Mats Rits

Mats Rits

Rits with Club Brugge in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-07-18) 18 July 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Antwerp, Belgium
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	RSC Anderlecht
Number	23
Youth career
1999–2001	FC Walem
2001–2004	Lierse
2004–2009	Germinal Beerschot
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2011	Germinal Beerschot	23	(2)
2011–2013	Ajax	0	(0)
2013–2018	Mechelen	143	(16)
2018–2023	Club Brugge	151	(19)
2023–	Anderlecht	58	(1)
International career‡
2008	Belgium U15	7	(3)
2008–2009	Belgium U16	12	(3)
2008–2009	Belgium U17	5	(1)
2011–2012	Belgium U19	6	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 February 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:12, 4 October 2018 (UTC)

Mats Rits (born 18 July 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for RSC Anderlecht. He made his professional debut at age 16 at Germinal Beerschot, where he was formed. He then moved to the famed Ajax academy system before moving back to his native Belgium to play in the Belgian First Division A.

Career

Germinal Beerschot

Rits made his debut at the highest level of Belgian football in a 3–1 win over VC Westerlo. He came on the pitch in the 30th minute as a replacement for the injured Daniel Cruz. Mats Rits scored the equalizer and the last goal of the match.

During his youth career, several bigger clubs showed interest in the Belgium youth international, who had captained his country at the Under-17 level. RSC Anderlecht, Real Madrid, and Ajax were all clubs that expressed an interest in Rits. ^[1]

Ajax

On 28 June 2011, Rits signed a contract with Ajax. ^[2] He scored his first goal for Ajax in a friendly match against VV Buitenpost on 2 July 2011 in the 75th minute, with the match ending in a 4–0 away win for Ajax. Four days later on 6 July 2011, Rits scored an additional two goals in the 64th and 70th minutes in a friendly fixture against AZSV Aalten. The match ended in a 11–0 away win for the Amsterdam side. Suffering a back injury during practice, Rits was sidelined for the entire 2011–12 season, and for the first half of the 2012–13 season. He appeared in a couple more friendly fixtures for Ajax while recuperating, but was unable to find his way back into the A-Selection. On 9 October 2012, Rits scored the only goal for Ajax in a 1–1 draw at home, in the 76th minute, in a friendly match against Slovakia club AS Trenčín.

KV Mechelen

Unable to break through into the first team in Amsterdam following his injury, Rits returned to Belgium, signing a 2.5-year contract with KV Mechelen during the Winter transfer window, on 6 January 2013. ^[3]

Club Brugge

In the 2018 Summer transfer window, Rits was transferred to Club Brugge. ^[4]

Anderlecht

On August 15, 2023, Rits was transferred from Club Brugge to Anderlecht, signing a 3 year contract. ^[5]

Career statistics

As of 16 February 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Germinal Beerschot	2009–10	Belgian Pro League	12	2	1	0	–		–		13	2
	2010–11		11	0	1	0	–		–		12	0
	Total		23	2	2	0	–		–		25	2
Ajax	2011–12	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
K.V. Mechelen	2012–13	Belgian Pro League	12	0	0	0	–		–		12	0
	2013–14		25	1	2	0	–		–		27	1
	2014–15		24	2	3	0	–		–		27	2
	2015–16		28	4	3	0	–		–		31	4
	2016–17		37	5	1	0	–		–		38	5
	2017–18		29	4	2	0	–		–		31	4
	Total		155	16	11	0	–		–		166	16
Club Brugge	2018–19	Belgian Pro League	39	3	1	0	7 [b]	0	1 [c]	0	48	3
	2019–20		20	5	4	1	11 [d]	0	0	0	35	6
	2020–21		37	2	2	0	5 [e]	0	0	0	44	2
	2021–22		33	7	5	0	6 [e]	2	1 [c]	0	45	9
	2022–23		20	2	0	0	1 [e]	0	0	0	21	2
	2023–24		2	0	0	0	2 [f]	1	0	0	4	1
	Total		151	18	12	1	32	3	2	0	197	22
Anderlecht	2023–24	Belgian Pro League	35	0	2	0	—		—		37	0
	2024–25		23	1	5	0	8 [g]	0	—		36	1
	Total		58	1	7	0	8	0	—		73	1
Career total			387	38	32	1	40	3	2	0	461	42

1. Includes Belgian Cup
2. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
4. Nine appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearances in UEFA Conference League
7. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Club Brugge

• Belgian First Division A: 2019–20, 2020–21 ^[6]
• Belgian Super Cup: 2018, 2021 ^[7]

References

1. "Toptalent Mats Rits blijft bij Germinal Beerschot". Gazet van Antwerpen. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
2. Ajax contracteert Mats Rits Archived 30 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
3. Mats Rits ruilt Ajax voor KV Mechelen
4. "Club Brugge haalt Mats Rits in huis". 29 May 2018.
5. "Mats Rits signs a contract for three seasons". rsca.be. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
6. "Club Brugge awarded Belgian Pro League title as season ended early". Sky Sports. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
7. "Club Brugge vs. Gent 3-2". Soccerway. 17 July 2021.

External links

• Player info at the official Germinal Beerschot website (in Dutch)
• Player info at sporza.be (in Dutch)
• Mats Rits at the Royal Belgian Football Association
• Mats Rits at Soccerway