Born in the Ghanaian capital Accra, Addo began his European career brightly at Club Brugge in 1996 and over three seasons at the Jan Breydelstadion made 65 appearances, scoring five goals. At Brugges, he was viewed as a potential superstar on the European stage, after bursting into the first team ranks and helping them to win the Belgian Championship. He was voted the 1997–98 Young Belgian Footballer of the Year by Belgian journalists and Ghana Player of the Year the same season. He also won the Belgian Ebony Shoe award for being the best African player (or player with African roots) in the Belgian league. The jury was composed of the league clubs' coaches, the Belgian national team coach, sports journalists and an honorary jury.