Mika Marcel Godts (born 7 June 2005) is a Belgian 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 primarily as a winger for

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

Early life

Born in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, Godts began playing football at a young age. He joined the youth setup of

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

, where he developed his technical and tactical skills, before signing with

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

in 2020. He also represented Belgium at under-17 level for the first time in 2020.

Club career

Genk

Godts progressed to Jong Genk, Genk's reserve team, competing in the

Challenger Pro League The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

. During the first half of the 2022–23 season, he made 19 appearances and scored 7 goals. As his contract approached its expiry date in June 2023, Godts indicated he did not intend to sign a new deal with Genk, attracting interest from other clubs.

Ajax

On 31 January 2023, Godts signed for

on a contract until June 2025, with Ajax paying a reported fee of €1 million plus a sell-on clause. He initially joined

Jong Ajax Jong Ajax (; ), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2, is a Dutch association football team. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Jong Ajax is the only reserve team to have won a title in Dutch professional foot ...

, making a goal-scoring debut on 20 February 2023 in a 4–2

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

home win against

MVV Maastricht Maatschappelijke Voetbal Vereniging Maastricht (), commonly known as MVV Maastricht (, ) or simply as MVV, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Maastricht. Founded on 2 April 1902, MVV Maastricht currently ...

. His performances quickly earned him a first-team call-up, and on 9 April 2023, he made his

debut for Ajax as a substitute in a 4–0 home win over

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; ) is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was establi ...

. Godts also featured as a substitute in the 2023 KNVB Cup final against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

, scoring his penalty in the shoot-out which Ajax ultimately lost. He continued to gain experience primarily with Jong Ajax for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. During the 2023–24 season, Godts split his time between Jong Ajax, where he scored 6 goals in 14 appearances, and the first team. His integration into the senior squad was significantly hampered by a thigh injury sustained near the start of the season, which kept him sidelined for approximately three months. Despite the setback, he made 13 Eredivisie appearances and gained his first taste of European football with 3 appearances off the bench in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Godts became a more integrated member of the first-team squad under manager

Francesco Farioli Francesco Farioli (; born 10 April 1989) is an Italian professional football coach who last managed the Dutch football club Ajax. Farioli started his coaching career in Turkey with spells at Fatih Karagümrük and Alanyaspor. He then had one se ...

for the 2024–25 season, often featuring as a left winger. He scored his first goals for the senior team, netting 4 times in the Eredivisie by mid-March 2025, including the opener in a 4-0 win against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

in February. He also scored his first European goals during the

campaign, including a brace in a 4–0 home victory against

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

on 26 September 2024. His growing importance was highlighted when a hamstring injury sustained against

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

in late January 2025 caused selection issues for Farioli on the left wing.

International career

Godts has represented Belgium at various youth international levels. He earned a cap for the Belgium U15 team in 2020. He was a regular for the U17 team, scoring once in 8 appearances between 2021 and 2022. He represented the U17s at the

2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-17 Euro 2022) was the 19th UEFA European Under-17 Championship (38th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth football championship organise ...

finals tournament. In 2023, he progressed to the U19 team, scoring 2 goals in 7 appearances.

Style of play

Godts primarily plays as a left winger but can also operate as an

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. ...

. He is noted for his dribbling ability, pace, and close ball control, making him effective in one-on-one situations. Considered a creative player capable of driving attacks forward, taking risks, and creating goalscoring opportunities, he also possesses finishing ability. His playing style has drawn comparisons with former Belgian international

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Lille OSC, Lille, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Real ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godts, Mika Living people 2005 births Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers R.S.C. Anderlecht players K.R.C. Genk players AFC Ajax players Jong Ajax players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Challenger Pro League players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 21st-century Belgian sportsmen