Andreas Schjelderup

Andreas Rædergård Schjelderup is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Norway national team.

IG andreasschjelderup

Club career

Early years

Born in Bodø, Norway, Schjelderup began his career in the youth sector at Bodø/Glimt. Schjelderup was coveted by many big clubs throughout Europe, including reported interest from clubs in top leagues in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

Nordsjælland

In July 2020, Schjelderup chose to move to Denmark to sign with Superliga club Nordsjælland. He was promoted to the Nordsjælland first team following the winter break during the 2020–21 season. He made his senior debut from the starting eleven, in a 2–0 defeat to OB on 7 February 2021. Aged 16 years and 248 days old, he became the 13th youngest player in Superliga history. He scored his first senior goal for the club in a 3–0 win over local rivals Lyngby on 12 March. In doing so, he became the club's record youngest goalscorer in Superliga history, edging out teammate Tochi Chukwuani's record set the previous season, and the fourth youngest overall in league history. On 21 March, the final day of the 2020–21 Danish Superliga regular season, Schjelderup scored both goals in Nordsjælland's 2–1 defeat of SønderjyskE, leapfrogging his club above SønderjyskE and into sixth place, securing the final spot in the Superliga championship play-offs.

Benfica

On 12 January 2023, Schjelderup signed a five-year contract with Primeira Liga side Benfica. The fee reported by Portuguese media was around €14 million. Norwegian media reported, however, that the fee was 105 million kroner, and Nordsjælland also secured 20% of a potential future sale. Schjelderup made his Benfica debut in the Primeira Liga, against Madeiran side Maritimo on 12 March 2023. Later on, Schjelderup made his UEFA Champions League debut against Italian side Inter Milan.
The Norwegian had a difficult start to his stay at Benfica. In the first six months, he only made two brief appearances for the first team, while he also made five appearances for the club's B team.

2023–24 season: Return to Nordsjælland (loan)

On 2 September 2023, Nordsjælland announced that Schjelderup would be returning to the club on a season-long loan deal from Benfica, with the Danish club paying a €2.5 million loan fee. In May he was named the spring season's best player by Danish league managers.

2024–25 season: First-team breakthrough

On 27 October 2024, Schjelderup scored his first goal for Benfica in a 5–0 win over Rio Ave in the Primeira Liga. On 11 January 2025, he scored in the final of the Taça da Liga as Benfica defeated Sporting on penalties following a 1–1 draw in normal time. Three days later, on 14 October 2024, he scored in the fifth round of the Taça de Portugal as Benfica won 1–3 away at Farense.
On 24 June 2025, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich, securing his club's first-ever win against the latter and top spot in Group C in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

2025–26 season

On 12 August 2025, he was in the starting XI for Benfica against Nice in the Champions League third qualifying round. He assisted for the team's first goal and scored the second, helping secure a 2–0 win, 4–0 on aggregate, ensuring Benfica's sport in the play-off round.

International career

Schjelderup has been capped at youth level for Norway. He made his debut for the senior team on 5 June 2024 in a friendly against Kosovo, coming on as a substitute for Erling Haaland.

Style of play

Schjelderup is regarded as a highly skillful and technical player capable of playing in several offensive positions, due to his versatility; throughout his career, he has been deployed as a striker, as a second striker, or even as a winger, although his primary position is that of an attacking midfielder. Playing primarily as a left winger, Schjelderup tends to hug the touchline off the ball. He receives possession from teammates out wide before cutting inside and driving towards more central areas, thus ensuring that he can pick up the ball with space and time before looking to make a real impact. Schjelderup also has the ability to draw defenders toward him. That opens up space for his teammates to exploit. Another aspect of his game is his dribbling, Schjelderup has extremely quick feet and excellent agility in one-on-one duels. When making attacking runs off the ball, Schjelderup’s main objective is to create lateral separation. He very rarely tries to make runs in behind, and instead prefers to make runs out wide and receive in front of the defence. Schjelderup idolises Norwegians Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland, being compared to the latter due to his goalscoring abilities.

Personal life

On 19 November 2025, Schjelderup was convicted of a child pornography offence after he admitted to forwarding a Snapchat video containing two boys under the age of 18 engaging in sexual activity to four of his friends. He was handed a 14-day suspended sentence. He had previously posted a statement about the incident, which happened when he was 19, calling it a "stupid mistake".

Honours

Benfica