 Nørgaard playing forBrentford in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Thers Nørgaard[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-03-10)10 March 1994 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| BK Heimdal | |||
| –2008 | Espergærde IF | ||
| 2008–2012 | Lyngby | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Lyngby | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Hamburger SV II | 22 | (2) |
| 2012–2013 | Hamburger SV | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2018 | Brøndby | 116 | (8) |
| 2018–2019 | Fiorentina | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2025 | Brentford | 181 | (11) |
| 2025– | Arsenal | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | Denmark U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Denmark U17 | 22 | (3) |
| 2011–2013 | Denmark U19 | 19 | (1) |
| 2013 | Denmark U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2013–2017 | Denmark U21 | 27 | (0) |
| 2020– | Denmark | 39 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:39, 1 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:03, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Christian Thers Barsøe Nørgaard (Danish pronunciation:[ˈkʰʁɛs.tjænˈnɶɐ̯ˌkɒˀ]; born 10 March 1994) is a Danish professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder forPremier League clubArsenal and theDenmark national team.
Between abortive spells withHamburger SV andFiorentina, Nørgaard came to prominence in his homeland withBrøndby. He transferred to English clubBrentford in 2019 and in 2021 was part of the squad which won promotion to thetop-flight of English football for the second time in the club's history. Nørgaard was named clubcaptain in 2023. In July 2025, he signed with fellow London club Arsenal. He was part of the Denmark squads atEuro 2020, the2022 World Cup andEuro 2024.
Adefensive midfielder, Nørgaard began his career in his native Denmark with BK Heimdal and Espergærde IF, before entering theyouth system atLyngby in 2008.[3] He progressed to win three calls into the first team squad during the2011–12 season and made his only senior appearance for the club as a substitute in a 2–2Superliga draw withHB Køge on 20 November 2011.[4] Two months later, Nørgaard spurned interest fromA.C. Milan andTSG 1899 Hoffenheim to transfer toBundesliga clubHamburger SV for a €400,000 fee.[5][6] He signed a3+1⁄2-year contract,[5] but was unable to settle at the club and failed to make any first team appearances before his departure in August 2013.[3] He gained his first regular experience of senior football with 22 appearances for thereserve team.[4]
On 21 August 2013, it was announced that Nørgaard had joined Danish Superliga clubBrøndby on a four-year contract.[7] Following a difficult first three seasons with the club,[6] he thereafter was a regular fixture in the team under incoming managerAlexander Zorniger and signed a new2+1⁄2-year contract in January 2017.[4][8] Nørgaard was named as Brøndby's Player of the Year for the 2017 calendar year and won the firstsilverware of his career with the2017–18Danish Cup.[9] Nørgaard became a cult hero at the club and by the time of his departure in July 2018,[10] he had made 145 appearances and scored 11 goals.[4]
On 19 July 2018, Nørgaard moved to Italy to sign forSerie A clubFiorentina for a fee of approximately €3.5 million.[11] He signed a four-year contract,[12] but was informed towards the end of the2018–19 season that he was free to leave the club.[13] Nørgaard made just six appearances before departing theStadio Artemio Franchi in May 2019.[14][15]
On 28 May 2019, Nørgaard moved to England to joinBrentford on a four-year contract, with the option of an additional year, for an undisclosed fee,[15] reported to be £2.8 million.[16] Wanting to "fall in love with football again", the move reunited Nørgaard with his former Denmark youth and Brøndby head coachThomas Frank,[17] who had initially made contact with him during the previous season.[13] Used as a screening midfielder in front of thedefence,[18] Nørgaard made 45 appearances during the2019–20 season,[19] which ended with defeat in the2020 Championship play-off final.[20] In September 2020, he signed a new four-year contract, with the option of a further year.[21]
Nørgaard began the2020–21 season as a virtual ever-present in midfield and winning senior international recognition with Denmark,[22][23] but an ankle injury suffered during a match versusPreston North End on 4 October 2020 prevented him from making all but one appearance during the following four months.[22][24][25][26] Nørgaard returned to the team in late February 2021 and late in the season he was deployed as thesweeper in a3-5-2 formation.[22][27][28] An injury restricted Nørgaard to only one appearance during Brentford's2021 playoff campaign,[22][29] which culminated in promotion to thePremier League after a 2–0 victory overSwansea City in theFinal.[30] He finished the season with 22 appearances and one goal, scored in a 2–0EFL Cup second round win overSouthampton early in the campaign.[22]
Nørgaard scored his second Brentford career goal on the opening day of the2021–22 season, in a 2–0 win overArsenal.[31] He continued as a virtual ever-present in Premier League matches and in late December 2021, he signed a new3+1⁄2-year contract, with a one-year option.[32] Nørgaard's performances were recognised with the club's Supporters' and Players'Player of the Year awards.[33] He ended the 2021–22 season with 38 appearances, three goals and having attempted the most tackles of any Premier League player.[31][34]
