_(cropped).jpg) Faes withLeicester City in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wout Felix Lina Faes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-04-03)3 April 1998 (age 27) | ||
| Place of birth | Mol, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Monaco (on loan fromLeicester City) | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2006 | Rauw Sport Mol | ||
| 2006–2012 | Lierse | ||
| 2012–2016 | Anderlecht | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2018 | Anderlecht | 0 | (0) |
| 2017 | →Heerenveen (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →Excelsior (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Oostende | 57 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Reims | 73 | (5) |
| 2020 | →Oostende (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2022– | Leicester City | 123 | (5) |
| 2026– | →Monaco (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Belgium U15 | 5 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Belgium U17 | 27 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Belgium U19 | 9 | (1) |
| 2017–2020 | Belgium U21 | 21 | (0) |
| 2022– | Belgium | 28 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:01, 13 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11:59, 10 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Wout Felix Lina Faes (born 3 April 1998) is a Belgian professionalfootballer who plays ascentre-back forLigue 1 clubMonaco, on loan fromEFL Championship clubLeicester City, and theBelgium national team.
A promising talent from theAnderlecht academy, Faes was sent on loan withHeerenveen andExcelsior in theEredivisie, but never experienced his breakthrough with Anderlecht. As a result, he moved toOostende, where he was able to grow into a solid starter. In January 2020, Faes was signed byLigue 1 clubReims and was sent back on loan to Oostende for the rest of the season. He subsequently joined Leicester City in 2022.
Faes represented Belgium in youth levels, where he gained attention as thecaptain ofBelgian national youth teams. He made his senior debut for Belgium in 2022 and was part of their squads for the2022 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2024.
Faes moved to theAnderlecht youth academy fromLierse in 2012. He could then count on interest fromPremier League clubChelsea andManchester United,[3] but he still signed his first professional contract with Anderlecht.[4] From the 2015–16 season, Faes began practising regularly with the club's first team.[5] A month after he took bronze withBelgium U17 at the2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he extended his contract with Anderlecht.[6] Faes reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Youth League with the club in both the 2014–15 season and the 2015–16 season, with himcaptaining the team in the latter campaign.[7]
Anderlecht sent Faes on loan to DutchEredivisie clubHeerenveen for the second half of the 2016–17 season.[8] Anderlecht did not include an option to buy.[9] Faes made his debut in the Eredivisie on 1 April 2017. He came on as a substitute againstHeracles Almelo in the 35th minute forReza Ghoochannejhad. The defender then received a place in the starting line-up in all remaining games of the regular season. His last match for Heerenveen was the first leg of the semi-final of the play-offs for European football againstUtrecht. Heerenveen ultimately lost twice to Utrecht, which meant that the club missed out onUEFA Europa League participation that season.[10]
On his return to Anderlecht, Faes was immediately demoted to the C-team by the new head coachRené Weiler.[11] On 12 July 2017, it was announced thatExcelsior had signed Faes on a one-season loan deal.[12] Shortly after his arrival, Faes was joined by a fellow countryman inJinty Caenepeel.[13] The first three matchdays, Faes was in the starting line-up of head coachMitchell van der Gaag, who emphasised defensive football, but afterwards he received less playing time due to the renewal ofJordy de Wijs's loan deal.[14] Despite the fact that De Wijs formed a very strong central defensive duo withJurgen Mattheij that season, Faes made nineteen league appearances in the Eredivisie that season.[15]
In the summer of 2018, Faes decided to permanently leave Anderlecht as he signed a three-year contract with first-tier clubOostende, where he was reunited withGert Verheyen, his former coach from the national youth teams.[16] It was also Verheyen who had insisted on the club signing Faes.[17] InOstend, Faes grew into a regular in the centre of the defence. In his first season, he missed only five league games, three of which were due to suspension and two due to a minor foot injury.[18] He also reached the semi-finals of theBelgian Cup with the club, in which the club was only knocked out after a penalty-shootout againstGent.
Faes was also an important force at Oostende in the 2019–20 season, who, however, experienced a rough season.[19] During the first half of the season, Faes' name regularly emerged in media as a potential sale object.[20] Faes, who played a good first half of the season and regularly wore the captain's armband, was eventually sold on 31 January 2020 to the FrenchLigue 1 clubReims.[21][22] Reims let Faes finish the season at Oostende on loan, who at that time were still involved in a relegation battle. The club was ultimately able regain themselves in the top-tierBelgian First Division A, although the club had not yet been mathematically saved when the competition was stopped due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
After officially joining Reims from the start of the 2020–21 season, Faes made hisLigue 1 debut on 23 August 2020 in a 2–2 away draw againstMonaco, in which he played the full match.[23] On 1 November, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home win overStrasbourg; a powerful header from a corner-kick taken byValon Berisha.[24] He finished his first season with Reims with 35 appearances in which he scored two goals,[25] as the club finished 14th in the league.[26] Faes also featured in the Europa League qualifiers with Reims, who were eventually knocked out byFehérvár in the third round.[27]
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On 1 September 2022, Faes joinedPremier League clubLeicester City on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £15 million.[28] He made his debut for the club in a 6–2 defeat againstTottenham Hotspur on 17 September.[29] Faes was praised for his impact on the club's defence since his debut, and in the seven Premier League games since the match against Tottenham, Leicester recorded five clean sheets.[30] On 30 December 2022, he scored two own goals in a 2–1 loss toLiverpool, becoming the fourth player in Premier League history to score two own goals in the same match.[31]
Faes scored his first goal for Leicester on 28 May 2023 in a 2–1 victory againstWest Ham United on the final match day of the season. Despite the win, Leicester were relegated to theChampionship due toEverton's 1–0 win overBournemouth.[32]
On 13 January 2026, Faes joinedLigue 1 sideMonaco on loan till the end of the2025–26 season, with the option to make the deal permanent for between €5 million and €10 million.[33]
Faes represented theBelgium under-17s at the2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile.[34]
In November 2021, he received his first call-up to the seniorBelgium national team for2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches againstEstonia andWales, and was an unused substitute in the latter match.[35] Faes made his debut for Belgium on 8 June 2022 in a 6–1 win overPoland in theUEFA Nations League.[36] Together with Leicester City teammatesTimothy Castagne andYouri Tielemans, he was subsequently called up to Belgium's squad for theWorld Cup in November 2022.[37]
| 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 | ||
| Heerenveen (loan) | 2016–17[15] | Eredivisie | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Excelsior (loan) | 2017–18[15] | Eredivisie | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| Oostende | 2018–19[15] | Belgian Pro League | 26 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 9[d] | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20[15] | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| Total | 48 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 64 | 2 | ||
| Oostende (loan) | 2019–20[15] | Belgian Pro League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Reims | 2020–21[15] | Ligue 1 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[15] | Ligue 1 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 4 | ||||
| 2022–23[15] | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 73 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 5 | ||
| Leicester City | 2022–23[15] | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24[15] | Championship | 43 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 2 | |||
| 2024–25[15] | Premier League | 34 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | |||
| 2025–26[15] | Championship | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Total | 123 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 6 | ||
| Monaco (loan) | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 279 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 313 | 13 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 0 | |
Leicester City
Belgium U17
Individual
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
Belgium squads | |||||||
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