Axel Witsel
Axel Witsel, 37, from Belgium ➤ OGC Nice, since 2026 ➤ Defensive Midfield ➤ Market value: €1.20m ➤ * 12/01/1989 in Liège, Belgium

Info
Biographical card, current club and contract facts. Empty fields mean the source did not publish that value.
- Club
- Nice
- League
- Ligue 1
- Position
- Midfield - Defensive Midfield
- Shirt
- #28
- Age
- 37
- Date of birth
- 12/01/1989
- Height
- 1,86m
- Foot
- right
- Citizenship
- Belgium, Martinique
- Joined
- 18/08/2026
- Contract until
- 30/06/2027
- Market value
- €1.20m
- Career fees
- €89.00m
- Youth clubs
- RRC Vottem (1995–1997), CS Visé (1997–1999), Standard Liège (1999–2006)
Statistics
Career totals from Transfermarkt: this season, then by competition and by club. Minutes and cards appear when the source recorded them.
This season
| Season | Competition | Apps | Min | G | A | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26/27 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 146 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
By competition
| Competition | Apps | G | A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jupiler Pro League | 132 | 28 | 11 |
| Premier Liga | 122 | 16 | 9 |
| LaLiga | 114 | 3 | 3 |
| Bundesliga | 105 | 10 | 6 |
| UEFA Champions League | 85 | 4 | 4 |
| Super League | 36 | 5 | 3 |
| Liga Portugal | 32 | 1 | 3 |
| Europa League | 24 | 5 | 1 |
| Croky Cup | 18 | 5 | 1 |
| Champions League Qu. | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| Copa del Rey | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| DFB-Pokal | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| UEFA Cup | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| Russian Cup | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Jupiler Pro League Champions' Play-Offs | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| AFC Champions League | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| JPL Europe Play-Offs | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Allianz Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Chinese FA Cup | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| DFL-Supercup | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Volkswagen Supercup | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Taça de Portugal | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Russian Super Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jupiler Pro League playoff EL | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Club World Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| AFC CL-Qualification | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Supercopa | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UEFA-Cup Qualifikation | 1 | 2 | 0 |
By club
| Club | Apps | G | A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Liège | 194 | 45 | 18 |
| Zenit S-Pb | 180 | 22 | 14 |
| Dortmund | 145 | 13 | 6 |
| Atlético | 116 | 3 | 2 |
| Benfica | 52 | 5 | 6 |
| TJ Quanjian | 47 | 6 | 4 |
| Girona | 32 | 1 | 2 |
| Nice | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Transfers
Recorded moves between clubs, with fee and market value on the day of the deal when the source has them.
| Date | Season | From | To | Fee | Market value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18/08/2026 | 26/27 | Girona | Nice | free transfer | €1.20m |
| 12/08/2025 | 25/26 | Atlético | Girona | free transfer | €2.00m |
| 06/07/2022 | 22/23 | Dortmund | Atlético | free transfer | €4.00m |
| 06/08/2018 | 18/19 | TJ Tianhai | Dortmund | €20.00m | €20.00m |
| 03/01/2017 | 16/17 | Zenit S-Pb | TJ Quanjian | €20.00m | €20.00m |
| 03/09/2012 | 12/13 | Benfica | Zenit S-Pb | €40.00m | €20.00m |
| 13/07/2011 | 11/12 | Standard Liège | Benfica | €9.00m | €10.00m |
| 01/07/2006 | 06/07 | Standard U19 | Standard Liège | - | - |
| 01/07/2005 | 05/06 | Standard U17 | Standard U19 | - | - |
| 01/07/2004 | 04/05 | Standard Yth | Standard U17 | - | - |
National
Senior and youth national-team spells: caps, goals, shirt number and whether the player is still in the current pool.
| Team | Caps | Goals | Shirt | Debut | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 140 | 12 | 6 | 2008-03-26 | Current international |
| Belgium U21 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 2007-06-16 | Former international |
| Belgium U18 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 2006-08-22 | Former international |
| Belgium U19 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2006-10-04 | Former international |
| Belgium U17 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 2005-08-22 | Former international |
| Belgium U16 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2005-05-09 | Former international |
| Belgium U15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2004-03-24 | Former international |
Market value
Current and peak Transfermarkt valuations, plus the history of changes by club and age. Rankings are relative to the current squad, league and position group.
