OneFootball
·3 January 2026
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·3 January 2026
A new year can hardly start any better: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise has just announced that they have signed a new striker. Sure, that’s nice for them, but at first glance, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. On closer inspection, however, a fairytale rise is revealed.

Because Mateo Biondic was recently still hunting for goals against teams like TSV Steinbach Haiger or SG Barockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz. In the near future, the native of Lemgo might face opponents like Bayern Munich or Atalanta Bergamo in the Champions League.
Even if the Belgian top club doesn’t register the 22-year-old for the Champions League, it’s still a remarkable career leap for Biondic. With twelve scorer points recently (seven goals, five assists) in the first half of the Regionalliga Südwest season, the striker clearly recommended himself for much bigger tasks.
The goal-getter was trained at clubs including Hannover 96, Schalke 04, and SC Paderborn, but initially couldn’t gain a foothold in professional football. After a two-year loan, Biondic made a permanent move from SC Verl to Trier last summer. Now, just half a year later, he’s already moving on to Belgium.
📸 PAUL-HENRI VERLOOY
A success story that will likely pay off financially for his previous club as well. According to the local newspaper “Trierischer Volksfreund,” SV will receive up to 200,000 euros in transfer fees for the shooting star. Barely six months ago, Biondic had moved to the Mosel on a free transfer.
The German-Croatian is now following in the footsteps of Deniz Undav. The current national team striker was once discovered at third-division side SV Meppen and then had a meteoric rise. Biondic is now starting out from an even lower tier.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 Thomas F. Starke - 2022 Getty Images









































