Eljif Elmas facts for kids
Elmas playing for Napoli in 2021
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 September 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Skopje, Macedonia | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
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RB Leipzig | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2013 | FK Vardar | ||
| 2013–2015 | Rabotnički | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Rabotnički | 44 | (7) |
| 2017–2019 | Fenerbahçe | 34 | (4) |
| 2019–2024 | Napoli | 143 | (14) |
| 2024– | RB Leipzig | 16 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Torino (loan) | 13 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Macedonia U17 | 2 | (0) | |
| 2015–2018 | Macedonia U19 | 13 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Macedonia U21 | 9 | (1) |
| 2017– | North Macedonia | 69 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:34, 25 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:29, 9 June 2025 (UTC) |
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Eljif Elmas (pronounced El-yif El-mas) was born on September 24, 1999. He is a professional footballer from North Macedonia. He currently plays for the German club RB Leipzig and is also a key player for the North Macedonia national team. Elmas is known for being a very flexible player. He can play in many different positions on the field, like a central midfielder, right midfielder, winger, or even a forward.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Macedonia
Eljif Elmas began his football journey at FK Rabotnički in his home country, North Macedonia. He had a fantastic season in 2016–17, scoring six goals in the league. His great performance helped Rabotnički finish third in the Macedonian First Football League.
After this impressive start, he moved to Turkey to join the big club Fenerbahçe. He signed a deal to play for them until 2022. Fenerbahçe paid about €300,000 to bring him to their team. Elmas played more than 40 games for Fenerbahçe and scored four goals before moving to Italy in July 2019.
Playing for Napoli in Italy
On July 24, 2019, Elmas joined Napoli, a famous club in Italy's top league, Serie A. The transfer fee was reported to be around €16 million.
Elmas scored his first goal for Napoli on February 3, 2020. It was in a 4–2 win against Sampdoria. This goal helped Napoli get their third win in a row. On December 19, 2021, he scored the winning goal against AC Milan in a close away game. This win helped Napoli move into second place in Serie A. A big moment for Elmas and Napoli came in 2023 when they won the Scudetto, which is the Serie A championship title. This was Napoli's third league title ever, and their first since the time of the legendary player Diego Maradona.
Moving to RB Leipzig and Loan to Torino
On December 27, 2023, the German club RB Leipzig announced that Elmas would join them on January 1, 2024. He signed a contract for four and a half years. German sports magazines reported that RB Leipzig paid around €23 million for him.
Later, on January 30, 2025, Elmas returned to Italy. He joined Torino on a loan deal, which means he played for them for a short time. Torino also had an option to buy him permanently.
International Career
Eljif Elmas was born in Macedonia (now North Macedonia) to a family with Turkish roots. In 2017, the coach of the Turkey national football team, Fatih Terim, tried to get him to play for Turkey. However, Elmas chose to represent his birth country, North Macedonia.
Elmas was also part of the Macedonia U21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He was the youngest player in the team. On June 11, 2017, when he was just 17 years old, Elmas made his debut for the Macedonian senior team. This was in a FIFA World Cup qualifier match against Spain.
On March 31, 2021, Elmas scored the winning goal for North Macedonia in a 2–1 away victory against Germany. This was during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification games. In November 2021, Elmas scored two goals in a 3–1 win against Iceland. This helped his team finish second in their group, which meant North Macedonia got to play in a World Cup play-off.
Honours and Achievements
Napoli
- Serie A: 2022–23 (League Champions)
- Coppa Italia: 2019–20 (Cup Winners)
See also
In Spanish: Elif Elmas para niños