Due to a knee problem suffered prior to Brentford's final match of the 2021–22 season,[35] Nørgaard missed much of Brentford's2022–23pre-season,[36] though he participated in the club'straining camp.[37] He returned to match play for the finalfriendly of pre-season on 30 July 2022.[36] Nørgaard was affected by a persistent achilles problem during the regular season,[38] which did not require surgery and after playing through pain mid-season,[39] the issue seemed to resolve itself.[40] He missed three months of the season and finished with 23 appearances and one goal.[41][42][43] Asvice-captain,[44] many of his appearances came as captain, deputising for the injuredPontus Jansson,[40] who missed much of the season.[45]
Following the departure of captain Pontus Jansson at the end of the 2022–23 season, Nørgaard took over the armband.[46] During the2023–24 pre-season, Nørgaard was left out of the club's2023 Premier League Summer Series squad,[47] but he made a goalscoring return to match play in abehind closed doors friendly versusLille on 5 August 2023.[48] Again a starter when fit,[4][49] Nørgaard made 33 appearances and scored two goals during the 2023–24 season,[50] in which Brentford finished in 16th place, albeit 13 points clear of the relegation zone.[51]
Nørgaard was again a first-choice in league matches during the2024–25 season, missing only four.[52] He signed a new two-year contract in March 2025 and ended the season with 35 appearances and a career-high six goals.[52][53] This was his sixth and final season playing for Brentford, concluding his time at the club with 196 appearances and scoring 13 goals.[54]
On 10 July 2025, Nørgaard was signed by fellow Premier League clubArsenal on a two-year deal for a reported fee of £10 million, with the possibility of performance-related add-ons worth £5 million.[55][56]
In October 2025, Nørgaard revealed that he plans to play forBrondby once again when he eventually leaves the Premier League.[57]
Nørgaard won 73 caps and scored five goals for Denmark betweenU16 andU21 level.[58] He was a part of the Danes'2011 U17 World Cup and2015 and2017 European U21 Championship squads.[15]
Nørgaard an unused substitute for thesenior team during four2018–19 Nations League group stage andEuro 2020 qualifying matches in 2018 and 2019.[4] On 8 September 2020, Nørgaard made his debut for the senior team with a start in a 0–0Nations League draw withEngland and his performance was recognised with theDBU'sman of the match award.[23]
After winning three further caps during the 2020–21 season,[58] Nørgaard was named in the Denmark squad forEuro 2020 and appeared as a substitute in five of the six matches of the Danes' run to the semi-final.[59] Nørgaard was named in Denmark's2022 World Cup squad and made one substitute appearance prior to the team's group stage exit.[58][60] Nørgaard was named in Denmark'sEuro 2024 squad and made three substitute appearances prior to the team's round-of-16 exit.[61]
Nørgaard has been described as "technically good and looks to pass the ball forward. Importantly, he is also good at intercepting passes and has a strong defensive mindset".[15] He "can play in a variety of different positions in the midfield, but has given his best performances as a deep midfield player".[15] "His ability to sense danger and make interceptions is at an extraordinarily high level, as is his ability to play forward on the first or second touch".[53]
Nørgaard was born inCopenhagen and grew up inEspergærde from the age of five.[16] He is married to Josefine Barsøe and they have three sons.[62][better source needed]
| 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 | ||
| Lyngby BK | 2011–12[4] | Danish Superliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Hamburger SV II | 2011–12[4] | Regionalliga Nord | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| 2012–13[4] | Regionalliga Nord | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 22 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 2 | ||||||
| Hamburger SV | 2012–13[4] | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Brøndby | 2013–14[63] | Danish Superliga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15[4] | Danish Superliga | 21 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 26 | 4 | |||
| 2015–16[4] | Danish Superliga | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17[4] | Danish Superliga | 31 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | 8[c] | 0 | — | 27 | 5 | |||
| 2017–18[4] | Danish Superliga | 34 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19[14] | Danish Superliga | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 116 | 8 | 15 | 3 | — | 16 | 0 | — | 147 | 11 | ||||
| Fiorentina | 2018–19[14] | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Brentford | 2019–20[19] | Championship | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[4] | Championship | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[31] | Premier League | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23[43] | Premier League | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24[50] | Premier League | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| 2024–25[52] | Premier League | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 6 | |||
| Total | 181 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | — | 4 | 0 | 196 | 13 | |||
| Arsenal | 2025–26[64] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| Career total | 328 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 379 | 27 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 October 2021 | Zimbru Stadium,Chișinău, Moldova |  Moldova | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [58] |
Brøndby
Brentford
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