When Genk failed to qualify for European competition, Defour tried to move to AFC Ajax in the summer of 2006. Enraged by earlier reports that Ajax had approached the player to broker a deal without their consent, Genk did not accept the proposed transfer fee, and after protracted negotiations, Ajax pulled out of the deal. Defour tried to force a transfer by threatening to leave, using a Belgian law that allowed professional athletes on fixed-term contracts to leave their employers before the end of the stipulated term, but Ajax did not express a renewed interest in his services, and he ended up signing for Standard Liège for a much-reduced transfer fee, effectively breaking a gentlemen's agreement between Belgian sides not to sign under-contract players using the aforementioned law.[6][7][8]
Standard Liège
Defour joined Standard on a five-year deal,[9] being appointed team captain at the start of his second year after taking over from Portugal's Sérgio Conceição – he was just 19 years old.[10] He received the Belgian Golden Shoe at the end of the season in the process, leading the Reds to their first league title in 25 years.[11]
In late 2009, shortly after scoring four goals in 31 games to help Standard renew their domestic supremacy, Defour broke his right foot. During his period of recovery he received a letter from Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, wishing him all the best in his recovery,[12] and this led to persistent rumours of a switch to the English club, but he refuted these by saying "I do know that Manchester United are monitoring me – if everything goes well and I continue playing as I am, there is a better chance of me leaving than there was at the start of the season";[13] eventually, nothing came of it.
Porto
Defour playing for Porto in 2013
On 15 August 2011, Portuguese club FC Porto agreed to buy the sporting rights of Defour for €6 million, and he signed a five-year contract.[14][15][16] He finished his first year with 37 official appearances and added two goals,[17][18] helping his new team to win the Primeira Liga championship.[19]
On 13 August 2014, Defour moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht on a five-year deal, for €6 million. On 25 January of the following year, when playing at Standard Liège, he was sent off for deliberately kicking the ball at home fans who had unfurled a banner depicting his severed head under the slogan "Red or Dead". His ejection caused the visiting supporters to rip out their seats and throw them onto the pitch,[22] and the banner received criticism from both the Royal Belgian Football Association and the league.[23]
Burnley
On 16 August 2016, Defour signed for Premier League club Burnley on a three-year deal for a club-record transfer fee of £8 million.[24][25] He made his competitive debut four days later, starting in a 2–0 home win over Liverpool in which he helped create the second goal by Andre Gray but was substituted early in the second half due to a lack of fitness.[26] On 10 September, also at Turf Moor, he scored his first goal for his new team to open a 1–1 draw with fellow promotee Hull City, and was praised after the match by manager Sean Dyche.[27]
Defour scored a 25-yard direct free kick on 26 December 2017, as Burnley led 2–0 at half-time in an eventual draw at Manchester United.[28] During his later spell, he was constantly bothered by injury problems.[29] His contract was extended in September 2018 to last until June 2020,[30] but on 31 August 2019, he had it terminated citing personal reasons and a need to return to Belgium.[31]
In September 2022, Dyche named Defour as the most talented player he ever coached in his ten years at Burnley.[32]
Later career
In September 2019, aged 31, Defour joined Antwerp on a one-year deal.[33][34] On 16 October 2020, he returned to Mechelen 13 years after leaving the Achter de Kazerne, agreeing to a performance-oriented contract.[35]
Defour announced his retirement on 11 May 2021.[36]
Defour scored once in three appearances in qualification for the 2014 World Cup, opening a 2–0 away defeat of Scotland on 6 September 2013.[39] He was selected for the finals in Brazil by manager Marc Wilmots,[40] making his debut in the competition on 26 June in the third group stage match against South Korea after Belgium had already won their first two outings and sealed qualification, and was sent off in the last minute of the first half of the eventual 1–0 win after a rash tackle on Kim Shin-wook.[41]
Defour missed UEFA Euro 2016 due to injury and the 2018 World Cup, having been sidelined since that January.[42] On 25 May that year, the 30-year-old announced his retirement from international football.[43]
On 2 November 2023, after having been ousted by lowly Knokke in the round of 32 of the domestic cup and with the team inside the relegation zone in the league, Defour was dismissed.[47]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[48]
^"Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
^"Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
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