This is an accepted version of this page
 Mignolet withBelgium at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1988-03-06)6 March 1988 (age 37)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sint-Truiden, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | 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 | 215 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2023 | Belgium | 35 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 February 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet (born 6 March 1988) is a Belgian professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forBelgian Pro League clubClub Brugge.
Mignolet started his career withBelgian Second Division sideSint-Truiden in 2004, and spent six years with the club, making 100 senior league appearances and scoring a goal. He moved to Premier League sideSunderland in June 2010[4] for £2 million, spending three years with them and making 101 appearances across all competitions before moving to Liverpool in June 2013 for £9 million.[5]
Mignolet represented theBelgium national team at every level from under-16 upwards. He made his senior debut in 2011, and went on to earn over 30 caps until 2023. He was also named to Belgium's squad for the2014,2018 and2022 FIFA World Cup, andUEFA Euro 2016 and2020.
Mignolet was born inSint-Truiden. He first joined his local football team,Belgian Second Division sideSint-Truiden, in 2004, eventually rising through their youth system to become their first-choice goalkeeper in 2006 at age 18 after the departure ofDušan Belić. In 2009, he made 29 appearances and scored a penalty in the league during a 5–1 away win againstK.S.K. Ronse, as he helped Sint-Truiden to win theBelgian Second Division, and was namedBelgian Goalkeeper of the Year the following year after he helped Sint-Truiden avoid relegation.
After being invited for a training ground tour, Mignolet signed a five-year contract with EnglishPremier League clubSunderland on 17 June 2010 in a deal worth £2 million.[6][7] It was later confirmed by Sint-Truiden that Sunderland had beatenPSV,Twente andUdinese to secure Mignolet's signature.[8]
Mignolet made his Sunderland debut in a 2–2 draw againstBirmingham City on 15 August 2010, and was named man of the match for his performance. In the next home match, a 1–0 victory againstManchester City, Mignolet kept his first clean sheet for Sunderland, following an excellent reaction save to denyEmmanuel Adebayor a goal. Mignolet put in another fine performance againstArsenal, as Sunderland drew 1–1 afterDarren Bent equalised in the 95th minute. However,Craig Gordon would replace Mignolet in goal several weeks later, and remained first-choice thereafter. Mignolet did not feature again until 8 January 2011, when Sunderland suffered a loss at home toNotts County in the third round of theFA Cup. Mignolet would become first-choice goalkeeper again after a knee injury to Gordon in February, and earned a string of rave reviews for his performances.[citation needed] Following the draw, Sunderland managerSteve Bruce hailed the young goalkeeper's fine start to life in English football.[9] Mignolet cemented his position as first-choice goalkeeper the following season, being preferred to new signingKeiren Westwood.[10]
On 29 October 2011, Mignolet was injured during a 2–2 draw withAston Villa, suffering a broken nose following a collision withEmile Heskey.[11] Mignolet played every single match ofthe following season, keeping a large number of clean sheets and producing several man of the match performances.[12][13] His form prompted Manchester City andEngland goalkeeperJoe Hart to praise Mignolet in December 2012 as being the best goalkeeper in the league so far that season.[citation needed] On 21 June 2013, it was reportedLiverpool had agreed a deal to sign the player for around £9 million.[14]
On 25 June 2013, Mignolet signed with Liverpool for a reported fee of £9 million on a five-year contract.[15] Liverpool managerBrendan Rodgers hailed Mignolet as being "one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League".[15] On 13 July 2013, he made his unofficial debut for Liverpool in a 4–0 win in a pre-season friendly overPreston North End.[16] On 17 August 2013, Mignolet made his official debut in the 1–0 home win againstStoke City atAnfield. In the 89th minute of the match, he saved aJonathan Walters penalty, as well asKenwyne Jones' follow-up shot, to preserve Liverpool's lead and effectively win the match.[17] He then recorded two more clean sheets against Aston Villa andManchester United, with both matches ending 1–0 in favour of Liverpool. Two weeks later, he conceded his first goals for Liverpool in the Premier League in a 2–2 draw withSwansea City, though he was still named man of the match for the fixture. Mignolet was also named man of the match in the 3–3 draw withEverton, making nine saves throughout the match.[citation needed]
On 14 December 2014, Mignolet's run of 53 consecutive Premier League starts came to an end as he was replaced byBrad Jones in the starting 11 against Manchester United, with Brendan Rodgers saying Mignolet would be dropped for an "indefinite period".[18] However, 12 days later, Jones went off injured after 16 minutes away atBurnley, and despite some errors, Mignolet kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory.[19] After this match, Mignolet kept four consecutive clean sheets against Sunderland, Aston Villa,West Ham United and Everton respectively.[20] On 10 February, Mignolet made some outstanding saves againstTottenham Hotspur in a 3–2 win.[21] On 16 March, Mignolet continued his resurgence in a 1–0 victory against Swansea City, keeping a clean sheet as part of a strong performance.[22] On 22 March, he saved a penalty taken byWayne Rooney in a 2–1 defeat against Manchester United.[23]
On 18 January 2016, Mignolet signed a new five-year deal with the club.[24] Eight days later, he saved a penalty fromStoke City'sPeter Crouch andMarc Muniesa in a penalty shoot-out to send Liverpool to the2016 Football League Cup final atWembley Stadium.[25]
Although he started the first five matches of the season, Liverpool managerJürgen Klopp dropped Mignolet in favour of new signingLoris Karius on 24 September 2016 for the match againstHull City.[26] On 24 October 2016, Klopp confirmed Mignolet was no longer Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper and that he would be given cup matches instead.[27] However, Mignolet returned to the starting lineup for the team in Premier League in December 2016.
