Charles Vanhoutte
 Vanhoutte playing for Union SG in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 September 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Kortrijk, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nice | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2007 | KSC Wielsbeke | ||
| 2007–2009 | Zulte Waregem | ||
| 2009–2012 | KSC Wielsbeke | ||
| 2012–2018 | Cercle Brugge | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2023 | Cercle Brugge | 93 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | → Tubize (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Union SG | 77 | (2) |
| 2025– | Nice | 19 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | Belgium | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 7 September 2025 | |||
Charles Vanhoutte (born 16 September 1998) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Belgium national team.
Club career
Vanhoutte progressed through the youth teams of KSC Wielsbeke and Zulte Waregem before finally ending up in the youth academy of Cercle Brugge. In July 2018, he was promoted to the first team and signed his first professional contract alongside fellow youth prospect Robbe Decostere.[2]
On 14 May 2019, caretaker manager José Jeunechamps[3] gave Vanhoutte his debut in the Europa League play-offs loss to Royal Excel Mouscron. In the 56th minute, Vanhoutte came onto the pitch to replace Naomichi Ueda.[4] In his first season, he made two appearances in the play-offs.[1]
On 1 September 2019, Vanhoutte was sent on loan to Tubize together with teammate Robbe Decostere on a one-year deal.[5] Vanhoutte played regularly, but was unable to prevent the club from suffering relegation to the Belgian Division 2.
After his loan spell, Vanhoutte became a permanent starter at Cercle Brugge, where he signed a contract extension until June 2023 in December 2020, just like fellow academy players Decostere and Thibo Somers.[6]
On 22 June 2023, Cercle Brugge announced the sale of Vanhoutte to Union Saint-Gilloise.[7]
On 1 September 2025, Vanhoutte signed with Ligue 1 side Nice.[8]
International career
Vanhoutte was called up to the senior Belgium national team for a set of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in November 2025.[9]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 March 2026[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cercle Brugge | 2018–19 | Belgian Pro League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| Total | 93 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 2 | ||
| Tubize (loan) | 2019–20 | First Amateur Division | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Union SG | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 10[a] | 0 | — | 54 | 1 | |
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 77 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 106 | 2 | ||
| Nice | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7[d] | 1 | — | 29 | 1 | |
| Career total | 205 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 249 | 5 | ||
- ^ Seven appearances in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Conference League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 7 September 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
Union SG
References
- ^ a b c Charles Vanhoutte at Soccerway
- ^ "Robbe Decostere | Verdedigers - A-kern - Teams | Cercle Brugge KSV". www.cerclebrugge.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Laurent Guyot niet langer trainer van Cercle Brugge, Jeunechamps neemt over tot einde van het seizoen". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Flemish). 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Cercle Brugge vs. Excel Mouscron - 14 May 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Robbe Decostere en Charles Vanhoutte uitgeleend aan Tubeke | Nieuws - Cercle Brugge". cerclebrugge.be (in Dutch). 1 September 2019.
- ^ Verweirder, Luc (10 December 2020). "Cercle Brugge trekt kaart van eigen jeugd: Somers, Decostere en Vanhoutte verlengen tot 2023". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch).
- ^ "Charles Vanhoutte verlaat Cercle Brugge en trekt naar Union" [Charles Vanhoutte leaves Cercle Brugge to join Union]. Cercle Brugge. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ "Mercato : Nice officialise l'arrivée du milieu de l'Union Saint-Gilloise Charles Vanhoutte" [Transfer window: Nice formalizes the arrival of Union Saint-Gilloise midfielder Charles Vanhoutte] (in French). L'Équipe. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "26 RED DEVILS FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS AGAINST KAZAKHSTAN AND LIECHTENSTEIN". Royal Belgian Football Association. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ "Union Saint-Gilloise end 90-year wait for Belgian league title". Reuters. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "Union St Gilloise end 110 year wait for third Belgian Cup victory". OneFootball. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
External links
- Charles Vanhoutte at Soccerway
