Zvonimir Šarlija

Zvonimir Šarlija (born 29 August 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Cypriot First Division club Pafos, on loan from Hajduk Split.

Zvonimir Šarlija

Šarlija with CSKA Moscow in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Zvonimir Šarlija[1]
Date of birth	(1996-08-29) 29 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Koprivnica, Croatia
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Pafos (on loan from Hajduk Split)
Number	21
Youth career
2005	Slaven Belupo
2005–2006	Koprivnica
2006–2007	Slaven Belupo
2007–2008	Koprivnica
2008–2009	Slaven Belupo
2009–2010	Koprivnica
2010–2015	Slaven Belupo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Slaven Belupo B	22	(2)
2015–2020	Slaven Belupo	44	(0)
2015-2016	→ Koprivnica (loan)	20	(1)
2016–2017	→ Solin (loan)	29	(1)
2019–2020	→ CSKA Moscow (loan)	11	(0)
2020	→ Kasımpaşa (loan)	6	(1)
2020–2021	Ankaragücü	32	(1)
2021–2023	Panathinaikos	41	(0)
2023–	Hajduk Split	35	(2)
2025–	→ Pafos (loan)	14	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 04:04, 19 May 2025 (UTC)

Career

Born in Koprivnica, Zvonimir Šarlija started practicing football at the local club NK Slaven Belupo, where his father used to play and captain the senior team.^[2] As per club practice, he was moved between Slaven and its feeder side NK Koprivnica.^[3] At the age of 18, he captained the club's fourth-tier reserve side, where he scored 2 goals in 22 matches, along with the U-19 side.^[3][4] Subsequently, he was loaned out by his club, first in 2015 to its third-tier feeder NK Koprivnica, scoring one goal in twenty appearances, then to second-tier NK Solin.^[3][4]

Back at Slaven Belupo in 2017, Šarlija gathered 49 caps for the senior side in all competitions.^[5]

On 29 June 2019, Slaven Belupo announced that Šarlija had moved to CSKA Moscow,^[6] with CSKA confirming the season-long loan deal, with the first option to buy, on 1 July.^[7] On 18 January 2020, CSKA Moscow confirmed that their loan deal with Šarlija had ended, and that he'd joined Kasımpaşa on loan for the remainder of the 2019/20 season with Kasımpaşa confining they had an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.^[8][9]

On 31 August 2020, it was announced that Šarlija signed for Turkish club Ankaragücü. The reported fee was €350.000 .^[10]

On 30 July 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos.^[11]

In the summer of 2023, Šarlija officially joined Hajduk Split on a four-year contract.^[2]

Personal life

Šarlija's father Milan, originally from Jasenice near Zadar in Dalmatia^[2] captained Slaven Belupo, and later became the club's director for a while. His younger brother Lovro and cousin Ante are also former Slaven Belupo players, while his brother Luka is the club's spokesman.^[12] Šarlija is a lifelong Hajduk Split fan, having a tattoo of Ivica Hlevnjak-Bukle's legendary statement "Emocije su zajebane.".^[2]

Career statistics

As of 14 May 2023

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Solin (loan)	2016–17	2. HNL	29	1	2	0	—		31	1
Slaven Belupo	2017–18	Prva HNL	13	0	0	0	—		13	0
	2018–19		31	0	2	0	—		33	0
	Total		44	0	2	0	—		46	0
CSKA Moscow (loan)	2019–20	Russian Premier League	11	0	2	0	1[b]	0	14	0
Kasımpaşa (loan)	2019–20	Süper Lig	6	1	1	0	—		7	1
Ankaragücü	2020–21	Süper Lig	32	1	1	0	—		33	1
Panathinaikos	2021–22	Super League Greece	20	0	5	0	—		25	0
	2022–23		21	0	2	0	1[c]	0	24	0
	Total		41	0	7	0	1	0	49	0
Career total			163	3	15	0	2	0	180	3

1. Includes Croatian Cup, Russian Cup, Turkish Cup, Greek Cup
2. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Panathinaikos

• Greek Cup: 2021–22^[13]

Pafos

• Cypriot First Division: 2024–25