The player who was 'wasting away' in the Eredivisie, but is now worth over 30 million

Christos Tzolis couldn’t settle in the Netherlands. FC Twente terminated the Greek player’s loan deal early. According to Ron Jans, that was the ‘humane’ thing to do. Now, the 24-year-old is causing a sensation at Club Brugge, and a transfer fee of forty million euros is by no means out of the question. He tells his story to Voetbalzone for the ‘Hidden Gems’ feature.

By: Lars Capiau

In Christos Tzolis’s family home, it is not difficult to spot which bedroom is his. The only door adorned with a giant PAOK logo unmistakably reveals where the Greek spends his nights. Tzolis has to be careful when opening his bedroom door, otherwise the countless medals, pennants and trophies will simply fall from the shelves carved into the wall.

“This is my favourite,” says a nineteen-year-old Tzolis in the documentary Golden Boy, as he reaches for a trophy. The MVP of a youth tournament in Istanbul, reads the immaculate silverware. “Why? Because Wesley Sneijder presented it to me. That’s why this trophy is the best.”

Tzolis beams with pride as he cradles the 2014 trophy in his palms. The many tangible memories make his childhood bedroom a special place. Christos Tzolis was four years old when, as a young lad, he first scampered across the Greek pitches. He did so at Doxa Pentalofos, a modest little club just outside Thessaloniki, and at that age he became the youngest player ever to play for that team.

The dugouts at Doxa’s main pitch are missing four blue plastic chairs. The stand is missing a handful more, and little remains of the roofing over the long – and indeed only – side. Yet Tzolis feels at home here. “This is where I took my first steps in football,” he beams. “I’ve had some wonderful moments here.”

Between the ages of four and eight, he scampered across Doxa’s somewhat withered blades of grass, until PAOK came knocking. Would Tzolis like to join their youth academy? Yes, was the answer, though there was a cautious ‘but’. “PAOK signed me, but Doxa wanted me to finish the season with them,” the striker recalls in Het Laatste Nieuws.

“So on Saturdays I’d play for PAOK first and then we’d drive to the other match. There was such a short gap between them that I had to change my kit in the car.” His youth years at PAOK remain etched in his memory (and his room). He will certainly never forget a friendly match against FC Barcelona. PAOK received an invitation from the Spanish giants to visit Catalonia. Even a decade later, Tzolis still beams when he talks about it. “I remember it as if it were yesterday!”

“We played against Barcelona and beat them 2-1 – a fantastic experience. We saw it as a chance to make a name for ourselves, because loads of people were watching the tournament. That’s exactly what happened.” Tzolis scored a stunning goal and made an excellent impression on the scouts who were out and about at La Masia that day.

“I didn’t realise it at the time; I only found out later. Barcelona were interested, but I was very young. In the end, it didn’t work out.” Tzolis’ talent is beyond doubt at PAOK – where he once scored 100 goals in 48 matches for one of the youth teams.

People in Greece were therefore deeply disappointed when the Tzolis family were forced to leave the country due to the severe financial crisis. “During the financial crisis, things didn’t look good for us in terms of work,” recalls Tzolis’s father. “That’s why we decided to move to Germany as a family.”

Tzolis had to adapt to his new surroundings, school and friends, but above all to football. In Germany, he played at a lower level than he was used to, in the youth teams of less illustrious clubs such as SV Alemannia or SC Rosenhöhe. However, homesickness took hold of the Tzolis family, and so the family returned to their homeland in 2018.

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There, PAOK welcomed him back with open arms and in his first youth match back on Greek soil, the lightning-fast striker – who once started as a right-back – immediately scored three times. He hadn’t lost his touch for football in Germany. He made his debut for the first team against Olympiacos, and in the very next match he scored his first goal.

In the Champions League qualifiers, he cemented his place in the starting line-up with two goals and an assist against Besiktas. After 57 appearances for the first team, a nineteen-year-old Tzolis spread his wings for the second time. This time, his destination was not Germany, but England.

