Koni De Winter
Belgian footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koni De Winter (born 12 June 2002) is a Belgian[3] professional footballer who plays as centre-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the Belgium national team.
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De Winter with Belgium in 2026 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 June 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Antwerp, Belgium[1] | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AC Milan | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2015 | City Pirates Antwerp | ||
| 2015–2016 | Lierse SK | ||
| 2016–2018 | Zulte Waregem | ||
| 2018–2021 | Juventus | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | Juventus U23 | 22 | (2) |
| 2021–2024 | Juventus | 0 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Empoli (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Genoa (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Genoa | 25 | (3) |
| 2025– | AC Milan | 26 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Belgium U15 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | Belgium U16 | 2 | (1) |
| 2019 | Belgium U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Belgium U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Belgium U21 | 18 | (0) |
| 2024– | Belgium | 8 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:14, 17 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:19, 2 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
De Winter played in City Pirates Antwerp until 2015.[4] He played the 2015–16 season in the Lierse SK youth academy.[4] The following season, De Winter moved to the Zulte Waregem youth academy.[4] In the summer of 2018, he moved to Italian Serie A club Juventus, becoming the first Belgian footballer ever to play for them.[5][6] Initially joining the youth academy, in the 2018–19 season, De Winter made 27 appearances and scored one goal with the under-17s.[5] In the 2019–20 season, he made 8 appearances with the under-19s team.[7] The following season, De Winter made 23 appearances with the under-19s[8] often playing as captain.[6]
Juventus
First call-up by Juventus and 2021–22 season
On 28 October 2020, De Winter was called up by Juventus' first team coach Andrea Pirlo for a UEFA Champions League match against Spanish La Liga club Barcelona.[9] On 20 February 2021, he renewed his contract until 2024.[10] On 24 July, he made his unofficial debut for Juventus in a 3–1 win against Cesena; scoring the opening goal in the 4th minute.[11]
De Winter made his debut for Juventus U23 – the reserve team of Juventus – on 22 August 2021 in a 3–2 win against Pro Sesto in the Coppa Italia Serie C.[12] On 20 October, he was sent-off in a 2–2 draw against AlbinoLeffe, ten minutes after his entry onto the field.[13] On 27 October, De Winter scored his first career goal: an equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against Piacenza.[14]
On 23 November, he made his official debut with the first team as well as his debut in the Champions League in a 4–0 defeat against English Premier League club Chelsea coming on as substitute of Juan Cuadrado in the 81st minute.[15] On 8 December, De Winter made his debut as starter for the first team in a 1–0 win against Malmö FF, becoming the youngest Juventus player to debut as a starter at 19 years and 179 days;[16] he was eventually susbstitued in the 70th minute by Mattia De Sciglio.[17]
On 29 January 2022, he had a luxation of his left shoulder during a match against Feralpisalò.[18] On 6 March, De Winter returned from his injury in a 1–0 win against Pro Sesto coming on as a substitute the 85th minute; four minutes later, De Winter scored the winning goal.[19] After the end of the season, on 9 July, the defender officially renewed his contract with the club until 2026.[20][21]
Loan to Empoli
On 9 July 2022, the same day as his contract extension with Juventus was announced, De Winter was sent on loan to fellow Serie A side Empoli,[22] with the deal being made official by both teams the following day.[21][23][24]
Loan to Genoa
On 11 August 2023, he moved on loan to Genoa, with a conditional obligation to buy.[25]
Genoa
On 1 July 2024, De Winter was permanently transferred to Genoa ahead of the 2024–25 season, as the club achieved the conditional buy obligation for an estimated €8 million transfer fee.[26][27]
AC Milan
On 13 August 2025, De Winter joined fellow Serie A club AC Milan on a five-year contract.[28] On 25 January 2026 he scored his first goal for the club in an away 1-1 draw against Roma.
International career
On 23 March 2024, De Winter debuted for the Belgium national team in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland.[29]
Positions of play
During his career, De Winter has played as a central defender, a full-back on both sides, a defensive midfielder, and as a mezzala (specialized midfielder in Italian football).[4][30]
Personal life
De Winter was born in Belgium to a Belgian father and Congolese-French mother. De Winter holds both Congolese and French citizenship.[3]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 May 2026[31]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Juventus U23 | 2021–22 | Serie C | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| Juventus | 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Empoli (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Genoa (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Genoa | 2024–25 | Serie A | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||
| Genoa total | 54 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 3 | ||||
| AC Milan | 2025–26 | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| Career total | 116 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 133 | 6 | ||
- Notes
- Includes Coppa Italia Serie C, Coppa Italia
- Appearances in Serie C promotion play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
International
- As of match played 2 June 2026[32]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | |
Honours
Juventus[31]
- Supercoppa Italiana runner-up: 2021
