Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (; born 27 June 1998) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. A versatile player, Bellegarde can be deployed as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or winger.

Early life

Bellegarde was born on 27 June 1998, in

Saint-Michel-sur-Orge Saint-Michel-sur-Orge (, literally ''Saint-Michel on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne ''département'' of France. It is in the southern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. Inhabitants of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge are known as ''Saint-M ...

, France. He began his football career at the age of 6 with local club FC Saint-Michel-sur-Orge.

Club career

Lens

On 29 July 2016, he played his first professional match with Racing Club de Lens on the field of Chamois Niortais FC. He caught attention in the match against Stade de Reims (1–1, 12th round of Ligue 2) by delivering an assist to Viktor Klonaridis. Often present with the reserve team, he also participated in the under-19s’ campaign in the Coupe Gambardella. During the 2017–2018 Ligue 2 season, he benefited from the arrival of Éric Sikora, who knew him well from his time in the reserve team, to establish himself in the starting eleven. He was even promoted to captain on a few occasions. On 18 September 2017, he scored his first goal against US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole. In the 2018–2019 Ligue 2 season, he scored a goal in the opening match against US Orléans but gradually lost his place in the starting line-up. He regained it towards the end of the season, scoring consecutively in the last two rounds of the championship—a goal against AC Ajaccio and then a double against US Orléans—to secure Racing's place in the promotion playoffs for Ligue 1.

Strasbourg

In 2019, Bellegarde joined

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, where he made 129 appearances.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 1 September 2023, Bellegarde joined

on a five-year deal for £12.8m. On 23 September 2023, in only his second appearance for his new club away to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

in the Premier League, Bellegarde was shown a straight red card in the 39th minute for his reaction to a challenge by

Tom Lockyer Thomas Alun Lockyer (born 3 December 1994) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Luton Town and the Wales national team. Lockyer played for Radyr Rangers, Cardiff City and Bristol Rovers at youth level before ...

. The match finished as a 1–1 draw. On 4 November 2023, in his third Wolves appearance, away to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, where he was introduced as a second-half substitute, Bellegarde scored his debut Wolves goal in the 89th minute. Wolves lost the match 2–1, conceding a penalty deep into time added on at the end of the second-half.

International career

Bellegarde was born in France and is of Haitian descent. He is a youth international for France. In May 2019, he was named to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

's 40-man provisional squad for the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. website * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellegarde, Jean-Ricner 1998 births Living people Footballers from Colombes Men's association football midfielders French men's footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's youth international footballers French sportspeople of Haitian descent Haitian men's footballers RC Lens players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Premier League players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Black French sportspeople 21st-century French sportsmen 21st-century Haitian sportsmen