Michael Frey (footballer)

Michael Frey
Frey in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-07-19) 19 July 1994
Place of birth Münsingen, Switzerland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Grasshopper Club Zurich
Number 99
Youth career
2000–2006 FC Münsingen
2006–2010 Thun
2010–2012 Young Boys
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Young Boys 73 (17)
2014–2016 Lille 15 (2)
2016 → Luzern (loan) 16 (4)
2016–2017 Young Boys 29 (8)
2017–2018 FC Zürich 34 (12)
2018–2021 Fenerbahçe 15 (3)
2019–2020 → 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) 29 (4)
2020–2021 → Beveren (loan) 27 (12)
2021–2024 Royal Antwerp 53 (31)
2023 → Schalke 04 (loan) 15 (0)
2024–2026 Queens Park Rangers 51 (9)
2026– Grasshopper 0 (0)
International career
2010–2011 Switzerland U17 4 (0)
2011–2013 Switzerland U19 12 (4)
2014 Switzerland U20 1 (1)
2013–2016 Switzerland U21 14 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:00, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

Michael Frey (born 19 July 1994) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss Super League club Grasshopper Club Zurich.

Club career

Frey playing for Lille in 2014.

A youth product of Young Boys, he scored 37 goals for the Bernese side in two stints at the club.[1]

In June 2017, Frey signed a four-year contract with FC Zürich.[2] In his only year at Zurich, he scored 16 goals and lifted the Swiss Cup.[1]

In August 2018, Frey joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe for a reported transfer fee of €2.64 million. He signed a four-year deal.[3] After his first season in Turkey, Frey joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg on loan for the 2019–20 season. The club retained an option to make the move permanent.[4]

On 17 June 2021, Fenerbahçe announced that Frey had joined Antwerp on a permanent deal after an impressive loan spell with Beveren in the Belgian First Division A during the 2020–21 season.[5] On 8 August 2021, Frey scored all five goals for Antwerp in their 5–2 league win over Standard Liège.[6]

On 20 January 2023, after two and a half seasons in Belgium, he was loaned to German side Schalke 04, newly promoted to the Bundesliga, with an option to make the deal permanent.[7][8]

Queens Park Rangers

On 28 January 2024, Frey signed for English club Queens Park Rangers.[9][10] Frey scored his first goal for QPR in a 2–2 draw with Norwich City on 10 February 2024.[11]

Frey opened his account in the 2024–25 season with a goal in a 2–1 defeat of Cambridge United in the first round of the EFL Cup on 13 August.[12] The victory earned QPR their first win in the competition for three years.[12] He then scored his first league goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with Plymouth Argyle on 24 August.[13] Six days later, he scored the game winner in a come-from-behind 2–1 win over Luton Town in the league.[14]

Return to Switzerland

On 26 January 2026, he signed with Swiss record champions Grasshopper Club Zurich on a two-year contract.[15][1] A week later, on 31 January, he was nominated to the starting lineup in a 1–1 draw at home against FC Lugano.[16] On 3 February, he started again in the mid-week Swiss Cup quarter-final tie against FC Sion and scored a stoppage time goal to equalize the match at 3–3.[17] Grasshoppers would go on to win the game 4–3 in extra time, with Frey playing the full 120 minutes, and securing their place in the semi-final. He also supplied the assist for the 1–2 in the 76th minute of the game.

