Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Ruddervoorde and Cercle Brugge before making a move to the Netherlands. Buffel played for the Dutch team Feyenoord in the 1999–2000 season, before moving to their feeder team Excelsior Rotterdam from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the 2002–03 Eredivisie season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager Ruud Gullit in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract".
Buffel moved to the Scottish side Rangers in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut in the Scottish Cup coming on as a substitute against Old Firm rivals Celtic in what was to be a 2–1 defeat. However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in the 2005 Scottish League Cup Final, where Rangers defeated Motherwell 5–1. He also featured in the Rangers team for the latter part of the season where he would help them to their 51st league title making it a double for his first season with the club. Buffel scored five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions. Buffel featured in the Champions League and helped Rangers reach the last 16 of the tournament, where they lost to Villarreal 3–3 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals rule. Across all competitions, he scored seven goals in 38 appearances during the 2005–2006 season mostly playing in the midfield. In the 2007 January transfer window, German club Hannover 96 expressed an interest in him, with Rangers manager Walter Smith saying Buffel was free to leave. However, the deal fell through when Buffel was unable to agree personal terms with the Bundesliga side. It was announced on 9 February 2007 that Buffel would undergo surgery on a long-term knee injury and would not take any further part in the 2006–07 season. He returned to action on 26 December as a substitute in Rangers' 3–1 win over Motherwell but did not feature regularly.
Cercle Brugge
Buffel's Rangers career came to an end when he joined former club Cercle Brugge on 1 July 2008.
Genk
In the 2009 summer transfer window Buffel made a last-minute transfer to KRC Genk as part of a deal between Genk and Cercle Brugge with Jelle Vossen and Hans Cornelis moving the opposite way. In the 2010–2011 season he won the Belgian league title with Genk. His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2017–18 season.
In June 2018, it was announced Buffel would continue his career at Zulte Waregem. Buffel retired at the end of the 2018–19 season.
International career
Buffel made his debut for Belgium against Andorra in October 2002 in what was to be a 1–0 victory. He has since then gained 35 caps and scored 7 goals. In recent times he has been out of the picture as a player of the Belgian national football team.
Personal life
Buffel was married to Stephanie De Buysser, with whom he had twin sons born in November 2013. They married in June 2016, when De Buysser was already suffering from colon cancer. On 26 January 2017, De Buysser died.
