Aleksandar Mitrović
Centre-Forward · Al Rayyan · Serbia
About Aleksandar Mitrović
Aleksandar Mitrović is a powerful, prolific striker who fired Fulham into the Premier League with the biggest scoring season English football's second tier has seen in the modern era, and has gone on to captain and top-score for Serbia on the international stage.
Aleksandar Mitrović's story
Humble Beginnings in Smederevo
Born in Smederevo on 16 September 1994, Mitrović grew up in a working family - his father Ivica a driver, his mother a bus conductor - and was taken to training in Belgrade by his parents six times a week from the age of nine. In a 2022 Novosti interview, he said his older brother went without new shoes so their parents could afford his boots, calling it a sacrifice his family made "putting themselves second" for years.
Partizan to Anderlecht: A Breakthrough
He joined Partizan's academy at 11, made his senior debut for feeder club Teleoptik in 2011-12, and signed his first professional contract with Partizan in June 2012. A move to Anderlecht followed in 2013, where he was the club's top league scorer in 2013-14 with 16 goals and won the Belgian title.
His Father's Words: "A Born Winner"
His father Ivica has described him as "a born winner" who "never gives up" (Sputnik, 6 January 2024), speaking after Mitrović won the Football Association of Serbia's Golden Ball for a third time - a joint record shared only with Dušan Tadić.
Captain in the Gulf
Now captain of Serbia and a mainstay at Al Rayyan in Qatar, Mitrović remains as influential as ever heading into his mid-thirties, on and off the pitch.
Did you know?
- ⚽ Has more international goals than any other Serbian player in history, and now captains the national side.
- 🤝 Slaviša Jokanović, his former boss at Partizan, re-signed and rebuilt him at Fulham after a difficult Newcastle spell.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married to Kristina Janjić; the couple have two children, son Luka (born 2016) and daughter Nadja (born 2017).
- 🎗️ Showed his growing on-field discipline at Fulham by not retaliating after being elbowed in the head during a match against QPR.
- 🧘 Believes Marco Silva deserves a top club, saying he should manage a side like Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United challenging for the Champions League.
- 🥋 As a boy in Smederevo he trained briefly in karate before settling on football, growing up idolising Alan Shearer and Didier Drogba.
- 🌍 Has played top-flight football in five countries: Serbia, Belgium, England, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
- 🎽 Wears the number 9 shirt at Al Rayyan, the Qatari club he joined on a three-year deal in 2025.
- 😔 Has spoken about feeling 'kind of guilty' during Newcastle's and Fulham's relegation seasons, and wanting to help bring both clubs back up.
See the full Aleksandar Mitrović profile
Stats, photo gallery, what the press are saying and the daily challenge, free on DailyPlayer.
Open the full profile