# Cyriel Dessers
**Cyriel Kolawole Dessers** (born 1994) is a Belgian-born Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Greek club Panathinaikos and the Nigeria national team. He is right-footed and has previously played for Rangers, Cremonese, Genk, Feyenoord, Heracles, FC Utrecht, NAC Breda, Lokeren, and OH Leuven.[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1994; right-footed striker[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) |
| Current club | Panathinaikos, since September 2025[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) |
| Trophies | Belgian Cup 2020/21 with Genk; Scottish League Cup 2023/24 with Rangers[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) |
| Feyenoord loan | 20 goals in 41 matches in 2021/22; runner-up in the Europa Conference League[2](https://www.krcgenk.be/en/news/4776/cyriel-dessers-27-joins-cremonese) |
| Rangers record | 52 goals in 113 games, a goal every 134 minutes, with a 20.2% shot conversion rate[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) |
| Best Rangers season | 29 goals in 2024/25, exceeded in the Premiership only by Celtic's Daizen Maeda[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) |
| Nigeria | AFCON 2023 provisional squad member; scored a penalty in a 2-1 friendly win over Ghana in March 2024[4](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf) • [5](https://cdn.businessday.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BD_20240324.pdf) |
## Early career in Belgium and the Netherlands
Dessers came through in Belgian football, with senior spells at OH Leuven from January 2014, Lokeren from July 2014, and [NAC Breda](https://www.edgepedia.org/nac-breda) from July 2016, where his 29 goals in 40 matches stand as his most productive single-club season on record.[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers)
At Genk, his opportunities were limited by the presence of [Paul Onuachu](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-onuachu) as the team's starting striker, though he collected a Belgian Cup winner's medal in 2020/21 and received his first call-up to the Nigerian national team for his achievements with the club.[2](https://www.krcgenk.be/en/news/4776/cyriel-dessers-27-joins-cremonese)
## Feyenoord, Cremonese, and Rangers
**The Feyenoord loan.** In August 2021 Dessers joined [Feyenoord](https://www.edgepedia.org/feyenoord) on loan. He scored 20 goals in 41 matches and finished as runner-up in the Europa Conference League, but Feyenoord were unable to exercise his purchase option, so he returned to Genk for preseason.[2](https://www.krcgenk.be/en/news/4776/cyriel-dessers-27-joins-cremonese) He was immediately among the top scorers at the start of the Belgian league season, and after three matches and three goals he moved to the Italian Serie A club Cremonese in August 2022.[2](https://www.krcgenk.be/en/news/4776/cyriel-dessers-27-joins-cremonese) • [1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) His single Cremonese season produced 7 goals in 29 matches.[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers)
**Rangers, 2023 to 2025.** Dessers joined Rangers from Cremonese in the summer of 2023 for a reported €5 million fee.[6](https://download.thisdaylive.com/editions/2025/05/17.pdf) Across three seasons he scored 52 goals in 113 games, a goal every 134 minutes, and won the [Scottish League Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-league-cup) in 2023/24.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) • [1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) His 2024/25 season brought 29 goals, a total exceeded in the [Premiership](https://www.edgepedia.org/premiership) only by Celtic's Daizen Maeda, and he scored in every post-split Premiership fixture, with six goals in the final five games.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) He also scored repeatedly in European competition, with a last-minute equalizer away to Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League qualifying, another against Olympiakos in the Europa League, an 88th-minute goal at [Old Trafford](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-trafford) against Manchester United, and the opener in a 3-1 win over José Mourinho's Fenerbahce that helped Rangers reach the quarter-finals.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) He was a runner-up in the 2024 Scottish Cup with Rangers.[7](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/cyriel-dessers/202295)
In September 2025 he left Rangers for Panathinaikos, where he signed a contract running to 30 June 2028.[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers)
## International career
Dessers represented Belgium at under-21 level in 2015 before switching to Nigeria, for whom he debuted in September 2020.[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) He was named in Nigeria's provisional squad for the 2023 [Africa Cup of Nations](https://www.edgepedia.org/africa-cup-of-nations), listed with Rangers as his club.[4](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf) In March 2024 he scored a penalty in Nigeria's 2-1 friendly win over Ghana in Marrakech, a match in which Ghana's Jerome Opoku was sent off.[5](https://cdn.businessday.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BD_20240324.pdf) FotMob credits him with 11 caps and 4 goals for Nigeria through March 2026, while Field Insider records 20 appearances and 5 goals; the two databases disagree on the totals.[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers) • [8](https://fieldinsider.com/scout-report/cyriel-kolawole-dessers-37186)
## Playing style and reception
Dessers's Rangers career was defined by a gap between his goal output and his reception. [BBC Sport](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-sport) noted that, setting aside Rangers' years in the lower leagues, his single-season tally was bettered over the previous two decades only by the best seasons of [Alfredo Morelos](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfredo-morelos), Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd, Nacho Novo, and Dado Prso, yet criticism centered on his shot conversion rate of 20.2%, about one goal in five attempts, and a perceived difficulty bringing others into play.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68870713) • [3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) Dessers addressed the misses directly after scoring against Olympiakos: "That's the life of a striker. Who am I as Cyriel Dessers not to miss chances? You're always going to miss more than you score."[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo)
His movement and availability drew praise from coaches. Former Rangers assistant Neil McCann called him a goal threat and the club's main number nine, and manager Russell Martin described him as "brilliant" after the 3-0 Champions League qualifying win over Viktoria Plzen in August 2025.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo) A recruitment analysis of his Genk signing highlighted his technical ability, composure, and unselfish play in laying off chances to teammates.[10](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/cyriel-dessers-to-genk-recruitment-analysis-tactical-analysis-tactics)
## References
1. [Cyriel Dessers – stats, career and market value, FotMob](https://www.fotmob.com/players/526230/cyriel-dessers)
2. [Cyriel Dessers (27) joins Cremonese, KRC Genk](https://www.krcgenk.be/en/news/4776/cyriel-dessers-27-joins-cremonese)
3. [Cyriel Dessers: Can Rangers afford to let striker go?, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4gl2kwnk7eo)
4. [AFCON 2023 provisional squads list, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/media/szzh20fx/afcon-2023-provisional-squads-list.pdf)
5. [Super Eagles turn at, BusinessDay (24 March 2024)](https://cdn.businessday.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BD_20240324.pdf)
6. [THISDAY, The Saturday Newspaper, 17 May 2025](https://download.thisdaylive.com/editions/2025/05/17.pdf)
7. [Cyriel Dessers – joueur de football, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/cyriel-dessers/202295)
8. [Cyriel Kolawole Dessers – Career Stats, Field Insider](https://fieldinsider.com/scout-report/cyriel-kolawole-dessers-37186)
9. [Cyriel Dessers: Rangers striker defies doubters to seal Scottish Cup final with Celtic, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68870713)
10. [Cyriel Dessers to Genk – recruitment analysis, Total Football Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/cyriel-dessers-to-genk-recruitment-analysis-tactical-analysis-tactics)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Africa › West African footballers › Nigerian footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license