- Current
- €1.20m
- Highest
- €40.00m · 18/12/2018
- Last change
- 05/06/2026
| Date | Age | Club | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24/09/2006 | 17 | Standard Liège | €400k |
| 07/08/2007 | 18 | Standard Liège | €1.50m |
| 31/03/2008 | 19 | Standard Liège | €2.50m |
| 15/07/2008 | 19 | Standard Liège | €3.00m |
| 22/10/2008 | 19 | Standard Liège | €4.00m |
| 25/11/2008 | 19 | Standard Liège | €8.00m |
| 22/05/2009 | 20 | Standard Liège | €8.50m |
| 04/09/2009 | 20 | Standard Liège | €7.50m |
| 28/07/2010 | 21 | Standard Liège | €8.50m |
| 28/12/2010 | 21 | Standard Liège | €8.50m |
| 24/05/2011 | 22 | Standard Liège | €10.00m |
| 21/09/2011 | 22 | SL Benfica | €11.00m |
| 02/02/2012 | 23 | SL Benfica | €14.00m |
| 07/07/2012 | 23 | SL Benfica | €20.00m |
| 04/09/2012 | 23 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €25.00m |
| 09/09/2012 | 23 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €30.00m |
| 13/01/2013 | 24 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €30.00m |
| 19/06/2013 | 24 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €32.00m |
| 03/03/2014 | 25 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €35.00m |
| 31/07/2014 | 25 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €35.00m |
| 23/02/2015 | 26 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €28.00m |
| 18/06/2015 | 26 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €28.00m |
| 06/01/2016 | 26 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €28.00m |
| 01/06/2016 | 27 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €23.00m |
| 27/12/2016 | 27 | Zenit St. Petersburg | €20.00m |
| 05/03/2017 | 28 | Tianjin Quanjian | €15.00m |
| 19/06/2017 | 28 | Tianjin Quanjian | €15.00m |
| 01/12/2017 | 28 | Tianjin Quanjian | €17.00m |
| 05/06/2018 | 29 | Tianjin Quanjian | €18.00m |
| 16/07/2018 | 29 | Tianjin Tianhai (-2019) | €20.00m |
| 22/08/2018 | 29 | Borussia Dortmund | €25.00m |
| 22/10/2018 | 29 | Borussia Dortmund | €30.00m |
| 18/12/2018 | 29 | Borussia Dortmund | €40.00m |
| 05/06/2019 | 30 | Borussia Dortmund | €32.00m |
| 17/12/2019 | 30 | Borussia Dortmund | €27.00m |
| 08/04/2020 | 31 | Borussia Dortmund | €21.50m |
| 16/09/2020 | 31 | Borussia Dortmund | €17.00m |
| 10/02/2021 | 32 | Borussia Dortmund | €12.00m |
| 26/05/2021 | 32 | Borussia Dortmund | €9.00m |
| 22/12/2021 | 32 | Borussia Dortmund | €6.00m |
| 24/03/2022 | 33 | Borussia Dortmund | €4.00m |
| 09/06/2022 | 33 | Borussia Dortmund | €4.00m |
| 23/09/2022 | 33 | Atlético de Madrid | €5.00m |
| 07/11/2022 | 33 | Atlético de Madrid | €5.00m |
| 13/06/2023 | 34 | Atlético de Madrid | €5.00m |
| 22/12/2023 | 34 | Atlético de Madrid | €5.00m |
| 21/03/2024 | 35 | Atlético de Madrid | €4.00m |
| 07/06/2024 | 35 | Atlético de Madrid | €3.50m |
| 27/12/2024 | 35 | Atlético de Madrid | €2.50m |
| 09/06/2025 | 36 | Atlético de Madrid | €2.00m |
| 02/10/2025 | 36 | Girona FC | €1.50m |
| 12/12/2025 | 36 | Girona FC | €1.40m |
| 05/06/2026 | 37 | Girona FC | €1.20m |
xG Statistics
Axel Witsel's xG Statistics block is an Understat shot model for the 2026 season. It does not replace goals and assists — it explains them. xG and xA ask whether the chances were good enough; xGChain and xGBuildup show how often the player was on the ball in moves that became shots. Use minutes as the denominator: a large xG in 80 minutes is a hot streak, the same xG over 1,200 minutes is a role. Figures are rounded to two decimals and stay empty when Understat has no match for this player.
| Season | League | Club | Apps | Min | G | xG | npxG | A | xA | Sh | KP | xGChain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ligue 1 | Nice | 2 | 150 | 0 | 0.46 | 0.46 | 0 | 0.04 | 2 | 1 | 0.27 |
What the columns mean
Read this table as chance quality, not as a scoreboard. A player can outscore xG (finishing well) or lag behind it (missed sitters). Compare rows only when minutes are in the same range.
Apps· Appearances- Matches in which the player was used in this league season, including substitute minutes.
Min· Minutes- Total minutes on the pitch. Useful when comparing output: 1 goal in 90 minutes is not the same as 1 goal in 800.
G· Goals- Goals credited to the player in the Understat shot model for that season.
xG· Expected goals- The quality of shots the player took, expressed as the number of goals an average finisher would score from the same chances. A 0.30 xG shot is a chance that goes in about 3 times in 10.
npxG· Non-penalty xG- Expected goals with penalties removed. This is the cleaner read of open-play and set-piece finishing, because a penalty is usually ~0.76 xG by itself.
A· Assists- Goals that followed the player's last pass. Actual assists, not the model.
xA· Expected assists- The xG value of shots that came directly from the player's key passes. High xA with few assists usually means teammates missed good chances.
Sh· Shots- Total shots recorded by Understat, including blocked and off-target attempts.
KP· Key passes- Passes that led to a shot. This is the volume behind xA.
xGChain· xG chain- Team xG from possessions the player touched. It captures involvement in build-up, not only the shot or the last pass. A midfielder who starts attacks can rank high here without scoring.
xGBuildup· xG buildup- The same possession xG, but excluding the shot-taker and the assist. This is the purest 'how much did this player help create the chance before the final ball' number.
NPG· Non-penalty goals- Goals scored from open play or set pieces, excluding penalties.