Style of play

Described as a "high energy," "decisive" and "burly" striker, Frey's height, speed and strength make him a classic number 9, with the ability to hold the ball up and take on defenders, allied to precision and power in front of goal.[18][19]

Career statistics

As of 3 February 2026[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Young Boys 2011–12 Swiss Super League 2 1 0 0 — — — 2 1
2012–13 Swiss Super League 31 4 2 4 — 10[c] 1 — 43 9
2013–14 Swiss Super League 33 9 2 0 — — — 35 9
2014–15 Swiss Super League 7 3 0 0 — 4[c] 2 — 11 5
Total 73 17 4 4 — 14 3 — 91 24
Lille 2014–15 Ligue 1 15 2 1 0 2 1 3[c] 0 — 21 3
Luzern (loan) 2015–16 Swiss Super League 16 4 1 0 — — — 17 4
Young Boys 2016–17 Swiss Super League 29 8 4 4 — 8[d] 1 — 41 13
FC Zürich 2017–18 Swiss Super League 31 12 5 4 — — — 36 16
2018–19 Swiss Super League 3 0 0 0 — — — 3 0
Total 34 12 5 4 — — — 39 16
Fenerbahçe 2018–19 Süper Lig 14 3 3 0 — 5[c] 2 — 22 5
2020–21 Süper Lig 1 0 0 0 — — — 1 0
Total 15 3 3 0 — 5 2 — 23 5
1. FC Nürnberg (loan) 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 29 4 1 1 — — 2[e] 0 32 5
Beveren (loan) 2020–21 Belgian Pro League 27 12 2 3 — — 2[f] 2 31 17
Antwerp 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 39 24 1 0 — 6[c] 0 — 46 24
2022–23 Belgian Pro League 14 7 3 1 — 6[g] 2 — 23 10
Total 53 31 4 1 — 12 2 — 69 34
Schalke 04 (loan) 2022–23 Bundesliga 15 0 — — — — 15 0
Queens Park Rangers 2023–24 Championship 9 1 — — — — 9 1
2024–25 Championship 29 8 1 0 1 1 — — 31 9
2025–26 Championship 13 0 0 0 0 0 — — 13 0
Total 51 9 1 0 1 1 — — 53 10
Grasshopper 2025–26 Swiss Super League 1 0 1 1 — — — 2 1
Career total 358 102 27 18 3 2 42 8 4 2 434 132
  1. ^ Includes Swiss Cup, Coupe de France, Turkish Cup, DFB-Pokal, Belgian Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c d e Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in 2. Bundesliga relegation play-offs
  6. ^ Appearances in Belgian Pro League relegation play-offs
  7. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

FC Zürich

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c Wedermann, Tobias (26 January 2026). "Michael Frey geht für die Hoppers auf Torejagd" (in Swiss High German). Blick. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Der FC Zürich verpflichtet Michael Frey". fcz.ch (in German). 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Michael Frey joins Fenerbahce from FC Zurich". Turkish Football News. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Frey joins Nurnberg on loan from Fenerbahce". AA. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Welkom op De Bosuil, Michael Frey!". Royal Antwerp FC (in Dutch). 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Standard humiliated at home by Antwerp (2-5), Michael Frey author of five goals". Archy Sport. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Striker Michael Frey joins Schalke 04". FC Schalke 04. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Michael Frey naar Schalke 04". Royal Antwerp FC (in Dutch). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Striker Michael Frey joins QPR". QPR FC. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  10. ^ "QPR sign Swiss striker Frey from Royal Antwerp". BBC Sport. 28 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Queens Park Rangers 2-2 Norwich City: Recent signings combine to earn Rs a draw with Canaries". BBC. 10 February 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b "QPR won a superb Carabao Cup tie 2-1 at Cambridge to record their first win in the competition for three years". BBC. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Plymouth Argyle". EFL. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Match Report: Luton Town 1, QPR 2". QPR. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Michael Frey unterzeichnet bei GC Zürich" (in Swiss High German). Grasshopper Club Zurich. 26 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  16. ^ "GCZ vs LUG". Swiss Football League. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Dank doppeltem Comeback: GC schaltet Sion in extremis aus" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Luton Town 1-2 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  19. ^ "QPR sign Swiss striker Frey from Royal Antwerp". BBC Sport. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Michael Frey - Club matches". worldfootball.net.
  21. ^ "Super League – Salah zum SL-"Spieler des Jahres" gewählt". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 27 January 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
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