Azor Matusiwa
Dutch footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Azor Melo Matusiwa (born 28 April 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Ipswich Town.
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Matusiwa warming up for Reims in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Azor Melo Matusiwa[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 April 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Hilversum, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ipswich Town | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2011 | HSV Wasmeer | ||
| 2011–2013 | Almere City | ||
| 2013–2016 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Jong Ajax | 30 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Ajax | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | → De Graafschap (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Groningen | 48 | (0) |
| 2021–2024 | Reims | 75 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | Rennes | 41 | (1) |
| 2025– | Ipswich Town | 33 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2014 | Netherlands U16 | 8 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Netherlands U21 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:34, 4 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Matusiwa began his career at Ajax, playing for the youth division. He made one appearance for Ajax at the senior level during the 2017-18 season, in the final game of the season. For his final season at Ajax, he was loaned out to De Graafschap, where he had twenty senior appearances.
At the age of twenty-one, Matusiwa signed his first senior contract for Eredivisie side FC Groningen. After two seasons, he moved to Stade de Reims in the 2021–22, where he became a regular starter. In the January 2024 transfer window, he switched to fellow Ligue 1 side, Stade Rennais. Matusiwa established himself as a regular starter for Rennes during the 2023–24 and 2024-25 seasons, playing forty-five league and cup games. He also featured in the Europa League, making two appearances for Rennes.
At the start of the 2025-26 season, Matusiwa made a first-time move to England, signing a four year-deal with newly-relegated EFL Championship side Ipswich Town.
Club career
Ajax
Matusiwa made his professional debut in the Eerste Divisie for Jong Ajax on 21 November 2016 in a game against Jong FC Utrecht.[2]
On 6 May 2018, Matusiwa made his debut in the first team of Ajax, on the final matchday of the Eredivisie against Excelsior.[3]
Reims
On 31 August 2021, he signed a five-year contract with French Ligue 1 club Reims.[4]
Rennes
On 22 January 2024, Matusiwa signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with fellow Ligue 1 club Rennes, for a reported €16 million transfer fee.[5][6]
Ipswich Town
On 13 July 2025, Matusiwa made the move to England, joining EFL Championship club Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year deal.[7] He became the club's third summer signing, following relegation from the Premier League in the 2024-25 season.[8] On 7 August, fellow midfielder, Jens-Lys Cajuste re-signed for Ipswich Town on a one-year loan following an initial season-long spell during the 2024-25 season - this meant for the reunification of the two players as they played together at Reims during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
On 8 August, he made his debut for Ipswich in a 1–1 draw against Birmingham City in the league. He started, playing eighty-five minutes, before being substituted for Cameron Humphreys.[9] He then went on to start the next two league games - a 1–1 home draw with Southampton and a 1-0 away loss to Preston North End.
On 3 March 2026, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 home victory over Hull City.[10]
Personal life
Born in the Netherlands, Matusiwa is of Angolan descent.
He is the younger brother of the Angolan international footballer Diangi Matusiwa.[11]
Career statistics
- As of match played 3 March 2026[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||||
| Ajax | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| De Graafschap (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Groningen | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | |||
| Reims | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| Total | 75 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 78 | 2 | ||||
| Rennes | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| Total | 41 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |||
| Ipswich Town | 2025–26 | Championship | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | |
| Career total | 245 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 261 | 4 | ||
- Includes KNVB Cup, Coupe de France, FA Cup
- Appearances in 2018–19 Eredivisie Promotion/relegation play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
Jong Ajax
