Andraž Šporar
Birth date27 February 1994 (age 32)
Birth placeLjubljana, Slovenia
Height1.86 m
CurrentclubSlovan Bratislava
Clubnumber99
PositionForward
Youthyears 12000–2005
Youthclubs 1Olimpija[1]
Youthyears 22005–2009
Youthclubs 2MNK Ljubljana
Youthyears 32009–2011
Youthclubs 3Interblock
Years 12011–2012
Clubs 1Interblock
Caps 121
Goals 110
Years 22012–2015
Clubs 2Olimpija Ljubljana
Caps 295
Goals 246
Years 32016–2018
Clubs 3Basel
Caps 319
Goals 31
Years 42017–2018
Clubs 4→ Arminia Bielefeld (loan)
Caps 49
Goals 42
Years 52018–2020
Clubs 5Slovan Bratislava
Caps 553
Goals 544
Years 62020–2022
Clubs 6Sporting CP
Caps 629
Goals 69
Years 72021
Clubs 7→ Braga (loan)
Caps 716
Goals 73
Years 82021–2022
Clubs 8→ Middlesbrough (loan)
Caps 835
Goals 88
Years 92022–2025
Clubs 9Panathinaikos
Caps 963
Goals 920
Years 102025
Clubs 10Alanyaspor
Caps 1012
Goals 103
Years 112025–
Clubs 11Slovan Bratislava
Caps 1112
Goals 1112
Nationalyears 12012
Nationalteam 1Slovenia U19[a]
Nationalcaps 16
Nationalgoals 10
Nationalyears 22012
Nationalteam 2Slovenia U20
Nationalcaps 21
Nationalgoals 21
Nationalyears 32013–2016
Nationalteam 3Slovenia U21
Nationalcaps 319
Nationalgoals 37
Nationalyears 42016–
Nationalteam 4Slovenia
Nationalcaps 466
Nationalgoals 412
Club-update4 April 2026
Nationalteam-update31 March 2026

Andraž Šporar (born 27 February 1994) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Slovak First League club Slovan Bratislava and the Slovenia national team.

Club career

Olimpija Ljubljana

In June 2012, Šporar transferred from Interblock to Olimpija Ljubljana.[2] In the 2015–16 Slovenian PrvaLiga season, Šporar was named a team captain.[3] During the first half of the club's season, he played 18 PrvaLiga games and scored 17 goals.[4]

Basel

On 8 December 2015, Basel announced that Šporar had signed a four-and-a-half-year contract up until the end of June 2020.[5] He joined Basel's first team for their 2015–16 season under head coach Urs Fischer. After playing in four friendly games, he made his Swiss Super League debut on 14 February 2016 in a 4–0 away win against Grasshopper Club.[6] Just a few days later, on 18 February, Šporar got injured during warm-up before the away match against Saint-Étienne. The torn tendon required surgery and this kept Šporar out for the rest of the season.[7] At the end of the season his team won the 2015–16 Swiss Super League championship.[8]

Šporar scored his first goal for Basel on 15 April 2017 in a 4–0 away victory over Lausanne-Sport.[9] At the end of the 2016–17 Super League season, Šporar won the championship for the second time. For the club this was the eighth title in a row and their 20th championship title in total.[10] They also won the 2016–17 Swiss Cup, defeating Sion 3–0 in the final.[11]

Despite this success, Šporar decided to leave the club. He played a total of 26 competitive games for Basel, and scored one goal.[12]

Arminia Bielefeld (loan)

On 25 June 2017, Šporar joined 2. Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld on loan for the 2017–18 season.[13][14]

Slovan Bratislava

Šporar joined the Slovak First League side Slovan Bratislava in January 2018 for a reported fee of €600,000.[15] In his first season, he won the 2017–18 Slovak Cup. In the 2018–19 season, Slovan won the league title, and Šporar became the league's top scorer with 29 goals, equaling the record for the number of goals scored in a season in the Slovak First League.[16]

Sporting

On 23 January 2020, Šporar transferred to Sporting CP on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of €6 million, making him the most expensive player in the history of the Slovak Super Liga.[17] With bonuses, the total transfer fee may eventually rise above €7 million.[18]

Braga (loan)

On 1 February 2021, Šporar joined Braga on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[19]

Middlesbrough (loan)

