Matej Mitrović

Matej Mitrović (Croatian pronunciation: [mǎtej mǐtroʋitɕ];^[2][3] born 10 November 1993) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Al Ahli. He also played for Croatia national team.

Matej Mitrović

Mitrović with Croatia U20 in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Matej Mitrović[1]
Date of birth	(1993-11-10) 10 November 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Požega, Croatia
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Al Ahli
Number	5
Youth career
2002−2005	Kutjevo
2005−2009	Kamen Ingrad
2009−2011	Papuk Velika
2011	Cibalia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2013	Cibalia	40	(0)
2013–2017	Rijeka	77	(3)
2017–2018	Beşiktaş	9	(0)
2018	→ Club Brugge (loan)	10	(0)
2018–2022	Club Brugge	29	(0)
2022–2024	Rijeka	31	(2)
2024–	Al Ahli	7	(0)
International career‡
2012	Croatia U19	8	(1)
2012–2013	Croatia U20	5	(1)
2013–2014	Croatia U21	5	(0)
2014–2018	Croatia	12	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15 October 2018

Club career

Mitrović made his professional debut for Cibalia on 25 February 2012, aged 18, coming on as a substitute in an away win against Slaven Belupo.^[4] In September 2013, he signed a two-year contract with Rijeka in the Prva HNL.^[5] During his first season with Rijeka, Mitrović was member of the squad that won the Croatian Cup, scoring in the final against Dinamo Zagreb.^[6] In June 2016, he signed a new three-year contract which tied him with the club until June 2019.^[7] On 6 January 2017, he moved to Beşiktaş on a three-year deal for €4.2 million.^[8]

On 29 January 2018, Mitrović joined Belgian club Club Brugge on a six-month-long loan deal.^[9] On 20 July, he signed permanently for the club after agreeing to a four-year deal.^[10]

On 1 July 2022, Mitrović returned to Rijeka.^[11]

International career

In November 2014, Mitrović received his first senior national team call-up, when Niko Kovač called him up as an injury replacement for Gordon Schildenfeld. He made his Croatia debut in a friendly against Argentina on 12 November 2014.^[12] In October 2016, Mitrović was called up by Ante Čačić as an injury replacement for Dejan Lovren for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Finland. On 6 October 2016, he scored his first international goal in the match against Kosovo.^[13]

In May 2018, he was named in Croatia's preliminary 32-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[14] However, he did not make the final 23.^[15] His last international appearance was a friendly match against Jordan in October 2018.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 May 2024^[17]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cibalia	2011–12	1. HNL	4	0	1	0	–		–		5	0
	2012–13		33	0	6	0	–		–		39	0
	2013–14	2. HNL	3	0	–		–		–		3	0
	Total		40	0	7	0	–		–		47	0
Rijeka	2013–14	1. HNL	8	0	4	1	–		–		12	1
	2014–15		26	1	2	0	8[b]	0	1[c]	0	37	1
	2015–16		23	1	5	0	1[b]	0	–		29	1
	2016–17		20	1	3	1	2[b]	0	–		25	2
Beşiktaş	2016–17	Süper Lig	7	0	3	0	4[b]	0	–		14	0
	2017–18		2	0	4	0	2[d]	0	0	0	8	0
	Total		9	0	7	0	6	0	0	0	22	0
Club Brugge (loan)	2017–18	Belgian First Division A	10	0	2	1	–		–		12	1
Club Brugge	2018–19		12	0	0	0	1[d]	0	1[e]	0	13	0
	2019–20		7	0	0	0	5[f]	0	0	0	12	0
	2020–21		6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2021–22		4	0	1	0	0	0	1[e]	0	6	0
	Total		39	0	4	1	6	0	2	0	51	1
Rijeka	2022–23	1. HNL	5	0	–		–		–		5	0
	2023–24		26	2	2	0	3[g]	0	–		31	2
	Total		108	5	16	2	14	0	1	0	139	7
Career total			196	5	34	3	26	0	3	0	259	8

1. Includes Croatian Football Cup, Turkish Cup, Belgian Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in Croatian Football Super Cup
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
6. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
7. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 15 October 2018^[18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Croatia	2014	1	0
	2015	0	0
	2016	3	1
	2017	5	0
	2018	3	1
Total		12	2

As of match played 15 October 2018

Croatia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Mitrović goal^[18]

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 October 2016	Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania	2	Kosovo	4–0	6–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	15 October 2018	Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia	12	Jordan	2–0	2–1	Friendly

Honours

Rijeka

• Croatian Football Cup: 2013–14
• Croatian Football Super Cup: 2014

Beşiktaş

• Süper Lig: 2016–17

Club Brugge

• Belgian First Division A: 2017–18,^[19] 2019–20,^[20] 2020–21^[21]
• Belgian Super Cup: 2018, 2021^[22]

Individual

• Team of the Year: 2015