On 23 September 2017, Mignolet saved his club-record 8th penalty, preserving a 3–2 victory overLeicester City.[28] On 4 November, Mignolet captained Liverpool for the first time in a 4–1 win againstWest Ham United.[29] On 26 December, Mignolet and teammatePhilippe Coutinho both made their 200th appearances for Liverpool in a 5–0 Premier League win overSwansea City.[30]
Liverpool signedAlisson Becker[31] as their first choice goalkeeper which led to Mignolet playing domestic cup games only. He started the 2–1 defeat toChelsea in theEFL Cup on 26 September 2018. Mignolet also started in the 2–1 defeat toWolverhampton Wanderers in theFA Cup on 7 January 2019.[32] Mignolet was an unused substitute in the2019 UEFA Champions League final, which Liverpool won 2–0.[33]
On 4 August 2019, following the2019 FA Community Shield, Mignolet signed a five-year contract with Belgian sideClub Brugge, for a reported fee of £6.4 million.[34][35]
Mignolet first represented theBelgian under-21 side in 2008, and went on to make ten appearances for the side.[36] On 1 September 2010, he won his first call up to theBelgian senior squad after a good run of form for Sunderland.[37] He made his full international debut in a 2–0 victory overAustria on 25 March 2011 in aUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match.[36][38] He remained in the starting line-up for each of the four remaining qualifying matches,[39][40][41][42] in addition to playing in three friendly matches during the qualifying campaign.[36] However, he was unable to help Belgium qualify for theEuro 2012 finals, as a 3–1 defeat againstGermany saw them finish third in their qualifying group.[43]
Mignolet played in two further friendly internationals during the2011–12 season, starting againstGreece andEngland.[44][45] However, following the match against England, he did not play an international match for four months, withThibaut Courtois being preferred instead.[46] He returned to the starting lineup on 14 November 2012 in a 1–2 friendly loss overRomania.[47] His next international match came over six months later in a 4–2 friendly victory over theUnited States on 29 May 2013.[48]
Mignolet served as back-up goalkeeper during the2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, with Courtois playing every minute as Belgium qualified for its first major tournament since the2002 World Cup.[49]
On 10 October 2015, Mignolet started for an injured Courtois in Belgium's last twoEuro 2016 qualifying matches: a 4–1 win overAndorra and a 3–1 victory overIsrael, helping seal Belgium's qualification for the first time since co-hostingEuro 2000.[50]
In May 2018, Mignolet was named in Belgium's preliminary squad for the2018 World Cup inRussia,[51] and later appeared on theirfinal 23-man squad as a goalkeeper together withThibaut Courtois andKoen Casteels.[52] He would go on to be named in the final squads forUEFA Euro 2020 and the2022 World Cup,[53][54] but again did not make an appearance at either tournament.
On 14 March 2023, Mignolet officially announced his retirement from international football at the age of 35.[55]
Mignolet can speakDutch,English,French andGerman.[56] He has a degree inpolitical science from theCatholic University of Leuven.[57] On 20 June 2015, Mignolet married his girlfriend Jasmien Claes in his hometown.[58] Their son, Lex, was born in October 2019.[59] Their second son, Vin, was born in March 2022.[60]
| 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 | ||
| Sint-Truiden | 2005–06 | Belgian Pro League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | Belgian Pro League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Belgian Pro League | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | Belgian Second Division | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||||
| 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 40 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 100 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 104 | 1 | |||||
| Sunderland | 2010–11 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | |||
| Total | 90 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 101 | 0 | ||||
| Liverpool | 2013–14 | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 36 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[c] | 0 | — | 54 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15[d] | 0 | — | 55 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 155 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 25 | 0 | — | 204 | 0 | |||
| Club Brugge | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 12[f] | 0 | — | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[g] | 0 | — | 47 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[e] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 14[i] | 0 | — | 51 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12[e] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 215 | 0 | 18 | 0 | — | 65 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 301 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 559 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 90 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 710 | 1 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2011 | 8 | 0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 0 | |
Sint-Truiden
Liverpool
Club Brugge
Belgium
Individual
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