Norwich City were prepared to break their own transfer record to pry the talented Tzolis away from PAOK. He cost eleven million euros. It was certainly no success in the Premier League. Years later, the Greek himself simply shrugs it off. “What can I say about it? Just look at my playing minutes. I have to laugh about it now. Less than 800 in a whole season.”

“With five games left in the season, Norwich were already mathematically certain of relegation. Do you know how many minutes I got in those five matches? Zero! Even though they paid a lot of money for me, you know. I’m still the club’s record signing to this day. In England, I learnt that football can be a nasty business. At PAOK, everything always went my way.”

It’s a valuable lesson, says Tzolis, who is set to be loaned out to FC Twente the following season. Ron Jans, then head coach in Enschede, is ‘absolutely delighted’ with his arrival. The joy is short-lived. Tzolis is still struggling with a knee injury and fails to displace Virgil Misidjan from the starting line-up.

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It was up to Jans to decide: should Twente cut the loan short? Yes, the manager felt. “We weighed up the options and I could just see the lad wasting away a bit. He’d been injured and his substitute appearances afterwards were also very difficult. The human aspect is important too,” Jans told 1Twente.

These are the toughest years of his career. Tzolis is always cheerful, happy and friendly. “That’s just my nature. Look, as a footballer you have a fantastic life. My hobby is my profession and I’ve realised almost all my dreams at a young age.” Before every match, Tzolis makes the sign of the cross with his fingers. It’s no coincidence that Christos’s greatest heroes are Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

A second loan spell was intended to get him back on track. Tzolis returned to Germany, this time to second-tier side Fortuna Düsseldorf. With 22 goals (and 7 assists to boot), the left winger emerged as joint top scorer in the league. The major downside: the painful failure to secure promotion. The 3-0 lead against VfL Bochum, partly thanks to two assists from Tzolis, is completely squandered in the return leg.

Naturally, Fortuna exercised the purchase option they had stipulated in Tzolis’s loan contract, but the Greek was not a long-term fit for the Germans. Three days later, he was back in Bruges, with Club paying €6.5 million. After six months in Belgium, he was truly in his element.

In the calendar year 2025, Tzolis scores 25 goals and provides 23 assists. With those incredible figures, he is second only to Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Vangelis Pavlidis and Michael Olise. Offers of more than 30 million euros are therefore sent straight to the bin by the Blue and Blacks.

“Christos is someone who proves himself week in, week out,” says former Club coach Nicky Hayen of his protégé. “Not just in terms of statistics or his threatening runs. But his mentality makes him a huge asset too. He fits in very well with the squad. A model professional you want to work with every day.”

His parents couldn’t agree more. “He’s determined and he keeps both feet firmly on the ground. He’s a quiet lad who works hard,” says his mother of her Golden Boy. She quickly adds: “And he’s a fussy eater!” Tzolis can hardly deny that.

“Last summer, when I’d only just arrived here, we went on a training camp to the Netherlands. There was tzatziki on the table every single evening. I think I was the only one who didn’t eat it. And everyone just laughed. Since then, they’ve started calling me ‘Tzatziki’.”

The Belgian press can also paint a rather apt portrait of ‘Tzatziki’. “He’s a lovely, fun bloke, but he does like being in the spotlight. To shine on the pitch and get recognition off it.” So when Tzolis missed out on the Golden Boot in January, he was ‘absolutely gutted’.

“Am I disappointed? Yes, I am. Because honestly, I hadn’t expected this at all,” said the Greek after Ardon Jashari walked away with the prize. In Belgium, journalists speak of a ‘massive slump in form’. “Since missing out on the Golden Boot, he’s been struggling mentally. You can see that not only in his performances, but also in his face.”

But now the statistics and Tzolis are back in harmony. With three goals and two assists in the last four league matches – and a goal in the Champions League match against Atlético Madrid too – the slump seems to be over. It turns out: Tzolis really doesn’t like slumps.

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