Manuel Benson Hedilazio (born 28 March 1997) is a Belgian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. His father, Jorge Hedilazio, is a former Angolan footballer who played for Lokeren in the 1990s.

Early life

Benson was born in

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

to an Angolan father, Jorge Hedilazio, and a Belgian mother, Gina Pieters. His parents met in the 1990s at Bobby's Club, a dance bar in Lokeren, while his father was playing for the local club.

Club career

Benson made his top flight debut, playing for

Lierse Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six Be ...

, on 19 April 2014 against

KV Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, an ...

in a 2–0 home defeat. He replaced

Ahmed Sayed Ahmed Mostafa Mohamed Sayed commonly known as Zizo ar, زيزو, ( ar, أحمد مصطفى محمد سيد; 10 January 1996), is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek and the Egypt na ...

after 87 minutes. In the 2016–17 season he played 37 league games for Lierse, scoring 7 goals, four of which in 9

Europa League play-offs The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

games. In this season Benson also tied with Kevin Kis for the league's top assist provider. In 2017, he moved to

RC Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four champ ...

, and was loaned out to

Royal Excel Mouscron Royal Excel Mouscron (, ), commonly known as Mouscron or familiarly as REM, was a Belgian professional football club based in Mouscron. The team was formed as ''Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz'' in the spring of 2010 as a result of the merging between ...

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 Hans Vanaken (born 24 August 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge, whom he captains, and the Belgium national team. Vanaken is well known in Belgium for his prol ...

and

Alejandro Pozuelo Alejandro Pozuelo Melero (born 20 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF. Developed in the Betis system, he amassed La Liga totals of 40 matches and th ...

with 8. In September 2019, he moved to

Royal Antwerp FC Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...

on a permanent move. In the 2020–21 season, Benson played five games in the

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

and 3 games in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, scoring one goal in Antwerp's 3–1 win over Ludogorets, which allowed them to advance to the

Round of 32 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. On 26 January 2021, Benson moved to

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

on a loan deal until the end of the season. He had the most assists of his team in the

2020–21 Eredivisie The 2020–21 Eredivisie was the 65th season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. The season began on 12 September 2020 and concluded on 16 May 2021. On 2 February 2021, the KNVB announced that effective immediately clubs would be ...

, recording four assists in 13 league games. On 4 August 2022, Benson joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal. He scored his first goal for Burnley in a 2–1 win against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 17 September 2022. He scored his first

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

goals on 7 January, 2023, notching a pair in an away game against

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Genk *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champion ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Antwerp *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

: 2019–20 Belgian Cup, 2019–20 Burnley *

: 2022–23 EFL Championship, 2022–23 Individual * Belgian Second Division top assist provider: 2016–17 (joint – 7 assists)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Manuel 1997 births Living people People from Lokeren Footballers from East Flanders Black Belgian sportspeople Belgian people of Angolan descent Men's association football wingers Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players Eredivisie players English Football League players Premier League players Lierse S.K. players K.R.C. Genk players Royal Excel Mouscron players Royal Antwerp F.C. players PEC Zwolle players Burnley F.C. players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England