# Charles De Ketelaere

Charles Marc S. De Ketelaere (Dutch pronunciation:; born 10 March 2001) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Serie A club Atalanta and the Belgium national team.

## Club career
### Club Brugge

De Ketelaere joined Club Brugge at the age of seven, also working as a ball boy. He also played tennis as a youth, but chose to pursue football.
He made his senior debut on 25 September 2019, when he played the full game in the 2019–20 Belgian Cup matchup against Francs Borains.
On 22 October 2019, he made his UEFA Champions League debut against Paris Saint-Germain. He started the game and was substituted in the 57th minute with the score of 1–0 to Paris Saint-Germain, the game eventually ended with a 5–0 loss. On 5 February 2020, he scored a goal in a 2–1 win against Zulte Waregem to reach the Belgian Cup final.
On 20 October 2020, De Ketelaere scored the game winning goal in the 93rd minute to defeat Zenit St. Petersburg 2–1 in the group stage of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League.

### AC Milan

On 2 August 2022, De Ketelaere joined Serie A club AC Milan on a contract until 30 June 2027. Signed for a fee reported to be in the range of €35 million, De Ketelaere however failed to fulfill the initial expectations of the Rossoneri, scoring no goals throughout the entire season and making only nine league starts.

### Atalanta

On 16 August 2023, Atalanta formally confirmed the signing of De Ketelaere from AC Milan on a loan move with an option to buy. On 20 August 2023, De Ketelaere came off the bench during Atalanta's Serie A match against Sassuolo, striking the crossbar before sealing his debut Serie A goal with a precise header. The match ended 2–0 in Atalanta's favor. On 21 September, De Ketelaere marked his presence by netting his first goal in a UEFA Europa League group stage match against Raków Częstochowa, contributing to Atalanta's 2–0 victory. De Ketelaere scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions during his first season at Atalanta; the club made his move permanent on 15 June 2024. Later that year, on 26 November, he scored a brace and provided a hat-trick of assists in a 6–1 away victory over Young Boys in the Champions League.

## International career

In November 2020, De Ketelaere debuted for the Belgian senior squad as a substitute in a loss to Switzerland for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. On 10 October 2021, he scored his first international goal in the third place playoff match loss to Italy for the Nations League, 2–1. In a 2022 FIFA World Cup match against Morocco, De Ketelaere came on as a substitute Michy Batshuayi in the 75th minute.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Club Brugge | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 13 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 2 |
| Club Brugge | 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 38 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 46 | 6 |
| Club Brugge | 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 18 |
| Club Brugge | Total | Total | 90 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 120 | 26 |
| AC Milan | 2022–23 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| Atalanta (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 35 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 2 | — | — | 50 | 14 |
| Atalanta | 2024–25 | Serie A | 28 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 11 |
| Atalanta | Atalanta total | Atalanta total | 63 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 92 | 25 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 185 | 34 | 17 | 9 | 46 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 252 | 51 |
* ↑ Includes Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia
* ↑ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
* ↑ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

### International

    As of match played 14 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Belgium | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2021 | 3 | 1 |
| Belgium | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2023 | 3 | 1 |
| Belgium | 2024 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 20 | 2 |
    Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each De Ketelaere goal.
List of international goals scored by Charles De Ketelaere :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 10 October 2021 | Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy | 2 | Italy | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals |
| 2 | 12 September 2023 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | 13 | Estonia | 5–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |

## Honours

Club Brugge
* Belgian First Division A: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
* Belgian Super Cup: 2021
Atalanta
* UEFA Europa League: 2023–24
Individual
* Belgian Promising Talent of the Year: 2020
* Best Youngster of the Belgian Pro League: 2020, 2021
* Dominique D'Onofrio Award [nl]: 2020
* Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 2021–22
* Golden Shoe Best Belgian Abroad: 2024