 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-06-02)2 June 1997 (age 28)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sneek, Netherlands[1] | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al Ahli | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| WSZ[2] | |||
| VV Sneek | |||
| SC Heerenveen | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | SC Heerenveen | 59 | (20) |
| 2019–2022 | Anderlecht | 34 | (12) |
| 2021 | →Arminia Bielefeld (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | →Twente (loan) | 34 | (5) |
| 2022–2025 | Twente | 101 | (11) |
| 2025– | Al Ahli | 3 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2014–2015 | Netherlands U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Netherlands U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | Netherlands U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2018 | Netherlands U21 | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 June 2025 | |||
Michel Vlap (Dutch pronunciation:[miˈɕɛlˈvlɑp]; born 2 June 1997) is a Dutch professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forQatar Stars League clubAl Ahli. He has represented the Netherlands internationally at various youth levels.[3]
Vlap is an academy graduate ofEredivisie sideHeerenveen and is the son of academy coach and former player Jan Vlap.[4][5] Having progressed through the ranks of Heerenveen's youth academy, he signed his first professional contract on 17 February 2015, penning a three-year deal with the club.[6] He later featured for Heerenveen during the2015–16 pre-season and scored a brace in the club's 8–1 victory over VV Heerenveen in newmanagerJurgen Streppel's first match in charge of the club.[7][8] Vlap then made his senior debut for the club on 27 November 2016, coming on as a late, second-halfsubstitute forKosovan internationalArbër Zeneli in a 1–0 Eredivisie loss toAjax.[9]
Vlap failed to appear again during the2016–17 season but returned to the first team to make hisKNVB Cup debut on 20 September 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win overExcelsior.[10] He scored his first goal for the club the following month, netting in a 2–1 defeat toAZ Alkmaar.[11] On 3 December, he signed a new five-year contract with Heerenveen after impressing with a run of three goals in his previous five appearances for the club.[12] He ultimately scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for the campaign.
He continued to feature for the club the following season and in October 2018, after scoring a league-high four goals in the month, won the Eredevise Player of the Month award.[13] By the end of the campaign, he had scored 16 goals and recorded six assists which earned him a transfer to Belgian side,Anderlecht.[14]
In February 2021, Vlap moved toBundesliga teamArminia Bielefeld fromAnderlecht, on a loan deal until the end of the season.[15] On 15 February, Vlap scored his first Bundesliga goal in the ninth minute of his debut, in a 3–3 away draw atBayern Munich.
Vlap again moved on loan in August 2021, returning to the Eredivisie withTwente.[16] He made his competitive debut for theTukkers on the first matchday of the2021–22 season, replacingDimitris Limnios in the 67th minute of a 2–1 away loss toFortuna Sittard.[17][18] He soon established himself as a starter for the club, and scored his first goal for Twente on 19 September in a 4–1 away victory againstVitesse.[19] He played in all 34 league games that season, starting in 31 of them, as Twente secured a fourth-place finish and qualified for thethird qualifying round of theUEFA Europa Conference League for the following season.[1][20]
On 4 July 2022, Anderlecht and Twente agreed on a permanent transfer and Vlap signed a three-year contract with an option for an additional year.[21] He scored on his European debut, helping Twente to a 3–1 away win over Serbian clubČukarički on 4 August.[22]
On 10 August 2025, Vlap was transferred toAl Ahli in Qatar.[23]
Vlap has represented Netherlands at bothunder-18 andunder-19 level.[24] On 21 July 2016, while representing the Netherlands at theUEFA European Under-19 Championship, Vlap made history by becoming the first player ever to be brought on as a fourth substitute in aUEFA match when he replacedLaros Duarte in a 3–3 (5–4) penalty shoot-out loss toGermany. Regulations then ordinarily allowed a team to make only threesubstitutions during a match but a trial allowing for a fourth substitution in extra-time was introduced by theInternational Football Association Board for the tournament.[25][26] This was since changed to five substitutions in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[27]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heerenveen | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 4 | |||
| 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 34 | 16 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 17 | |||
| Total | 59 | 20 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 65 | 21 | ||||
| Anderlecht | 2019–20 | First Division A | 23 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 11 | ||
| 2020–21 | First Division A | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| Total | 34 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 12 | ||||
| Arminia Bielefeld (loan) | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||
| Twente (loan) | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 34 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 5 | ||
| Twente | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 2 | 4[b] | 1 | 42 | 6 |
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 36 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12[c] | 2 | — | 50 | 7 | ||
| Total | 131 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 162 | 20 | ||
| Career total | 229 | 48 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 268 | 54 | ||
Individual