC. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "De Laet Signs On Loan". pnefc.net. Preston North End FC. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ^ "Pompey pounce for De Laet". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
- ^ "Top-flight loan for De Laet". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Norwich cancel De Laet loan". SkySports.com. Sky Sports. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
- ^ "Agreement reached for United Duo". lcfc.com. Leicester City FC. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "Leicester 6–1 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ "Ritchie de Laet - Football Statistics - Form Guide - Squawka.com". www.squawka.com.
- ^ Andy Cryer (13 September 2015), Leicester City 3-2 Aston Villa, BBC Sport, retrieved 4 June 2017
- ^ James Sharpe (17 June 2016), Leicester City defender Ritchie De Laet vows to fight for his place in the side, Leicester Mercury, archived from the original on 18 June 2016, retrieved 4 June 2017
- ^ "Which Leicester players get a Premier League winners' medal?". Sky Sports. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ "De Laet Joins Villa". 23 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ "Aston Villa 1–1 Brentford". 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ "Ritchie De Laet: Aston Villa defender ruled out after sustaining serious knee injury". 16 September 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ "Antwerp Bereikt Overeenkomst Met Ritchie De Laet" (in Dutch). Royal Antwerp Official Site. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ^ "Melbourne City FC signs defender Ritchie De Laet". Melbourne City FC. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ Colangelo, Anthony (20 October 2018). "City spoil Victory's Honda welcome party". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Lynch, Michael (22 January 2019). "Late winner gets City home in goalfest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- Fox Sports Australia. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Tito, Clement (23 January 2019). "De Laet: I'm playing for a contract". ftbl.com.au. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "Aston Villa: Micah Richards and Albert Adomah among eight players released". BBC Sport. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "OFFICIEEL: Antwerp haalt De Laet terug naar de Bosuil". Voetbal Primeur. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ "Royal Antwerp win first Belgian title in 66 years after Toby Alderweireld's stoppage-time equaliser". BBC. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Alderweireld earns Royal Antwerp first Belgian league title in 66 years". The Guardian. 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Nainggolan en Kitoko zijn Rode Duivels". Sporza. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ "Chile and Belgium draw in Kirin Cup". Yahoo! Philippines News. Yahoo! Southeast Asia. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Ritchie De Laet at Soccerway
- ^ "Spelersstatistiek Ritchie De Laet" (in Dutch). R.A.F.C.-Museum. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
- ^ "Spelersstatistiek Ritchie De Laet" (in Dutch). R.A.F.C.-Museum. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4722-1251-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4722-3395-0.
- ^ "Geen schoonheidsprijs, wel een vierde beker: Antwerp maakt favorietenrol waar tegen KV Mechelen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Antwerp wint nu ook de Supercup! KV Mechelen plooit pas na strafschoppen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Ritchie De Laet at Soccerbase
- Ritchie De Laet at the Royal Belgian Football Association
- Ritchie De Laet at Soccerway