Philippe Clement (born 22 March 1974) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Scottish Premiership club Rangers.
He began his professional career at Belgian clubs Beerschot and Genk between 1992 and 1998, thereafter he joined Coventry City in England for one season. Clement then returned to his homeland and spent ten seasons at Club Brugge, between 1999 and 2009, making over 300 appearances. At international level, Clement won 38 caps for the Belgian national team between 1998 and 2007 and scored one goal.
At the end of his playing career in the summer of 2011, Clement became head of Club Brugge's U21s.[4] Aimé Anthuenis, his coach at Genk in 1998–99 and one of his mentors, recalled: "At Genk as well as with the [national team], I noticed that he was predisposed for the job. He was interested, asked questions, gave his opinion, behaved like a leader and had a great sense of teamwork."[5]
For the 2012–13 season, Clement became assistant coach of the first team.[4] In November 2012, he had his first experience as a manager on a professional bench and took over on an interim basis for two games between the dismissal of Georges Leekens[6] and the appointment of Juan Carlos Garrido.[4] His debut as a senior manager on 8 November was a 2–2 home draw with Newcastle United in the UEFA Europa League group stage,[7] and three days later lost 6–1 at leaders Anderlecht in the league.[8]
Clement then became Garrido's assistant.[4] In September 2013, he took over as interim coach following the Spaniard's dismissal and then remained assistant to Michel Preud'homme, until the end of the 2016–17 season.[4] Club Brugge won three titles (Belgian Cup 2015, then Championship and Super Cup in 2016), four runners-up and a third place in the Pro League during Clement's stay.[4]
Beveren and Genk
On 24 May 2017, Clement was hired on a three-year deal for his first job as a permanent head coach, at Waasland-Beveren.[9] In December that year, he moved to Genk, where he had previously played.[10] He guided his team to the 2018 Belgian Cup final which they lost 1–0 to Standard Liège; he blamed the referee for allegedly allowing the other team to waste time with trivial injuries.[11] The 2017–18 season ended with Europa League qualification after a 2–0 playoff win over Zulte Waregem and the team made the last 32 in the continental tournament before losing 4–1 at home to Slavia Prague;[12][13] his side won the league in 2018–19.[14]
Return to Club Brugge
In May 2019, Clement returned to Club Brugge on a three-year deal.[15] His team lost the 2020 Belgian Cup final by a single goal to Royal Antwerp,[16] and made the last 32 in the Europa League before a 6–1 elimination by Manchester United.[17] He won the league title in his first two seasons,[18] and was subsequently given a contract of indefinite length.[19] On 17 July 2021, he won the Belgian Super Cup 3–2 against Genk in the Jan Breydel Stadium.[20]
AS Monaco
On 3 January 2022, Clement left Club Brugge after three seasons and joined Monaco of the French Ligue 1 as head coach, following the departure of Niko Kovač. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract until June 2024.[21] His debut six days later was a goalless draw at Nantes.[22] He lifted the team from 6th place to 3rd in what remained of his first season, including a run of nine consecutive victories.[23] In the space of two weeks in March, his team were eliminated from the Coupe de France semi-finals on penalties after a 2–2 draw again at Nantes,[24] and from the last 16 of the Europa League by Braga.[25]
Clement's team came 6th and missed out on Europe in 2022–23, leading to his dismissal.[23] Monaco were eliminated from the third round of the domestic cup by Ligue 2 club Rodez on penalties at the Stade Louis II,[26] and by Bayer Leverkusen on the same method in the Europa League play-in round.[27]
Rangers
Clement was appointed as manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers on 15 October 2023, succeeding Michael Beale, who was sacked after less than eleven months in post, and interim manager Steven Davis.[28] He signed a deal until the summer of 2027.[2]
On his debut on 21 October, Clement's team won 4–0 at home to Hibernian.[29] He won the Scottish League Cup on 17 December with a single goal by James Tavernier in the final against Aberdeen, also taking his unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions.[30] His run ended at 16 games on 30 December, with a 2–1 loss at Celtic in the Old Firm.[31] Rangers came runners-up to Celtic in the league and the Scottish Cup in Clement's first season, being defeated by their rivals four times in all competitions including the 2024 Scottish Cup final.[32]
The day before the 2024–25 season began, Clement signed a contract extension by a further year to 2028.[33] Rangers reached the League Cup final, losing on penalties after a 3–3 draw with Celtic on 15 December.[34] A month later, the club's board backed Clement to continue in the job, despite an 18-point deficit behind their city rivals.[35]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
