Leander Dendoncker

Anderlecht

Dendoncker transferred from K.S.V. Roeselare to R.S.C. Anderlecht in 2009, choosing that club ahead of Standard Liège, Club Brugge and K.R.C. Genk. After performances for the youth team in the NextGen Series and a training camp in Turkey, he was incorporated into the first team in January 2013. He said at the time that he modelled his game on that of the Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets. He made his professional debut on 21 July in the 2013 Belgian Super Cup, replacing Dennis Praet for the final nine minutes of the 1–0 win over Genk at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. On 26 September, he extended his contract until 2016. However, it was not until 1 August 2014 that he debuted in the Belgian Pro League, on the first day of the season away to KV Oostende. After scoring his first professional goal on 18 January 2015 in a 3–0 win at Lierse S.K., Dendoncker was praised by former Anderlecht player Paul Van Himst, who said that there was no better player at his position in the club. He played six matches in the 2014–15 Belgian Cup, which his team lost 2–1 in the final to Brugge. Anderlecht won the 2016–17 Belgian First Division A. Dendoncker scored five goals along the way, including two on 18 December in a 4–0 home win over K.A.S. Eupen. He also played all 16 games in their European campaign that season, which ended with elimination by eventual winners Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. In the first leg of that tie on 13 April…

At the age of 20 on 22 May 2015, Dendoncker received his first call-up to the Belgium national football team by coach Marc Wilmots, along with his Anderlecht teammate Youri Tielemans. He made his debut on 7 June in an away friendly match against France, replacing Jason Denayer for the final five minutes of a 4–3 victory. On 4 June 2018, coach Roberto Martínez named Dendoncker in Belgium's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He made his tournament debut on 29 June in a 1–0 victory against England at the Kaliningrad Stadium, with both teams fielding unfamiliar teams having already advanced to the last 16. Dendoncker was called up by Martínez for UEFA Euro 2020 in May 2021. After starting the first two matches, he was replaced for the rest of the tournament for the quarter-finalists once Axel Witsel recovered from injury. On 8 June 2022, Dendoncker scored his first international goal in a 6–1 home victory against Poland in the Nations League. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he started Belgium's opening match against Canada in a three-man defence alongside veterans Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld in a 1–0 victory. Dendoncker was dropped out in a 2–0 defeat against Morocco. He returned to the starting line-up in a goalless draw against Croatia, which led the Belgians to be eliminated from the group stage.

Club

As of match played 31 January 2026

International

As of match played 17 June 2023

Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Dendoncker goal.

Dendoncker was born in Passendale, West Flanders, to pig farming parents. He is the middle of three footballing sons: younger brother Lars was on the books of Club Brugge KV before moving to Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020, while older Andres played local football and became an agent for his siblings. Lars Dendoncker retired at age 22 in 2023, due to a heart condition. Dendoncker moved to Brussels to play for Anderlecht while in their under-15 team and suffered from homesickness while adjusting to the difference between a largely white rural setting and a diverse urban environment. He attended the Sint-Guido-Instituut school in Anderlecht at the time that it was being filmed for the fly-on-the-wall documentary De School van Lukaku (Lukaku's School) focusing on his teammate Romelu Lukaku. Dendoncker speaks four languages fluently; English, French, Spanish and Dutch. He has noted that he speaks in West Flemish to his family, but the Brabantian dialect when doing interviews for Anderlecht.