Nathan De Cat

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Nathan De Cat
De Cat with Belgium in 2026
Personal information
Full name Nathan De Cat[1]
Date of birth (2008-07-19) 19 July 2008
Place of birth Vilvoorde, Belgium
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 TSG Hoffenheim
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2024 Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 RSCA Futures 33 (3)
2025–2026 Anderlecht 42 (3)
2026– TSG Hoffenheim 2 (0)
International career‡
2023 Belgium U15 4 (0)
2024–2025 Belgium U17 10 (2)
2025 Belgium U18 2 (1)
2024– Belgium U19 4 (0)
2026– Belgium U21 1 (0)
2026– Belgium 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 September 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:50, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

Nathan De Cat (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnaːtɑn də kɑt]; born 19 July 2008) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for German Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim and the Belgium national team.

Club career

De Cat with Anderlecht in 2025.

Anderlecht

De Cat is a youth product of Anderlecht having joined them at age 10, and he signed his first professional contract with them in October 2023, valid until June 2025.[2] He made his professional debut on 22 February 2024, in a 0–1 Challenger Pro League away win against SL16 FC.[3] On 27 August 2024, De Cat extended his contract with Anderlecht until 2027, and was promoted to the senior squad.[4]

On 20 February 2025, he made his first team debut for Anderlecht in UEFA Europa League knockout game against Fenerbahçe, coming on as a substitute. He is one of the youngest debutants for Anderlecht at 16 years, 7 months and 1 day.[5]

He made his professional league debut as a 1-minute substitute vs Racing Genk on 6 April in a Jupiler Pro League Champions’ Playoffs match, coming on in the 90th minute.

On 1 May 2025, he scored his first goal for RSC Anderlecht against Royal Antwerp FC in a Jupiler Pro League Champions’ playoffs match, after coming on as a substitute for Majeed Ashimeru.[6]

TSG Hoffenheim

On 10 July 2026, De Cat moved to Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim, signing a long-term contract until 2031.[7][8] His transfer fee was reportedly €20 million, with €4 million in potential bonuses, and a future sale percentage retained by Anderlecht.[9]

International career

De Cat is a youth international for Belgium. He was part of the Belgian U17 team who reached the semi-finals of the 2025 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.[10]

On 28 March 2026, he made his senior debut for Belgium as a substitute in a 5–2 friendly victory over the United States.[11]

Style of play

De Cat was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2025: 60 of the best young talents in world football", where he was described as a "towering midfielder", and further "He is a fighter, but loves dribbling too".[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
RSCA Futures 2023–24 Challenger Pro League 100———100
2024–25 Challenger Pro League 233———233
Total 333———333
Anderlecht 2024–25 Belgian Pro League 61001[a]0—71
2025–26 Belgian Pro League 362515[b]0—463
Total 4235160—534
TSG Hoffenheim 2026–27 Bundesliga 20102[a]0—50
Career total 776618000907
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. One appearance in UEFA Europa League, four appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 29 March 2026[13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Belgium 202610
Total10

Honours

Individual

References

  1. "LISTE D'ÉQUIPE" (PDF). FIFA. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  2. "Nathan De Cat signs his first professional contract - October 2023 - Soccerway". rsca.be.
  3. "SL16 FC vs. RSCA Futures - 2 February 2024 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  4. "Nathan De Cat has extended his contract until 2027 | RSC Anderlecht". www.rsca.be. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  5. "16-jarige Decat debuteert bij RSC Anderlecht" [16 year old Decat makes his debut for RSC Anderlecht]. voetbalbelgië.be. voetbalbelgië. 26 April 2025.
  6. "Antwerp-Anderlecht live: 16 jarige De Cat zet Anderlecht op dubbele voorsprong tegen tienkoppig Antwerp" [Antwerp-Anderlecht live: 16 year old De Cat puts Anderlecht 2 goals ahead against 10-men Antwerp]. Sporza.be. Sporza. 1 May 2025.
  7. "TSG Hoffenheim verpflichtet Top-Talent Nathan De Cat" [TSG Hoffenheim signs top talent Nathan De Cat] (in German). TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  8. "Nathan De Cat joins Hoffenheim from Anderlecht". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  9. "Nathan De Cat verlaat Anderlecht en trekt voor 20 miljoen euro naar Hoffenheim". De Standaard (in Belgian Dutch). 2026-07-10. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  10. "2025 U17 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. van Haaster, Jonathan (28 March 2026). "Mika Godts kent sterk debuut voor België, dat vijf keer scoort tegen de Verenigde Staten" (in Dutch). Voetbalzone.
  12. Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (2025-10-14). "Next Generation 2025: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  13. "De Cat, Nathan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  14. "2025 U17 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  15. "Verrassing op de Gouden Schoen: Ardon Jashari (AC Milan) troeft ex-ploegmaats van Club Brugge af met 1 stemronde". Sporza (in Dutch). 11 January 2026.