Karol Mets
Estonian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karol Mets (Estonian: [ˈkɑrol mets]; born 16 May 1993) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli and the Estonia national team.
|
Mets playing for CSKA Sofia in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 May 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Viljandi, Estonia | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | FC St. Pauli | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2009 | Tulevik | ||
| 2011 | Flora | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2010 | Tulevik II | 51 | (4) |
| 2010 | Warrior | 4 | (1) |
| 2010–2014 | Flora | 115 | (7) |
| 2011–2012 | Flora II | 19 | (3) |
| 2014–2017 | Viking | 72 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | NAC Breda | 40 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | AIK | 46 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | Al-Ettifaq | 23 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | CSKA Sofia | 12 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Zürich | 25 | (1) |
| 2023 | → FC St. Pauli (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2023– | FC St. Pauli | 60 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | Estonia U17 | 8 | (0) |
| 2010 | Estonia U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Estonia U19 | 32 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Estonia U21 | 20 | (0) |
| 2013– | Estonia | 104 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:30, 28 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early football career in Estonia
Mets came through the Tulevik youth system, and played for the club's reserve sides Tulevik II and Warrior.
In November 2010, Mets was included in Flora's first team squad for pre-season training.[1] He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2011, against Levadia in the Estonian Supercup match. Flora won 5–3 on penalties. Mets made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 2 April 2011 in a 1–0 away victory over Kuressaare. He soon established himself as Flora's first choice centre back alongside Karl Palatu. Mets helped Flora win the Meistriliiga title in 2011.[2]
Viking
On 5 December 2014, Mets signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Viking.[3] He made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 6 April 2015 in a 1–0 away loss to Mjøndalen.[4]
NAC Breda
On 31 July 2017, Mets joined Eredivisie club NAC Breda on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, rumored to be around €100,000.[5] He made his debut in the Eredivisie in a 4–1 away loss to Vitesse on 12 August 2017, when he came on as a half-time substitute for Arno Verschueren. Mets scored his first goal for NAC Breda on 20 September 2017, in a 4–3 loss to Achilles '29 in the first round of the KNVB Cup.[6]
AIK
On 14 March 2019, Mets signed a three-year contract with Swedish champions AIK for a fee of €300,000.[7] He made his debut in the Allsvenskan on 31 March 2019, in a 0–0 home draw against Östersund.[8]
Later career
On 2 October 2020, Mets signed a three-year contract with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq.[9] On 10 August 2021, he signed a contract with Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia until the end of 2021–22 season.[10] On 7 January 2022, Mets signed with Swiss club Zürich until June 2024.[11]
On 5 January 2023, Mets joined 2. Bundesliga club St. Pauli on loan from Zürich until the end of the season with an option to buy,[12] which the club eventually bought at the end of season.[13] Mets played all games of the 2023–24 season in the starting line-up, only missed out 2 games due to a red card.[14][15] St. Pauli won the league and were promoted to the Bundesliga for the 2024–25 season.[16] However, Mets only recorded 10 appearances in the Bundesliga[17] before a knee injury he sustained in November 2024 resulted in him missing the rest of the season.[18]
International career
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On 19 November 2013, Mets debuted for Estonian senior squad in a 3–0 friendly away against over Liechtenstein.[19] On 19 November 2024, he featured in his 100th international match against Slovakia during the UEFA Nations League.[20]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tulevik II | 2009 | Esiliiga | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
| 2010 | II liiga | 23 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 55 | 4 | |||
| Warrior | 2010 | Esiliiga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| Flora | 2011 | Meistriliiga | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| 2012 | Meistriliiga | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 4 | |
| 2013 | Meistriliiga | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2014 | Meistriliiga | 35 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| Total | 115 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 135 | 10 | ||
| Flora II | 2011 | Esiliiga | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2012 | Esiliiga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 2 | |||
| Total | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 3 | ||||
| Viking | 2015 | Tippeligaen | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | Tippeligaen | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | Eliteserien | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 72 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | — | 83 | 0 | ||||
| NAC Breda | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 2 | ||||
| AIK | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | Allsvenskan | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | ||
| Total | 46 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 59 | 2 | |||
| Al-Ettifaq | 2020–21 | Saudi Pro League | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| CSKA Sofia | 2021–22 | Bulgarian First League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Zürich | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[f] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| FC St. Pauli (loan) | 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| FC St. Pauli | 2023–24 | 2. Bundesliga | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| St. Pauli total | 77 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 86 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 484 | 18 | 46 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 544 | 23 | ||
- Includes Estonian Cup, Norwegian Cup, KNVB Cup, Svenska Cupen, King Cup, Bulgarian Cup, Swiss Cup, DFB-Pokal
- Appearance in Esiliiga relegation play-offs
- Two appearances in Baltic Champions Cup, one appearance in Estonian Supercup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 104 | 0 | |
Honours
Flora
- Meistriliiga: 2011
- Estonian Cup: 2012–13
- Estonian Supercup: 2011, 2012
Zürich
FC St. Pauli
Estonia
Individual
