Karol Mets

Karol Mets (; born 16 May 1993) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder for German club VfL Bochum and the Estonia national team.

Club career Early football career in Estonia Mets came through the Tulevik youth system, and played for the club's reserve sides Tulevik II and Warrior.

In November 2010, Mets was included in Flora's first team squad for pre-season training. He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2011, against Levadia in the Estonian Supercup match. Flora won 5–3 on penalties. Mets made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 2 April 2011 in a 1–0 away victory over Kuressaare. He soon established himself as Flora's first choice centre back alongside Karl Palatu. Mets helped Flora win the Meistriliiga title in 2011.

Viking On 5 December 2014, Mets signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Viking. He made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 6 April 2015 in a 1–0 away loss to Mjøndalen.

NAC Breda On 31 July 2017, Mets joined Eredivisie club NAC Breda on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, rumored to be around €100,000. He made his debut in the Eredivisie in a 4–1 away loss to Vitesse on 12 August 2017, when he came on as a half-time substitute for Arno Verschueren. Mets scored his first goal for NAC Breda on 20 September 2017, in a 4–3 loss to Achilles '29 in the first round of the KNVB Cup.

AIK On 14 March 2019, Mets signed a three-year contract with Swedish champions AIK for a fee of €300,000. He made his debut in the Allsvenskan on 31 March 2019, in a 0–0 home draw against Östersund.

Later career On 2 October 2020, Mets signed a three-year contract with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq. On 10 August 2021, he signed a contract with Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia until the end of 2021–22 season. On 7 January 2022, Mets signed with Swiss club Zürich until June 2024.

On 5 January 2023, Mets joined 2. Bundesliga club St. Pauli on loan from Zürich until the end of the season with an option to buy, which the club eventually bought at the end of season. Mets played all games of the 2023–24 season in the starting line-up, only missed out 2 games due to a red card. St. Pauli won the league and were promoted to the Bundesliga for the 2024–25 season. However, Mets only recorded 10 appearances in the Bundesliga before a knee injury he sustained in November 2024 resulted in him missing the rest of the season.

On 17 July 2026, Mets signed a two-season contract with VfL Bochum in 2. Bundesliga.

International career

On 19 November 2013, Mets debuted for Estonian senior squad in a 3–0 friendly away against over Liechtenstein. On 19 November 2024, he featured in his 100th international match against Slovakia during the UEFA Nations League.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Flora Meistriliiga: 2011 Estonian Cup: 2012–13 Estonian Supercup: 2011, 2012

Zürich Swiss Super League: 2021–22

FC St. Pauli 2.Bundesliga: 2023–24

Estonia Baltic Cup: 2021, 2024

Individual Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2023, 2024 Estonian Young Footballer of the Year: 2014