Gjoko Zajkov

Gjoko Zajkov (Macedonian: Ѓоко Зајков; born 10 February 1995) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for UAE Pro League club Ajman and for the North Macedonia national team.

Gjoko Zajkov

Personal information
Date of birth	(1995-02-10) 10 February 1995 (age 30)
Place of birth	Skopje, Macedonia
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Ajman
Number	5
Youth career
2003–2012	Rabotnički
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2014	Rabotnički	51	(3)
2014–2016	Rennes	0	(0)
2014–2016	Rennes B	15	(0)
2015–2016	→ Charleroi (loan)	7	(0)
2016–2021	Charleroi	25	(0)
2021–2022	Levski Sofia	14	(1)
2022–2023	Vorskla Poltava	14	(0)
2022	→ Slavia Sofia (loan)	6	(1)
2023–2025	Universitatea Craiova	59	(1)
2025–	Ajman	0	(0)
International career‡
2011–2012	Macedonia U17	8	(1)
2012–2013	Macedonia U18	2	(0)
2012–2013	Macedonia U19	10	(1)
2014	Macedonia U20	1	(0)
2013–2017	Macedonia U21	21	(1)
2016–	North Macedonia	38	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 June 2025

Early career

Zajkov began his football career with FK Rabotnički.

Club career

Born in Skopje into a family originally from Udovo, Gjoko Zajkov was playing in Macedonia for the youth team of Rabotnichki, until the summer in 2012 when he made his first appearance for the senior team of the club, competing in the Macedonian First League. He was voted best defender that year, at the age of 17.

On 23 June 2014 he left Macedonia for the French club Stade Rennais F.C., with whom he signed a three-year contract.^[1] After his first season in France, where he spent the majority of the time playing for the youth team of Rennais only, in the summer of 2015 he was loaned for one year to Charleroi in Belgium.

After being released from Charleroi, Zajkov signed a one-year deal with Levski Sofia in August 2021.^[2] In March 2022 he joined Slavia Sofia until the end of the season.^[3]

In January 2023 he signed for Universitatea Craiova.^[4]

International career

He has been a member of Macedonian U-19 and U-21 national teams.

He made his senior debut for Macedonia in a June 2016 friendly match against Iran and has, as of May 2020, earned a total of 12 caps, scoring no goals.^[5][6]

He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 2020, their first major tournament.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 May 2025 ^[7]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rabotnički	2011–12	1. MFL	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2012–13		20	2	0	0	—		—		20	2
	2013–14		27	1	3	0	—		—		30	1
	Total		51	3	3	0	0	0	—		54	3
Rennes	2014–15	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	—		1[a]	0	1	0
Rennes B	2014–15	CFA2	15	0	—		—		—		15	0
Charleroi (loan)	2015–16	Belgian Pro League	7	0	1	0	—		—		8	0
Charleroi	2016–17	Belgian First Division A	1	0	2	0	—		—		3	0
	2017–18		11	0	2	0	—		—		13	0
	2018–19		12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
	2019–20		1	0	1	0	—		—		2	0
	2020–21		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		32	0	6	0	0	0	—		38	0
Levski Sofia	2021–22	First Professional Football League	14	1	2	0	—		—		16	1
Slavia Sofia (loan)	2021–22		6	1	2	0	—		—		8	1
Vorskla Poltava	2022–23	Ukrainian Premier League	14	0	0	0	2[b]	0	—		14	0
Universitatea Craiova	2022–23	Liga I	16	0	—		—		—		16	0
	2023–24		23	0	0	0	—		1[c]	0	24	0
	2024–25		20	1	3	0	2[b]	0	—		25	1
	Total		59	1	3	0	2	0	1	0	65	1
Ajman	2025–26	UAE Pro League	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Career total			191	6	16	0	4	0	2	0	213	6

1. Appearances in Coupe de la Ligue
2. Appearances in UEFA Conference League
3. Appearance in Liga I play-offs for UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of 9 June 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
North Macedonia	2016	1	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	4	0
	2019	3	0
	2020	5	1
	2021	2	0
	2022	3	0
	2023	5	0
	2024	7	0
	2025	4	0
Total		38	1

International goals

As of match played 11 October 2020. North Macedonia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zajkov goal.^[8]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 October 2020	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	13	Estonia	3–3	3–3	2020–21 UEFA Nations League

Honours

Rabotnički

• 1. MFL: 2013–14
• Macedonian Football Cup: 2013–14