| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-02-07)7 February 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Liège, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chicago Fire | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FC De Zwaluw Vechmaal | |||
| −2012 | Excelsior Veldwezelt | ||
| 2012−2014 | Visé | ||
| 2014−2016 | Standard Liège | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Standard Liège | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | →Seraing (loan) | 19 | (6) |
| 2017–2018 | Ergotelis | 28 | (22) |
| 2019–2021 | Olympiacos | 10 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | →Ajaccio (loan) | 22 | (5) |
| 2021–2022 | Mechelen | 34 | (13) |
| 2022–2024 | Gent | 57 | (33) |
| 2024– | Chicago Fire | 38 | (15) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | Belgium U19 | 3 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 April 2025 | |||
Hugo Cuypers (born 7 February 1997) is a Belgian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forChicago Fire inMajor League Soccer.
Cuypers began his career atZwaluw Vechmaal, followed by fourth-tierBelgian side Excelsior Veldwezelt.[1] When the latter went bankrupt in 2012, Cuypers moved toVisé.[2] He played forLes Oies for three seasons, and was eventually picked up byBelgian top tier sideStandard Liège in the summer of 2014, when Visé also went bankrupt.
After his move toLes Rouches, Cuypers' made an impression in his debut season for the club's U−19 outfit, scoring 31 times and dishing out 13 assists.[2] He added an additional 2 goals with Standard Liège U−21,[1] thus drawing the interest of severalEuropean top clubs.[2] In June 2015, Cuypers signed a new two-year contract with Standard Liège and made his professional debut on 3 April 2016, coming in as a late substitute forRenaud Emond during the play-off II home match vs.Waasland-Beveren.[2]
On 31 October 2016, Cuypers was loaned out toBelgian First Amateur Division sideSeraing.[3] He managed to score six goals in a total of nineteen caps during his loan spell.[4]
In the summer of 2017, Cuypers was acquired byGreekFootball League sideErgotelis, owned byEgyptian businessman Maged Samy, who also ownedBelgian second tier sideLierse at the time.[5] Despite rumors of a possible loan move toLierse,[6] Cuypers signed a two-year contract with theCretans and joined Ergotelis' pre-season build-up atKarpenisi.[7]
During his first season with theCretans, Cuypers became a permanent starter and made an immediate impact for his new club, scoring three goals in the first four matches of the2017–18 Greek Football League during a 1−1 draw vs.Chania − Kissamikos on 5 November 2017,[8] a 2−1 loss vs.Panachaiki on 12 November 2017,[9] and a 2−3 loss vs.Aris on 19 November 2017.[10] Despite Ergotelis' rough start and early struggle to avoid relegation, Cuypers became the club's most prolific player, strongly following up on his early performances by scoring goals on a regular basis and eventually "victimizing" 14 out of the total 16 opponents faced by Ergotelis during theseason. He had his first two-goal performance vs.Veria on 21 January 2018,[11] a feat he repeated on 1 April against fellow relegation candidatesPanegialios during a decisive 5−1 home win for theCretans.[12] At the end of the first round, Cuypers had already scored 11 goals in 16 games and by match-day 27 he had tallied up 20 goals, almost single-handedly giving his club a chance of staying in the division. He became the first player to score over 20 goals for Ergotelis in one season in 12 years, a feat which earned Cuypers a spot in the club's list of all-time top-scorers inGreek professional division. On 20 May 2018 Cuypers scored his fourth brace during the season, in a 5−1 home win againstAiginiakos, which cemented his team's place above the relegation zone.[13] After scoring 22 goals in 28 caps, Cuypers became the most productive player in club history in the competition, surpassing Ergotelis' all-time scoring legendPatrick Ogunsoto's 21-goal season performance in2006. His performances reportedly drew the attention of severalGreek top-tier clubs as a result,[14] including newly-crownedSuperleague championsAEK Athens,[15] who reportedly placed a €380,000 bid for the player, along with offering two of the club's players on loan to theCretans.[16] However, despite reports of the two teams reaching a deal, the transfer fell through after both Cuypers and manager Jacques Lichtenstein gave statements to theBelgian press, which ruled out any transfer toAEK Athens, reportedly due to «lack of respect».[17] He subsequently failed to report for Ergotelis' 2018−19 pre-season preparation and effectively placed himself out of the team.[18]
On 18 June 2019, Cuypers joinedOlympiacos signing a three years' contract for an undisclosed fee. During the 2018–19 season, the Belgian forward didn’t play in a single match for Ergotelis, as the Cretan club finished in fourth place of the Football League to miss out on promotion.[19]
On 17 August 2019, Cuypers joinedAjaccio on a season-long loan from Olympiacos.[20]
On 4 June 2021,Mechelen has announced Cuypers and according to the publications, Olympiacos will receive €1 million for the transfer, and will keep a 50% in a possible resale.[21]On 14 June 2021, his transfer to Mechelen, in which he signed a four-year contract, was officially concluded, following an official announcement from Olympiacos.[22]
On 14 June 2022, Cuypers signed a four-year contract withGent.
In the year 2022 he scored 30 goals in 45 games, and in the year 2023 he scored 32 goals in 44 games. Entering the Top Ten of the top scorers of the year 2023[23]
On 6 February 2024, Cuypers signed a contract withMajor League Soccer teamChicago Fire FC through 2026 with an option for 2027 for a Club record fee.[24]
Cuypers has representedBelgium with theU−19 national team during the2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification. He played in all three matches during the Elite round of the competition, scoring one goal vs.Bulgaria in his only match as a starter.[4]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Standard Liège | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| RFC Seraing (loan) | 2016–17 | Belgian First Amateur Division | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 6 | ||
| Ergotelis | 2017–18 | Football League Greece | 28 | 22 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 22 | ||
| Ajaccio (loan) | 2019–20 | Ligue 2 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 5 | ||
| Olympiacos | 2020–21 | Super League Greece | 10 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| Mechelen | 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 34 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 13 | ||
| Gent | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 13[b] | 6 | 1[c] | 0 | 56 | 34 |
| 2023–24 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 11[d] | 10 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 17 | ||
| Total | 59 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 24 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 51 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2024 | MLS | 31 | 10 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 10 | ||
| Career total | 204 | 90 | 15 | 3 | 24 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 244 | 109 | ||
Standard Liège
Olympiacos
Individual