Koni De Winter (born 12 June 2002) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as Centre-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the Belgium national team.
De Winter played in City Pirates Antwerp until 2015.[3] He played the 2015–16 season in the Lierse SK youth academy.[3] The following season, De Winter moved to the Zulte Waregem youth academy.[3] In the summer of 2018, he moved to Italian Serie A club Juventus, becoming the first Belgian footballer ever to play for them.[4][5] Initially joining the youth academy, in the 2018–19 season, De Winter made 27 appearances and scored one goal with the under-17s.[4] In the 2019–20 season, he made 8 appearances with the under-19s team.[6] The following season, De Winter made 23 appearances with the under-19s[7] often playing as captain.[5]
On 28 October 2020, De Winter was called up by Juventus' first team coach Andrea Pirlo for a UEFA Champions League match against Spanish La Liga club Barcelona.[8] On 20 February 2021, he renewed his contract until 2024.[9] On 24 July, he made his unofficial debut for Juventus in a 3–1 win against Cesena; scoring the opening goal in the 4th minute.[10]
De Winter made his debut for Juventus U23 – the reserve team of Juventus – on 22 August 2021 in a 3–2 win against Pro Sesto in the Coppa Italia Serie C.[11] On 20 October, he was sent-off in a 2–2 draw against AlbinoLeffe, ten minutes after his entry onto the field.[12] On 27 October, De Winter scored his first career goal: an equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against Piacenza.[13]
On 23 November, he made his official debut with the first team as well as his debut in the Champions League in a 4–0 defeat against English Premier League club Chelsea coming on as substitute of Juan Cuadrado in the 81st minute.[14] On 8 December, De Winter made his debut as starter for the first team in a 1–0 win against Malmö FF, becoming the youngest Juventus player to debut as a starter at 19 years and 179 days;[15] he was eventually susbstitued in the 70th minute by Mattia De Sciglio.[16]
On 29 January 2022, he had a luxation of his left shoulder during a match against Feralpisalò.[17] On 6 March, De Winter returned from his injury in a 1–0 win against Pro Sesto coming on as a substitute the 85th minute; four minutes later, De Winter scored the winning goal.[18] After the end of the season, on 9 July, the defender officially renewed his contract with the club until 2026.[19][20]
On 9 July 2022, the same day as his contract extension with Juventus was announced, De Winter was sent on loan to fellow Serie A side Empoli,[21] with the deal being made official by both teams the following day.[20][22][23]
On 11 August 2023, he moved on loan to Genoa, with a conditional obligation to buy.[24]
On 1 July 2024, De Winter was permanently transferred to Genoa ahead of the 2024–25 season, as the club achieved the conditional buy obligation for an estimated €8 million transfer fee.[25][26]
On 13 August 2025, De Winter joined fellow Serie A club AC Milan on a five-year contract.[27]
On 23 March 2024, De Winter debuted for the Belgium national team in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland.[28]
A pretty versatile player, De Winter can play as a central defender, a full-back on both sides, a defensive midfielder or even as a mezzala.[3][29]
De Winter was born in Belgium to a Belgian father and Congolese mother.[30]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Juventus U23 | 2021–22 | Serie C | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| Juventus | 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Empoli (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Genoa (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Genoa | 2024–25 | Serie A | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||
| Total | 54 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 3 | ||||
| AC Milan | 2025–26 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Career total | 93 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 108 | 5 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Juventus[31]
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