| Alexis Saelemaekers | |
| Full Name: | Alexis Jesse M. Saelemaekers[1] |
| Birth Date: | 27 June 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Belgium |
| Height: | 1.80 m[2] |
| Currentclub: | AC Milan |
| Clubnumber: | 56 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2012 |
| Youthclubs1: | V. Beersel-Drogenbos |
| Youthyears2: | 2012–2018 |
| Youthclubs2: | Anderlecht |
| Years1: | 2018–2020 |
| Clubs1: | Anderlecht |
| Caps1: | 57 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2020 |
| Clubs2: | → AC Milan (loan) |
| Caps2: | 13 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2020– |
| Clubs3: | AC Milan |
| Caps3: | 99 |
| Goals3: | 5 |
| Years4: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs4: | → Bologna (loan) |
| Caps4: | 30 |
| Goals4: | 4 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015 |
| Nationalteam1: | Belgium U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017–2018 |
| Nationalteam2: | Belgium U19 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2018–2020 |
| Nationalteam3: | Belgium U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 12 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2020– |
| Nationalteam4: | Belgium |
| Nationalcaps4: | 12 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 1 |
| Pcupdate: | 21:04, 17 August 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 07:02, 4 December 2023 (UTC) |
Alexis Jesse M. Saelemaekers (born 27 June 1999) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club AC Milan and the Belgium national team. Although Saelemaekers primarily plays in attack, he can also play as a full-back and wing-back.
In October 2017, Saelemaekers signed a contract at Anderlecht until 2019. On 16 February 2018, he made his official debut against Sint-Truiden. He came on as a substitute in the 77th minute. On 8 June 2018, Saelemaekers renewed his contract until 2022.
On 31 January 2020, AC Milan signed Saelemaekers on loan, with an option to buy.[3] Milan reportedly agreed a €3.5 million fee plus €1 million in bonuses in case of a permanent signing.[4] The same year on 2 February, he made his league debut as a substitute to Davide Calabria in a 1–1 draw against Verona on 2 February 2020.[5]
On 1 July 2020, Saelemaekers signed a contract with Milan which would keep him at the club until 30 June 2024.[6] On 18 July, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 home win over Bologna in Serie A.[7]
In October 2020, Saelemaekers scored his first goal of the season against Rio Ave in qualification match for Europa league.[8] His next goal came on 26 October against Roma in 3-3 draw,[9] his third and last goal of the season was on 20 December against Sassuolo as Milan pulled an away 2-1 victory.[10] In total, he scored three goals and five assists assists of the season.[11]
On 15 October 2021, Saelemaekers extended his contract until 30 June 2026 with a raise in salary.[12] On 4 December, he scored his first goal of this season against Salernitana, a powerful left footed shot in eventual 2-0 win.[13] His next goal came in a Coppa Italia match against Genoa on 13 January 2022, a goal in extra time as Milan won 3-1.[14]
On 30 August 2023, Saelemaekers joined Bologna on loan with an option to buy.[15] At Bologna, Saelemaekers quickly established himself as an important player, fitting perfectly into the manager Thiago Motta's so-called 2–7–2 system.[16] Due to presence of Riccardo Orsolini on the right side as an "inverted" left-footed right winger, right-footed Saelemaekers began to play on the left in the similar role, a position he sometimes played in at Milan in absence of regular starter Rafael Leão.[17] Saelemaekers was about to join Bologna on a full transfer from Milan before Vincenzo Italiano took over the departing Thiago Motta as a manager at the end of the season and declined to spend €10 million on the player, focusing on other transfer targets.[18]
While initially on the summer transfer market due to oversaturation of attacking players on both wings, Saelemaekers arrived to the AC Milan's training camp in July, played in all the pre-season friendlies, and was even a surprise starter for the opening 2024–25 Serie A game versus Torino, playing as a left back in place of Theo Hernandez, who later came on in the second half for Davide Calabria, with Saelemaekers moving onto the right side of a back-four.[19]
Saelemaekers debuted with the Belgium national team in a 1–1 friendly draw with Ivory Coast on 8 October 2020.[20] In September 2021, he scored his first goal in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification against the Czech Republic.[21]
| Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Anderlecht | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 57 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 64 | 2 | ||||
| AC Milan (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| AC Milan | 2020–21 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 40 | 3 | |||
| 2021–22 | 36 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 46 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | |||
| 2024–25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 112 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 10 | |||
| Bologna (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 199 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 237 | 16 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 12 | 1 | ||
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Saelemaekers goal.[23]
AC Milan
Individual
April 2023[25]