Dieu-Merci Michel
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dieu-Merci Ndembo Michel | ||
| Date of birth | February 9, 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
União de Leiria (on loan from Vitória de Guimarães) | ||
| Number | 86 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2018 | Edmonton BTB | ||
| 2019 | St. Albert Impact | ||
| 2019–2021 | Victoria Highlanders | ||
| 2022–2023 | Vitória de Guimarães | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2025 | Vitória de Guimarães B | 43 | (11) |
| 2024– | Vitória de Guimarães | 9 | (2) |
| 2025– | → União de Leiria (loan) | 22 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 29, 2026 | |||
Dieu-Merci Ndembo Michel (born February 9, 2004) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Liga Portugal 2 club União de Leiria, on loan from Primeira Liga side Vitória de Guimarães.
Michel moved from Montréal to Calgary as a child with his family, where they were homeless and sleeping on the floors of boxing gyms, later moving to Edmonton in 2014.[1][2]
Michel played youth soccer in Canada with Edmonton BTB SC.[3] In 2019, he was named to the Team Alberta squad for the Western Canada Summer Games.[4] He later played with the St. Albert Impact[5] and Victoria Highlanders.[1] He later trained with Canadian clubs FC Edmonton and Pacific FC,[1][6] and then 14 European sides including Belgian club Club Brugge and German club Bayern Munich.[1] In 2022, he joined the U19 side of Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães.[7][2]
Club career
In April 2022, he signed a professional contract with Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães until 2024, where he would first play with the second team.[8][9] He made his professional debut and scored his first goal on April 1, 2023.[10] In September 2024, he re-signed through 2027.[7][11] He scored his first goal for the first team, in his second appearance on January 3, 2025, in a 4–4 draw against Sporting CP.[12] In August 2025, he was loaned to União de Leiria in Liga Portugal 2 for the 2025-26 season, with Leiria holding a purchase option.[13]
International career
Born in Canada, Michel is of Angolan descent.[2] In May 2022, he was named to the Canada U20 provisional roster for the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[14] In June 2023, he participated in training sessions with the Canada senior team.[1]