Manuel Benson
Angolan footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manuel Benson Hedilazio (born 28 March 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Maccabi Haifa. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Angola national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Benson Hedilazio[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 March 1997[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lokeren, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Maccabi Haifa | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2007 | Lokeren | ||
| 2007–2010 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2010–2014 | Lierse | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Lierse | 68 | (9) |
| 2017–2019 | Genk | 11 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Royal Excel Mouscron (loan) | 26 | (4) |
| 2019–2022 | Royal Antwerp | 51 | (5) |
| 2021 | → PEC Zwolle (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2022–2026 | Burnley | 44 | (12) |
| 2025–2026 | → Swansea City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2026– | Maccabi Haifa | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Belgium U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Belgium U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2024– | Angola | 9 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:29, 1 December 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11:58, 4 January 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Club career
Benson made his top flight debut, playing for Lierse, on 19 April 2014 against KV Oostende in a 2–0 home defeat. He replaced Ahmed Sayed after 87 minutes.[5] In the 2016–17 season he played 37 league games for Lierse, scoring 7 goals,[6] four of which in 9 Europa League play-offs games.[7] In this season Benson also tied with Kevin Kis for the league's top assist provider.[8]
In 2017, he moved to RC Genk, and was loaned out to Royal Excel Mouscron for the 2018–19 season. He played a total of 28 games for Mouscron, scoring 6 goals. Benson had the most assists in the regular season behind Hans Vanaken and Alejandro Pozuelo with 8.[9][10]
In September 2019, he moved to Royal Antwerp FC on a permanent move.
In the 2020–21 season, Benson played five games in the Belgian First Division A and 3 games in the UEFA Europa League, scoring one goal in Antwerp's 3–1 win over Ludogorets, which allowed them to advance to the Round of 32.[11] On 26 January 2021, Benson moved to Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle on a loan deal until the end of the season.[12] He had the most assists of his team in the 2020–21 Eredivisie, recording four assists in 13 league games.[13][14]
On 4 August 2022, Benson joined EFL Championship club Burnley for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.[15] He scored his first goal for Burnley in a 2–1 win against Bristol City on 17 September 2022.[16] He scored his first FA Cup goals on 7 January 2023, notching a pair in an away game against Bournemouth.[17]
International career
Benson made his debut for the Angola national team on 7 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Eswatini at the Estádio 11 de Novembro. He substituted Felício Milson in the 69th minute of Angola's 1–0 victory.[18]
On 3 December 2025, Benson was called up to the Angola squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[19]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 25 November 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lierse | 2013–14[2] | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15[2] | Belgian Pro League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16[2] | Belgian Second Division | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17[2] | Belgian First Division B | 37 | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 71 | 10 | ||||
| Genk | 2017–18[2] | Belgian First Division A | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19[2] | Belgian First Division A | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20[2] | Belgian First Division A | 3 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| Mouscron (loan) | 2018–19[2] | Belgian First Division A | 26 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 28 | 6 | |||
| Antwerp | 2019–20[2] | Belgian First Division A | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[2] | Belgian First Division A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22[2] | Belgian First Division A | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 1 | — | 42 | 6 | |||
| 2022–23[2] | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2[f] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | 12 | 2 | — | 69 | 8 | ||||
| PEC Zwolle (loan) | 2020–21[2] | Eredivisie | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Burnley | 2022–23[2] | Championship | 33 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 13 | ||
| 2023–24[20] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25[21] | Championship | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| 2025–26[22] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 44 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 14 | ||||
| Swansea City (loan) | 2025–26[2] | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 219 | 30 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 256 | 38 | ||
- Includes Belgian Cup, FA Cup
- Appearances in Belgian Pro League relegation play-offs
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 29 December 2025[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | |||
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
Honours
Genk
Antwerp
Burnley
Individual