In August 2021, he joined English side Middlesbrough on loan.[20] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win against Nottingham Forest on 15 September 2021.[21]

Panathinaikos

On 27 July 2022, Šporar signed a four-year contract with Super League Greece side Panathinaikos[22] for a reported transfer fee of over €3 million.[23]

International career

In November 2016, Šporar received his first call-up to the Slovenia senior squad for the matches against Malta and Poland.[24] He debuted against the former, replacing Milivoje Novaković late in the second half.[25]

On 7 September 2023, Šporar scored two goals against Northern Ireland, becoming the tenth player in the Slovenia national team's history to reach double digits of international goals.[26]

In June 2024, Šporar was included in the 26-man Slovenian squad for UEFA Euro 2024, his first major international tournament.[27]

Personal life

Andraž Šporar is the son of Olimpija's former captain Miha Šporar.[28] In the past, Šporar has stated his ambition to earn a move to Liverpool, which is his favourite club.[29] Liverpool followed the player in 2015, but in the end there was no transfer.[29][30]

Career statistics

Club

[31]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[b]League cup[c]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Interblock2011–12Slovenian Second League211031———2411
Olimpija Ljubljana2012–13Slovenian PrvaLiga281120—4[d]01[e]03511
2013–14Slovenian PrvaLiga17533—2[d]11[e]0239
2014–15Slovenian PrvaLiga321320———3413
2015–16Slovenian PrvaLiga181720———2017
Total95469300612011250
Basel2015–16Swiss Super League1000—00—10
2016–17Swiss Super League18130—4[f]0—251
Total19130004000261
Arminia Bielefeld (loan)2017–182. Bundesliga9210———102
Slovan Bratislava2017–18Slovak First League12343—00—166
2018–19Slovak First League302900—6[d]5—3634
2019–20Slovak First League111211—14[g]7—2620
Total534454002012007860
Sporting CP2019–20Primeira Liga16600002[d]1—187
2020–21Primeira Liga13330212[d]0—204
Total299302141003811
Braga (loan)2020–21Primeira Liga16330002[d]0—213
Middlesbrough (loan)2021–22Championship3582000——378
Panathinaikos2022–23Super League Greece321132—2[h]1—3714
2023–24Super League Greece27841—12[i]4—4313
2024–25Super League Greece4100—5[j]0—91
Total63207300195008928
Alanyaspor2024–25Süper Lig10310———113
2025–26Süper Lig2000———20
Total12310———133
Slovan Bratislava2025–26Slovak First League1000—00—10
Career total353146371121551920449177
  1. ^ Official competitive UEFA matches only; friendly matches are not included.
  2. ^ Includes Slovenian Cup, Swiss Cup, DFB-Pokal, Slovak Cup, Taça de Portugal, FA Cup, Greek Cup, Turkish Cup
  3. ^ Includes Taça da Liga
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in Slovenian Supercup
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  7. ^ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, twelve appearances and six goals in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  9. ^ Six appearances and three goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  10. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šporar goal.[32]
List of international goals scored by Andraž Šporar
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
121 March 2019Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, IsraelIsrael1–01–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
26 September 2019Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, SloveniaPoland2–02–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
34 June 2021Bonifika Stadium, Koper, SloveniaGIB1–06–0Friendly
43–0
58 October 2021National Stadium, Ta' Qali, MaltaMalta2–04–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
624 September 2022Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, SloveniaNorway1–12–12022–23 UEFA Nations League B
717 November 2022Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaRomania2–02–1Friendly
819 June 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, SloveniaDenmark1–01–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualification
97 September 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, SloveniaNorthern Ireland1–04–2UEFA Euro 2024 qualification
104–2
1121 March 2024National Stadium, Ta' Qali, MaltaMalta1–02–2Friendly
128 June 2024Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, SloveniaBulgaria1–11–1Friendly

Honours

Basel

Slovan Bratislava

Sporting CP

Braga

Panathinaikos

Individual

References

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  2. ^ Jerman, Žiga (13 July 2012). "Pričakovanja Olimpije segajo na vrh" (in Slovene). Žurnal24. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  3. ^ Rok Plestenjak (31 August 2015). "Kapetan Olimpije v Ljubljani živi svoje sanje" (in Slovene). Siol. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Andraž Šporar – statistika 2015–16" (in Slovene). prvaliga.si. Slovenian PrvaLiga. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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