Manuel Benson

Manuel Benson Hedilazio (born 28 March 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Burnley. Born in Belgium, he represented it on junior international levels, before choosing to play for the Angola national team on senior level.

His father, Jorge Hedilazio, is a former Angolan footballer who played for Lokeren in the 1990s.

Early life
Benson was born in Lokeren to an Angolan father, Jorge Hedilazio, and a Belgian mother, Gina Pieters. His parents met in the 1990s at Bobby's Club, a dance bar in Lokeren, while his father was playing for the local club.

Club career
Benson made his top flight debut, playing for Lierse, on 19 April 2014 against KV Oostende in a 2–0 home defeat. He replaced Ahmed Sayed after 87 minutes. In the 2016–17 season he played 37 league games for Lierse, scoring 7 goals, four of which in 9 Europa League play-offs games. In this season Benson also tied with Kevin Kis for the league's top assist provider.

In 2017, he moved to RC Genk, and was loaned out to Royal Excel Mouscron for the 2018–19 season. He played a total of 28 games for Mouscron, scoring 6 goals. Benson had the most assists in the regular season behind Hans Vanaken and Alejandro Pozuelo with 8.

In September 2019, he moved to Royal Antwerp FC on a permanent move.

In the 2020–21 season, Benson played five games in the Belgian First Division A and 3 games in the UEFA Europa League, scoring one goal in Antwerp's 3–1 win over Ludogorets, which allowed them to advance to the Round of 32. On 26 January 2021, Benson moved to Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle on a loan deal until the end of the season. He had the most assists of his team in the 2020–21 Eredivisie, recording four assists in 13 league games.

On 4 August 2022, Benson joined EFL Championship club Burnley for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal. He scored his first goal for Burnley in a 2–1 win against Bristol City on 17 September 2022. He scored his first FA Cup goals on 7 January 2023, notching a pair in an away game against Bournemouth.

International career
Benson made his debut for the Angola national team on 7 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Eswatini at the Estádio 11 de Novembro. He substituted Felício Milson in the 69th minute of Angola's 1–0 victory.

Honours
Genk
 * Belgian Super Cup: 2019

Antwerp Burnley
 * Belgian Cup: 2019–20
 * EFL Championship: 2022–23

Individual
 * Belgian Second Division top assist provider: 2016–17 (joint – 7 assists)