_39_(cropped).jpg) Wieffer playing forFeyenoord in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mats Henrik Berne Wieffer[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-11-16)16 November 1999 (age 26)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Borne, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder,right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| RKSV NEO [nl] | |||
| 2010–2018 | Twente | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Jong Twente | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Twente | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Excelsior | 65 | (5) |
| 2022–2024 | Feyenoord | 54 | (6) |
| 2024– | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Netherlands | 14 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:00, 5 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025 | |||
Mats Henrik Berne Wieffer (born 16 November 1999) is a Dutch professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder orright-back forPremier League clubBrighton & Hove Albion and theNetherlands national team.
Born inBorne,[3][4] Wieffer played youth football for RKSV NEO aged 5 before joiningFC Twente's academy at the age of 10.[4][5] He made oneDerde Divisie appearance forJong FC Twente in the 2017–18 season,[3] prior to making his professional debut for Twente on 30 October 2018 in a 4–2KNVB Beker win overVV Noordwijk, coming on a substitute forAitor Cantalapiedra.[6] He made his league debut in a 2–0 win overTOP Oss in March 2019.[7] FC Twente were promoted to theEredivisie as champions of theEerste Divisie in the same season, but Wieffer did not appear for FC Twente's first team in the2019–20 season.
In June 2020, Wieffer joinedExcelsior on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract with the club.[8] He made his debut for Excelsior on 29 August 2020, replacingMitchell van Rooijen in a 1–6 win againstJong PSV in theEerste Divisie. He was sent off with a red card in the league game againstFC Eindhoven on 9 October 2020 (1–1). On 5 February 2021, Wieffer scored his first goal in professional football in a 0–2 win againstFC Volendam. He was named Excelsior Player of the Year after his first season at the club, winning 26% of the votes.[9] On 29 May 2022, he scored in thepenalty shoot-out as Excelsior beatADO Den Haag in the final of theplay-offs to promote to the Eredivisie
In June 2022, Wieffer moved toFeyenoord on a four-year contract.[10] After getting injured in a friendly againstRed Bull Salzburg in pre-season,[11] he made his debut for Feyenoord and in European football on 8 September 2022, coming on as a substitute forJavairô Dilrosun in a 4–2 defeat againstLazio in theUEFA Europa League. Three days later, he replaced Dilrosun during a 3–0 victory againstSparta Rotterdam to make his Eredivisie debut. On 13 January 2023, Wieffer scored his first goal for the club while also providing an assist in a 3–1 cup win overPEC Zwolle, what was his first start for the club.[12] He was named Feyenoord Player of the Month for January 2023 and February 2023.[13][14] On 13 April 2023, Wieffer scored his first goal in a European club competition, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win overAS Roma in thequarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League.[15] He assisted goals ofOussama Idrissi andIgor Paixão on 14 May 2023 as Feyenoord beatGo Ahead Eagles 3–0 to secure its sixteenth Eredivisie title.[16]
On 4 August 2023, Wieffer played the full game as Feyenoord lost theJohan Cruyff Shield 0–1 toPSV Eindhoven. Wieffer made hisUEFA Champions League debut on 19 September 2023, in a 2–0 win againstCeltic. He scored his first goal in the competition on 28 November 2023, during a 1–3 defeat againstAtlético Madrid. Ahead of theKNVB Cup final on 21 April 2024, Wieffer suffered a thigh injury, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[17] Feyenoord went on beatNEC 1–0 in the cup final and finish in second place in theEredivisie. During his time at Feyenoord, Wieffer played 54 league games, in which Feyenoord averaged 2.52 points, recording a joint-record for players in the Eredivisie with over 50 games played.[18]
On 5 July 2024, Wieffer joinedPremier League clubBrighton & Hove Albion, signing a contract until June 2029.[19] With a reported fee of €30 million, it became Feyenoord's most expensive outgoing transfer of all-time.[20] He made his Premier League debut in Brighton's opening match againstEverton on 17 August 2024, where he'd register an assist as the Seagulls would go on to win 3–0.[21]
On 17 March 2023, Wieffer received his first call-up to theNetherlands senior national team for theEuro 2024 qualifying matches againstFrance andGibraltar.[22] He made his debut on 27 March as a starter in a 3–0 win over Gibraltar.[23] On 21 November 2023, Wieffer scored his first senior international goal in the Netherlands' 6–0 win against Gibraltar.[24] A thigh injury ruled him out from participating inUEFA Euro 2024.[25]
Wieffer said that he prefers to play as anumber six, but is also able to playbox-to-box. He has been praised for his mentality, interceptions, passing and energy and called "the missing link between Feyenoord's offence and defence."[26] In the2023–24 Eredivisie, Wieffer ranked highly for blocks, interceptions, ball recoveries and tackles. He was compared toMoisés Caicedo andAlexis Mac Allister after his transfer toBrighton & Hove Albion.[27]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Twente | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Excelsior | 2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6[c] | 1 | 42 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 77 | 6 | |||
| Feyenoord | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 8[d] | 1 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | 8[e] | 1 | 1[f] | 0 | 42 | 6 | |||
| Total | 54 | 6 | 8 | 1 | — | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 9 | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2024–25 | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2025–26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 150 | 12 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 191 | 16 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2023 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 November 2023 | Estádio Algarve,Faro/Loulé, Portugal |  Gibraltar | 2–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
Feyenoord
Individual
