Benito Raman

Benito Raman (born 7 November 1994) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League club Mechelen.

Benito Raman

Raman with Schalke 04 in 2020
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-11-07) 7 November 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Ghent, Belgium
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Mechelen
Number	14
Youth career
1998	Cercle Melle
1998–2002	SK Munkzwalm
2002–2011	Gent
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2016	Gent	55	(11)
2013	→ Beerschot (loan)	11	(5)
2013–2014	→ Kortrijk (loan)	30	(4)
2016	→ Sint-Truiden (loan)	10	(1)
2016–2018	Standard Liège	22	(4)
2017–2018	→ Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	28	(10)
2018–2019	Fortuna Düsseldorf	30	(10)
2019–2021	Schalke 04	50	(6)
2021–2024	Anderlecht	67	(14)
2024	Samsunspor	11	(0)
2024–	Mechelen	32	(13)
International career‡
2009	Belgium U15	7	(6)
2009–2010	Belgium U17	20	(6)
2011	Belgium U18	2	(0)
2012	Belgium U19	1	(0)
2014–2016	Belgium U21	5	(1)
2019	Belgium	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:12, 9 September 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Youth

At the age of 4 he started playing football at Cercle Melle. He stayed there for six months. In 2001, at a local tournament organised by KFC Semmerzake, Raman was named the best player of the tournament. This caught the attention from Gent.

Gent

After eight years playing in Gent's youth teams, Raman made his debut against Zulte Waregem, replacing Tim Smolders in the 91st minute. In February 2012, Raman chose to stay in Ghent, despite reported interest from Inter Milan, Aston Villa and Hoffenheim.^[1]

Standard Liège

On 27 July 2016, Raman signed a four-year deal with Standard Liège.^[2]

Fortuna Düsseldorf

On 31 August 2017, Raman was lent to Fortuna Düsseldorf until 2018.^[3]

In January 2018, the loan was extended by another season until summer 2019.^[4]

In March 2018, Fortuna Düsseldorf announced they had exercised the option to sign Raman permanently on a contract until 2022, for a fee of around €1.5 million.^[5]

Schalke 04

On 5 July 2019, Raman joined Schalke 04 on a five-year contract, for a fee of around €6.5 million.^[6]

Anderlecht

On 15 July 2021, Anderlecht announced the signing of Raman on a three-year contract, for a fee of €3 million.^[7]

Samsunspor

On 1 February 2024, Anderlecht announced Raman's transfer to Samsunspor in Turkey.^[8]

Mechelen

On 23 August 2024, Raman signed a two-season contract with Mechelen.^[9]

International career

Raman was born in Belgium and is of Spanish descent.^[10]

He represented Belgium as a youth international at every age group from the under-17's to the under-21's.^[11]

On 9 September 2019, Raman made his debut for the senior Belgium national team, coming on as a 90th minute substitute against Scotland in a Euro 2020 qualifier that saw Belgium run out 4–0 winners at Hampden Park.^[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 31 June 2023^[13][14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Gent	2011–12	First Division A	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
	2012–13	First Division A	4	0	1	1	1[b]	0	—		6	1
	2014–15	First Division A	31	8	4	1	—		—		35	9
	2015–16	First Division A	13	3	2	2	4[c]	0	1[d]	0	20	5
	Total		55	11	7	4	5	0	1	0	68	15
Beerschot (loan)	2012–13	First Division A	11	5	0	0	—		—		11	5
Kortrijk (loan)	2013–14	First Division A	30	4	3	1	—		—		33	5
Sint-Truiden (loan)	2015–16	First Division A	10	1	0	0	—		—		10	1
Standard Liège	2016–17	First Division A	21	4	1	1	5[b]	1	4[e]	0	31	6
	2017–18	First Division A	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		22	4	1	1	5	1	4	0	32	6
Fortuna Düsseldorf	2017–18	2. Bundesliga	28	10	1	0	—		—		29	10
	2018–19	Bundesliga	30	10	2	1	—		—		32	11
	Total		58	20	3	1	—		—		61	21
Schalke 04	2019–20	Bundesliga	25	4	3	3	—		—		28	7
	2020–21	Bundesliga	25	2	2	3	—		—		27	5
	Total		50	6	5	6	—		—		55	12
Anderlecht	2021–22	Belgian Pro League	35	9	5	1	4[f]	2	—		44	12
	2022–23	Belgian Pro League	22	5	1	0	11[f]	1	—		34	6
	Total		57	15	6	1	15	3	—		78	18
Career total			293	65	25	14	25	4	5	0	348	83

1. Includes Belgian Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearances in Belgian Super Cup
5. Appearances in Europa League play-offs
6. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played on 9 September 2019^[11]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Belgium	2019	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Gent

• Belgian Pro League: 2014–15
• Belgian Super Cup: 2015

Fortuna Düsseldorf

• 2. Bundesliga: 2017–18