Simon Mignolet facts for kids
Mignolet with Belgium at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
|
||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 March 1988 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sint-Truiden, Belgium | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Club Brugge | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 22 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Sint-Truiden | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Sint-Truiden | 100 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Sunderland | 90 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2019 | Liverpool | 155 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2019– | Club Brugge | 198 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Belgium U16 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Belgium U17 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Belgium U18 | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Belgium U19 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2009 | Belgium U20 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Belgium U21 | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2022 | Belgium | 35 | (0) | |||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Simon Mignolet (born on March 6, 1988) is a professional footballer from Belgium. He plays as a goalkeeper for the club Club Brugge in the Belgian Pro League.
Simon began his football journey with Belgian Second Division team Sint-Truiden in 2004. He played there for six years, appearing in 100 league games and even scoring one goal! In June 2010, he moved to the English Premier League club Sunderland. After three years and 101 games, he joined Liverpool in June 2013.
Mignolet also played for the Belgian national team at many levels, starting from under-16. He made his first senior team appearance in 2011 and played over 30 games for his country. He was part of Belgium's squads for the 2014, 2018, and 2022 FIFA World Cup, as well as UEFA Euro 2016 and 2020.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Simon Mignolet has played for several important clubs throughout his career. Let's look at his journey.
Starting at Sint-Truiden
Simon was born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. He joined his local team, Sint-Truiden, in 2004. He worked his way up through their youth teams. By 2006, at just 18 years old, he became their main goalkeeper.
In 2009, he helped Sint-Truiden win the Belgian Second Division. He even scored a penalty goal in one game! The next year, he was named the Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year. This award recognized his great skills and how he helped his team stay in the top league.
Moving to Sunderland
On June 17, 2010, Simon signed a five-year contract with the English Premier League club Sunderland. He joined them for about £2 million. Other big clubs like PSV and Twente were also interested in him.
Simon played his first game for Sunderland on August 15, 2010. It was a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City, and he was named the best player of the match. In his next home game, he kept a "clean sheet" (meaning he didn't let the other team score) in a 1–0 win against Manchester City.
He became Sunderland's main goalkeeper in his second season. In December 2012, England goalkeeper Joe Hart even said that Mignolet was the best goalkeeper in the league that season!
Time at Liverpool
On June 25, 2013, Simon joined Liverpool for about £9 million. Liverpool's manager, Brendan Rodgers, said Mignolet was "one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League."
2013–14 Season with Liverpool
Simon made his official debut for Liverpool on August 17, 2013, in a 1–0 win against Stoke City. In that game, he made an amazing save from a penalty kick and then stopped another shot right after. This helped Liverpool win the match! He also kept clean sheets in his next two games against Aston Villa and Manchester United.
2014–15 Season and Beyond
In December 2014, Simon was briefly replaced by another goalkeeper, but he soon returned to the starting lineup. After coming back, he kept four clean sheets in a row against Sunderland, Aston Villa, West Ham United, and Everton. He continued to make important saves for the team.
On January 18, 2016, Simon signed a new five-year contract with Liverpool. A few days later, he saved two penalty kicks in a shootout against Stoke City. This helped Liverpool reach the 2016 Football League Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Later, Liverpool signed a new goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, who became the main choice. Simon then mostly played in cup games. He was an unused substitute when Liverpool won the 2019 UEFA Champions League final 2–0.
Joining Club Brugge
On August 4, 2019, Simon Mignolet signed a five-year contract with the Belgian club Club Brugge. He joined them for about £6.4 million.
With Club Brugge, Simon has continued to be a very successful goalkeeper. He helped the team win the Belgian Pro League multiple times: in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. He also won the Belgian Super Cup in 2022.
International Career
Simon Mignolet first played for the Belgian under-21 team in 2008. He made his debut for the senior Belgian national squad on March 25, 2011, in a game against Austria.
He played in several important qualifying matches for the Euro 2012 finals. Although Belgium didn't qualify that time, Simon continued to be a part of the team.
Mignolet was the backup goalkeeper during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. Belgium qualified for their first major tournament since 2002. He also played in some Euro 2016 qualifying matches, helping Belgium qualify for the tournament.
In May 2018, Simon was chosen for Belgium's squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He was also part of the squads for UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he didn't play in any games at these tournaments.
On March 14, 2023, Simon Mignolet announced that he was retiring from international football at the age of 35.
Personal Life
Simon Mignolet is a talented linguist! He can speak Dutch, English, French, and German. He also has a degree in political science from the Catholic University of Leuven.
On June 20, 2015, Simon married his girlfriend, Jasmien Claes. They have two sons named Lex, born in October 2019, and Vin, born in March 2022.
Honours and Awards
Simon Mignolet has won many awards and trophies throughout his career.
Sint-Truiden
- Belgian Second Division: 2008–09
Liverpool
- UEFA Champions League: 2018–19 (winner); 2017–18 (runner-up)
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2015–16
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2015–16
Club Brugge
- Belgian Pro League: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
- Belgian Super Cup: 2022
- Belgian Cup runner-up: 2019–20
Belgium National Team
- FIFA World Cup third place: 2018
Individual Awards
- Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year: 2009–10
- Sint-Truiden Player of the Year: 2008-09, 2009-10
- Belgian Professional Goalkeeper of the Year: 2010, 2021
- North-East FWA Player of the Year: 2012
- Sunderland Player of the Year: 2012–13
- MOTD Keeper of the Year: 2013
- Belgian First Division A Goalkeeper of the Year: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
- Club Brugge Player of the Year: 2022
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2022
- Honorary Citizen of Sint-Truiden, Belgium: 2024
