Rasmus Karjalainen

Rasmus Karjalainen (born 4 April 1996) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a winger for SJK.^[1] He began his senior career in 2014, at age 18, with OLS.

Rasmus Karjalainen

Personal information
Date of birth	(1996-04-04) 4 April 1996 (age 29)
Place of birth	Oulu, Finland
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	SJK
Number	7
Youth career
0000–2013	OLS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014	OLS	19	(1)
2015	SJK Akatemia	27	(15)
2016	AC Oulu	22	(3)
2017	PS Kemi	32	(8)
2018–2019	KuPS	43	(20)
2019–2021	Fortuna Sittard	15	(1)
2020	→ Örebro (loan)	13	(4)
2021–2022	Helsingborg	26	(4)
2022–2023	AC Oulu	41	(15)
2024–	SJK	39	(10)
International career‡
2016	Finland U19	1	(0)
2017–2018	Finland U21	9	(0)
2018–	Finland	13	(1)
Medal record KuPS Veikkausliiga 2018 Veikkausliiga 2019 AC Oulu Finnish League Cup 2023
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 December 2020

Karjalainen made his international debut for Finland in June 2018, and has since appeared in 2018–19 UEFA Nations League and in Finland's UEFA Euro 2020 campaign, in which Finland national team secured its first ever place in European Football Championship tournament's group stage.

Club career

OLS

Karjalainen made his debut on senior level on 3 May 2014 in the ranks of OLS in a Kakkonen match against PS Kemi.^[2]

SJK Akatemia

For the next season he transferred to SJK's reserve team SJK Akatemia. During the season he gained 27 caps and 15 goals and was the second best goal scorer of the division.^[3]

Oulu

He spent season 2016 in his home town Oulu playing for AC Oulu.^[4]

PS Kemi

Karjalainen made his debut on the highest level of Finnish football, Veikkausliiga on season 2017 when he transferred to PS Kemi.^[5] He made his debut on 8 April, playing the first 70 minutes of a 0–0 draw against HIFK.^[6]

KuPS

For season 2018 he signed for KuPS.^[7]

Fortuna Sittard

In June 2019 he made a deal with Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard, for an undisclosed fee.^[8]

In August 2020 he was loaned for a year to Allsvenskan side Örebro.^[9] In March 2021, Karjalainen suffered almost a career ending severe head injury in training with Örebro, and was forced to be ruled out for several months.^[10]

Helsingborg

On 17 July 2021, Karjalainen joined Superettan club Helsingborgs IF, signing a two-year deal.^[11]

Return to Oulu

On 23 June 2022, Karjalainen returned to AC Oulu for an undisclosed fee.^[12]

After the 2023 Veikkausliiga season, it was announced that Karjalainen will leave AC Oulu.^[13]

SJK

On 16 November 2023, it was confirmed by SJK that they had signed with Karjalainen on a two-year deal, starting in 2024.^[14] He played for the club's reserve team Kerho-07, currently SJK Akatemia, in 2015.

International career

Karjalainen made his debut for the Finland national team on 5 June 2018 in a friendly match in Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești against Romania when he replaced Berat Sadik as a substitute on 63rd minute.^[15]

Career statistics

As of 1 June 2025^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
OLS	2014	Kakkonen	19	1	0	0	—		—		19	1
SJK Akatemia	2015	Kakkonen	27	15	0	0	—		—		27	15
AC Oulu	2013	Ykkönen	0	0	1	0	–		–		1	0
	2014	Ykkönen	0	0	1	0	–		–		1	0
	2016	Ykkönen	22	3	0	0	—		—		22	3
	Total		22	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	24	3
PS Kemi	2017	Veikkausliiga	32	8	5	1	—		—		37	9
KuPS	2018	Veikkausliiga	31	17	6	2	—		2[b]	1	39	20
	2019	Veikkausliiga	12	3	5	1	—		0	0	17	4
	Total		43	20	11	3	0	0	2	1	56	24
Fortuna Sittard	2019–20	Eredivisie	15	1	2	1	—		—		17	2
Örebro (loan)	2020	Allsvenskan	13	4	2	1	—		—		15	5
Helsingborg	2021	Superettan	19	4	1	1	—		—		20	5
	2022	Allsvenskan	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
	Total		26	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	27	5
AC Oulu	2022	Veikkausliiga	14	7	0	0	0	0	—		14	7
	2023	Veikkausliiga	27	8	5	1	1	0	—		33	9
	Total		41	15	5	1	1	0	0	0	47	16
SJK	2024	Veikkausliiga	28	7	4	2	3	0	—		35	9
	2025	Veikkausliiga	11	3	0	0	4	0	0	0	15	3
	Total		39	10	4	2	7	0	0	0	50	12
Career total			277	81	30	8	8	0	2	1	317	92

1. Includes Suomen Cup, KNVB Beker and Svenska Cupen
2. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played on 11 November 2020.^[17]

National team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Finland	2018	2	0	2	0	4	0
	2019	3	0	2	1	5	1
	2020	2	0	2	0	4	0
Total		7	0	6	1	13	1

International goals

Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.^[18]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	11 January 2019	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Estonia	1–2	1–2	Friendly

Honours

KuPS

• Veikkausliiga: 2019

AC Oulu

• Finnish League Cup: Runners-up 2023

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2017^[19]
• Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: May 2018^[20]