Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ʁiknɛʁ bɛlɡaʁd]; born 27 June 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Born in France, he represents the Haiti national team.[1][2]
_64_(cropped).JPG) Bellegarde playing for Lens B in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 June 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Colombes, France | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2012 | Villetaneuse CS | ||
| 2012–2013 | Le Mans | ||
| 2013–2016 | Lens | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2019 | Lens B | 38 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | Lens | 55 | (5) |
| 2019–2023 | Strasbourg | 128 | (7) |
| 2023– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 83 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | France U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | France U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2019 | France U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2025– | Haiti | 9 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:44, 17 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:15, 2 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editLens
editOn 29 July 2016, he played his first professional match with RC Lens on the field of Chamois Niortais FC.[citation needed] 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 2017–18 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.[3] On 18 September 2017, he scored his first goal against US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole.
In the 2018–19 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
editIn 2019, Bellegarde joined Strasbourg, where he made 129 appearances.[4]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
editOn 1 September 2023, Bellegarde joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a five-year deal for £12.8m.[4] Later that month, on 23 September, in only his second appearance for his new club away to Luton Town in the Premier League, Bellegarde was shown a straight red card in the 39th minute for his reaction to a challenge by Tom Lockyer.[5] The match finished as a 1–1 draw.
On 4 November 2023, in his third Wolves appearance, away to Sheffield United, where he was introduced as a second-half substitute, Bellegarde scored his debut Wolves goal in the 89th minute.[6] Wolves lost the match 2–1, conceding a penalty deep into time added on at the end of the second-half.
Following his switch of international allegiance to Haiti in August 2025, Bellegarde became the first Haitian-represented player to feature in the Premier League.[7]
International career
editBellegarde was born in France and is of Haitian descent.[8] He was a youth international for France.
In May 2019, he was named to Haiti's 40-man provisional squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[9]
In August 2025, he was called up for Haiti's national football team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification third round and made his debut on 5 September against Honduras, which ended in a 0–0 draw.[10]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 17 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lens B | 2015–16 | Championnat National | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Championnat National | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Championnat National | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 38 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||||||
| Lens | 2016–17 | Ligue 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 1 | 30 | 6 | ||
| Total | 55 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | 74 | 7 | |||
| Strasbourg | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 129 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 139 | 8 | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2023–24 | Premier League | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 35 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| Total | 83 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 96 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 305 | 17 | 24 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 347 | 20 | ||
- ↑ Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
- ↑ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
- ↑ Appearances in Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
editReferences
edit- 1 2 Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ↑ "Joueur – Jean-Ricner BELLEGARDE". Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ↑ "Bellegarde: "Being named captain of RC Lens by Sikora helped me develop"". lensois.com. 8 September 2019.
- 1 2 Stone, Simon (1 September 2023). "Wolves transfer news: Jean-Ricner Bellegarde signs from Strasbourg for £12.8m". BBC Sport.
- ↑ Stone, Simon (23 September 2023). "Luton Town 1–1 Wolves: Hatters earn first Premier League point as O'Neil disputes penalty". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ↑ Thomas, Marissa (4 November 2023). "Sheffield United 2–1 Wolves: Oliver Norwood's penalty earns Premier League win at last". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ↑ "All the nations represented in the Premier League". Premier League. 13 September 2025.
- ↑ "Haiti vs Argentine le 29 Mai". lenouvelliste.com.
- ↑ "40-Player National Team Roster" (PDF). 20 May 2019.
- ↑ "Haiti 0–0 Honduras". ESPN. 5 September 2025.
- ↑ "Jean-Ricner Bellegarde". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
External links
edit
- Profile at the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. website
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French (archived)
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at Soccerway
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at the French Football Federation (archived 2019-07-23) (in French)
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – UEFA competition record (archive)
