Christian Burgess
soccer/football player
Christian is established in the top division of the Belgian league having played for Union SG since the 2020-21 season.
- 250 appearances for SG Union
- Champions League appearances
After several seasons in England (his country of birth) he made the move to Union Saint-Gilloise. He played 27 times and scored twice in the first season, helping them to promotion. Since then he’s made over 250 appearances and as well as playing a key role in defence, scored a few goals too.
The move to Union SG gave him the opportunity to play in European competition. In 2025-26 the club played in the Champions League, recording wins over PSV, Atalanta and Galatasary.
The centre back turned vegan before he moved to Belgium, making the change in mid 2018. He was influenced by some players at Portsmouth FC.
“I went cold turkey after a couple of teammates were talking about it after coming back from the off-season” Christian told Great Vegan Athletes. “I thought I’d watch the documentary they were talking about ‘Cowspiracy’ and then I watched ‘Forks Over Knives’ and one other I can’t remember.
“It all clicked for me and I decided I would give it a go and continue as long as it didn’t affect my performance negatively. I had no issues so continued up until now!”
“I think the need for protein is greatly exaggerated by the animal agricultural industry”
The change
A transition – especially rapid – can have effects and highlight issues or reveal improvements, although Christian saw none of these.
“Honestly I can’t say anything changed at the time I went vegan and it’s hard to say since because who knows how I would be if I hadn’t switched. All I can say is I feel good, recover pretty well and have played a lot of games over the last few years.”
He has noticed that Belgium is less receptive to veganism.
“I always get the question over here of how I get enough protein and the nutritionist is always worried also.”
Christian fuels his training well with “a lot of tofu and tempeh, rice, pasta and beans. Oats every day for breakfast too. Then the usual fruits and vegetables alongside!”
There’s a lot of running in his training which is usually 25-35 km a week which includes sessions every runner knows are in a different class: sprint sessions. “Depending on the week I go to the gym and lift weights but focus on a lot of power work for speed.”
It seems that there aren’t as many vegans in Belgium, and many people see avoiding meat as difficult. As a result, Christian became a curiosity and his diet was an issue.
“At first in Belgium they did but now it doesn’t bother them. Some people are interested and ask questions, they also try the vegan food at work and enjoy it.”
Concerns have been unfounded as he’s retained high levels of health and fitness. In 2023 he was a key squad player, missing just three games all season. He also earned the nickname ‘Air Burgey’ due to his success in the air.
“I take a vegan multi vitamin with B12 & 6. My bloods are mostly very good, only iron is on the limit so I have recently been taking an iron supplement as well. I think the need for protein is greatly exaggerated by the animal agricultural industry and there’s also so many ways we can get our protein from non-animal products, in everyday items people are often unaware of!”
It’s great to see how much Christian enjoys his sport and he’s keen to keep going.
“I have personal goals like trophies and titles” he says “but mostly it’s to stay healthy, play as long as I can and in the future I’d like to become a coach or manager.”