Matsumoto Yamaga In 2016, Maeda joined
Matsumoto Yamaga FC. He got his J-League debut on 28 February 2016. It was on 28 August 2016, that he scored his first goal as a professional in an
Emperor's Cup game against
Tokuyama University. After his loan spell at
Mito, he struggled for regular playing time and was loaned to the Portuguese club,
Maritimo in 2019. He left the club in 2021 after his loan with
Yokohama F. Marinos was made permanent.
Mito HollyHock (loan) Maeda joined
Mito HollyHock on a loan deal from February 2017 until January 2018. He ended the season while scoring 13 goals.
Maritimo (loan) On 11 August 2019, he made his debut in the opening round of
Portuguese League against
Sporting CP when he came on as a substitute in the 57th minute. On 25 August 2019, Maeda scored his debut goal in a 3–2 loss to
CD Tondela.
Yokohama F. Marinos In August 2020, he was loaned to
Yokohama F. Marinos. He scored his first goal after the transfer in the match against
Shimizu S-Pulse on 19 August, and contributed to the team's first victory in three games. By the end of the season, the deal was made permanent. On 7 March 2021, he scored a brace against
Sanfrecce Hiroshima and continued his prolific run of form on 17 March, scoring four goals in one game against
Tokushima Vortis. On 25 September 2021, with a goal against
Yokohama FC, Maeda became the
top scorer in the J1 League. On 6 November against FC Tokyo, he scored his second hat-trick of the season to keep his spot in the top scorers' ranking. In addition to being named in the
J.League Best XI at the end of the season, Maeda was also co-
J.League Top Scorer with
Leandro Damiao of
Kawasaki Frontale, who had equalled his total of 23 goals for the campaign.
Celtic On 31 December 2021, it was announced that Maeda had signed for
Scottish Premiership club
Celtic on loan for the rest of the season, with an obligation to buy at the end of the loan. On 17 January 2022, Maeda made his debut for Celtic and scored his first goal in the 4th minute, in a league fixture against
Hibernian at
Celtic Park. Maeda signed a four-year contract with Celtic at the end of the season, when his move was made permanent. On 6 September 2022, Maeda came on as a half-time substitute for
Liel Abada to make his
UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–0 home defeat against
Real Madrid. On 2 January 2023, he scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw at
Rangers. His form at this time saw
Premier League side
Southampton monitor him. On 6 July 2023, Maeda signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027. Maeda had his most prolific season during 2024–25, scoring over 30 goals, with his form particularly picking up from January. He scored his first Champions League goal against
Slovan Bratislava, and scored a further three against
Borussia Dortmund,
Club Brugge and
Bayern Munich. This put him level with
Shinji Kagawa and
Takumi Minamino for most goals by a Japanese player in the Champions League. It also made him the first player to score four goals for Celtic in
UEFA competition since
Joe Craig in the
1977–78 season. Upon scoring against
Kilmarnock on 12 April 2025, he became the first Celtic player to score in eight consecutive starts at Parkhead since
Henrik Larsson in 2004. Celtic fans also began singing Maeda's name to the tune of "
Tequila" by
the Champs. Maeda was named as one of four nominees for the 2024–25
PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year, alongside teammates
Callum McGregor and
Nicolas Kühn, and
Dundee striker
Simon Murray. In August 2025 it was reported that Maeda wanted to leave Celtic but could not as the club did not have time to buy a backup. This led to poor form in the months of September and October, with Maeda only scoring two goals. ==International career==