# Mikael Soisalo

Mikael Soisalo (born 24 April 1998) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-winger for Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia. He has also represented the Finland national under-21 football team. Soisalo was born in Helsinki, Finland. He began his senior club career on league level playing for Ilves, before signing with Zulte Waregem at age 20 in 2018.

## Club career
### Klubi 04

He started his career playing for in the lower leagues of Finnish football in HJKs reserve team. He has also played for the junior teams of Finland national football team.

### Ilves

On 14 December 2015 it was announced he had joined Ilves a team from Tampere on a 3-year contract.
He stated that his goal for the 2016 Veikkausliiga (Finnish 1 tier) season would be to get a start in the starting line-up. He played an active role in the team's success, they finished fourth in the league and at times they even fought for the championship.

### Middlesbrough

On 5 January 2017, Soisalo joined Middlesbrough on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around €200,000, and was registered to their U21 academy squad.
On 13 March 2017, he scored a hat-trick for the Middlesbrough reserves against Blackburn reserves. The manager praised him for his performance and how he had integrated into the team.

### Zulte Waregem

On 18 June 2018, Middlesbrough announced that Soisalo was to join Belgian side Zulte Waregem after just one full season with Middlesbrough's U-23 side. The transfer fee was not disclosed.
Varzim (loan) Soisalo was loaned out to Portuguese club Varzim S.C. on 29 January 2020 for the rest of the season with a purchase option. However, he only played two games for the club and returned to Zulte in the summer 2020.

### Riga FC

For the 2021 season, Soisalo moved to Riga FC on a 2-year contract. He made his debut on 13 March, playing the first 65 minutes of a 0–2 win at Ventspils. He had an impressive start and had scored seven goals in 15 games in July 2021.

### Puskás Akadémia

On 27 August 2023, Soisalo was bought by Hungarian top-flight club Puskás Akadémia for an undisclosed fee. He scored in his debut, in a 3–1 away victory against Mezőkövesd on 3 September 2023.

## International career

He has been an integral part of the various youth national teams starting from the U-15. During 2016, he took part in Finland's qualifying campaign for the UEFA under 19 Championship. He played well against Kazakhstan, scoring once and assisting three goals. He scored his first goal for Finland U21 on 9 October 2020 in a UEFA European U21 Championship qualification match in Ballymena Showgrounds, Ballymena against Northern Ireland U21.
In March 2022, Soisalo received a first call up for the Finland senior squad for the first time, coming into the squad after the withdrawal of Lassi Lappalainen and Onni Valakari for matches against Iceland and Slovakia.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 9 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Klubi 04 | 2015 | Kakkonen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Ilves | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 31 | 7 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 11 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Zulte Waregem | Total | Total | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| Varzim (loan) | 2019–20 | LigaPro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Riga FC | 2021 | Virslīga | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 9 |
| Riga FC | 2022 | Virslīga | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | — | 34 | 6 |
| Riga FC | 2023 | Virslīga | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 4 |
| Riga FC | Total | Total | 67 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 19 |
| Puskás Akadémia | 2023–24 | NB I | 18 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 |
| Puskás Akadémia | 2024–25 | NB I | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 25 | 2 |
| Puskás Akadémia | Total | Total | 37 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 5 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 164 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 207 | 36 |
* ↑ Includes Suomen Cup, Latvian Cup and Hungarian Cup
* ↑ Appearances in the Belgian Europa League play-offs
* ↑ Includes two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and six appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
* 1 2 Includes UEFA Europa Conference League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

### International

    As of match played on 4 June 2024.
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Finland | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 4 | 0 |

## Honours

Klubi 04
* Kakkonen Eastern Group: 2015
Riga FC
* Latvian Higher League runner-up: 2022
Individual
* Veikkausliiga Breakthrough of the Year: 2016
* Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016