A FORMER Belgium international once celebrated Premier League title success and Championship promotion in the very SAME SEASON.
This 35-year-old came through the ranks at Royal Antwerp before Stoke snapped him up in 2007.
He failed to make a league appearance for the Potters but, after a loan at Wrexham, Manchester United swooped to sign him in 2009.
He went on to play three times in the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson but spent the majority of his three years at Old Trafford out on loan.
He had spells with Sheffield United, Preston, Portsmouth and Norwich before leaving permanently for Leicester in 2012.
It was at the Foxes where he enjoyed most action in England, playing over 100 times for them and helping them to win the Championship in 2014.
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However, it was two years later that he enjoyed double joy.
Having made a number of appearances, largely from the bench, during the first half of the 2015/16 season, this ace headed out on loan to Middlesbrough for the second part of the campaign.
And while his team-mates back at Leicester defied 5,000/1 odds to lift their first-ever league title, he was also celebrating at the Riverside as they won promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.
The player in question is, of course, Ritchie De Laet.
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But just weeks after that double whammy, he was lining-up for a brand new club.
That summer he signed for Aston Villa on a permanent basis, but things failed to work out for him there.
He only made eight league appearances and ended up being shipped out on loan back to his first club Royal Antwerp before heading to Australia with Melbourne City.
However, he has enjoyed more success since then in his later years.
De Laet, who was capped twice by Belgium, secured a permanent switch to Antwerp in 2019 and he is still part of their squad today.
He toasted Belgian Pro League joy in 2022 and has also helped them to lift the Belgian Cup twice as well as the domestic Super Cup.
And with both nations close to his heart, he will no doubt be tuning in to watch England’s friendly with Belgium at Wembley on Tuesday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
