Christos Tzolis
Active- Denomination or tradition
- Greek Orthodox
- Current or last club
- Arsenal
- Country (nationality)
- Greece
- League or competition
- Premier League
- Position
- Left winger
- How is the religion known?
- Reported by reputable media
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
We list a player’s religion only where they have spoken about it publicly or it has been reliably reported, and we link our sources. If something is wrong, or a player’s views have changed, please tell us and we will review it.
Table of Contents
What religion is Christos Tzolis?
Christos Tzolis is a professional footballer who is a Greek Orthodox Christian. He was raised in a traditional, close-knit Greek Orthodox household. Tzolis often shows signs of his quiet faith on the pitch, such as making the sign of the cross, carrying traditional talismans, and preferring to step onto the field with his right foot first.
Christos Tzolis plays as a forward or left winger for Premier League club Arsenal. Previously, he played for the football clubs PAOK (2019–2021), Norwich City (2021–2024), and Club Brugge (2024–2026), alongside developmental loan spells at Twente and Fortuna Düsseldorf. He has been a member of the Greece national team since 2020 and has won more than 30 caps for the team. In July 2026, Tzolis signed a £34 million contract with Arsenal, breaking records as the most expensive transfer in Belgian Pro League and Greek football history.
Tzolis’s personal achievements include winning the Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year award, claiming the Belgian Pro League Goal of the Year, and finishing as the 2. Bundesliga top scorer during his time in Germany.
Early life
Christos Tzolis was born on January 30, 2002, in Thessaloniki, Greece. He started playing football at local youth club Doxa Pentalofou before entering the youth academy of PAOK in 2010 at age eight.
Between 2016 and 2018, Tzolis relocated to Germany to spend a two-year period within the youth setups of SG Rosenhöhe Offenbach and SV Alemannia Königstädten, subsequently returning to the PAOK youth system in 2018. He recorded 19 goals in 26 appearances for the PAOK under-19 squad and then earned a permanent promotion to the club’s senior first-team squad.
Club career
Tzolis made his senior debut for PAOK against Olympiacos in June 2020. Two months later, on August 25, he scored twice and recorded an assist during a UEFA Champions League qualifying victory over Beşiktaş. He scored the only goal in the league opener against AEL that September to win Man of the Match, signing a new contract six days later. He concluded the 2020–21 campaign with 16 goals across all competitions. With PAOK, Tzolis won the Greek Cup, was named the club’s Player of the Season, and finished the campaign as the youngest goalscorer in the Greek Super League.
In August 2021, Norwich City signed Tzolis on a five-year contract for a reported club-record fee of £8.8 million. He scored twice and provided two assists on his competitive debut during a 6–0 Carabao Cup victory over Bournemouth. However, he struggled to establish himself in English football, starting six league matches and making 30 total appearances across his tenure with the club. Norwich sent Tzolis out on loan to Dutch side FC Twente in 2022 and then to German second-division club Fortuna Düsseldorf for the 2023–24 season. This move to Germany became the major turning point of his career. He enjoyed his most successful season yet by scoring 22 goals in 30 games. This spectacular form completely rebuilt his transfer value after his tough spell in England.
Club Brugge
In the summer of 2024, Club Brugge signed Tzolis on a permanent transfer. During his tenure in Belgium, he established himself as a key attacking figure and helped the club secure the Belgian Cup during the 2024–25 campaign. He followed that up with a truly historic 2025–26 season. Tzolis scored 22 goals and made a massive 29 assists across all competitions. This run included recording at least one goal contribution in 14 consecutive matches, a streak that helped Club Brugge secure both the Belgian Pro League title and the 2025 Belgian Super Cup.
Tzolis’s individual performances earned him the Belgian Pro League Goal of the Year for 2025 and saw him named the Belgian Pro League Player of the Season for the second consecutive year.
Arsenal
On 23 July 2026, Arsenal signed Greek winger Tzolis for a transfer fee of €40 million, with a contract running until the summer of 2031. A month later, on 16 August, Tzolis provided two assists on his debut in the 2026 Community Shield final to help Arsenal secure a 3-0 victory over Manchester City FC and claim the championship.
International career
Tzolis played for Greece’s youth teams across every age group from the under-17s up to the under-21 squad. He made his senior international debut for the Greece national team in October 2020 in a 2–1 loss to Austria. That same year, Tzolis scored his first international goal in a 2–1 victory against Cyprus.
During the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, he scored three goals in six European qualifying matches for Greece.
