Marko Livaja facts for kids
Livaja in 2022
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marko Livaja | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 August 1993 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Split, Croatia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward, attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Hajduk Split | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2005 | GOŠK Kaštel Gomilica | |||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Omladinac Vranjic | |||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Hajduk Split | |||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Inter Milan | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Inter Milan | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | → Lugano (loan) | 11 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | → Cesena (loan) | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Atalanta | 31 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Rubin Kazan | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Empoli (loan) | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Las Palmas | 25 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → AEK Athens (loan) | 27 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | AEK Athens | 74 | (19) | |||||||||||||
| 2021– | Hajduk Split | 143 | (82) | |||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Croatia U15 | 4 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2009 | Croatia U16 | 7 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Croatia U17 | 20 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Croatia U18 | 4 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Croatia U19 | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Croatia U20 | 7 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Croatia U21 | 5 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Croatia | 21 | (4) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:27, 26 May 2025 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||
Marko Livaja (born August 26, 1993) is a Croatian professional footballer. He plays as a forward for Hajduk Split.
Livaja played for the Croatia national team from 2018 to 2023. He scored four goals in 21 matches for his country. He was part of the team that won a bronze medal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Early Football Days
Marko Livaja started playing football at a young age. He joined the Croatian team GOŠK Kaštel Gomilica when he was just 4 years old. Later, he played for NK Omladinac Vranjic. In 2008, he moved to the Hajduk Split Academy. By early 2010, he joined the main Hajduk team.
Playing for Inter Milan
In 2010, Livaja was sold to Internazionale, a big club in Italy. Inter Milan loaned him to FC Lugano in Switzerland in 2011. He was then loaned to Cesena in Italy. He made his first appearance in Italy's top league, Serie A, for Cesena in October 2011.
In January 2012, Livaja returned to Inter Milan. He became part of Inter's youth team, which won the 2011–12 NextGen series. In the 2012–13 season, Livaja played his first game for Inter's main team. He also played in European games, like the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. He scored his first goal for Inter in September 2012 against Rubin Kazan. He became Inter's top scorer in the group stage of that competition, with four goals.
Time at Atalanta
On January 31, 2013, Livaja was loaned to Atalanta. He made his debut for Atalanta in February 2013. He scored his first two goals for them against A.S. Roma. Sometimes, he had disagreements with the team, which meant he missed some games. Despite this, fans voted him "Man of the Month" for February 2013.
Moving to Rubin Kazan
Livaja signed with Rubin Kazan in Russia in May 2014. He signed a five-year deal. In August 2015, Rubin Kazan loaned him to Empoli in Italy. He scored one goal in 18 matches for Empoli.
Adventures with Las Palmas
On July 14, 2016, Livaja joined Las Palmas in Spain. He signed a contract until June 2020. He made his debut in August, scoring his first goals as Las Palmas won 4–2 against Valencia. He also scored two goals in a cup game against Atlético Madrid in January 2017.
Loan to AEK Athens
In July 2017, Livaja was loaned to AEK Athens in Greece. He made his debut in July 2017. He scored important goals for AEK, including a late equalizer in a Europa League game. He also scored in big derby matches against PAOK and Panathinaikos. In November 2017, he scored two goals against Platanias, helping his team reach the top of the league. In his first season with AEK Athens, he helped them win the Super League.
Permanent Move to AEK Athens
Success in 2018–19
In March 2018, AEK Athens bought Livaja permanently because of his great performances. He scored a header in August 2018 to help AEK win a Champions League qualifying game against Celtic. He continued to score important goals in the league and cup throughout the season.
More Goals in 2019–20
Livaja continued to play well in the 2019–20 season. He scored and assisted goals in European games. He scored his first league goal of the season in September 2019. He had a great game in January 2020, scoring two goals and helping AEK win. In June 2020, he scored two goals in a cup semi-final, helping his team reach the final. He was named the Player of the Season in the Greek Super League.
Final Season with AEK Athens
In August 2020, AEK Athens turned down a big offer for Livaja. He scored in the first league game of the 2020–21 Super League Greece season. In November 2020, he scored two goals and assisted another in a Europa League game. In February 2021, Livaja left AEK Athens after deciding not to extend his contract.
Return to Hajduk Split
On the same day he left AEK, Livaja joined his former Croatian club, Hajduk Split. He quickly made an impact, scoring seven goals and providing eight assists in 17 games. This helped Hajduk qualify for a European competition.
In June 2021, Livaja signed a new contract with Hajduk until 2024. In December 2021, team captains in the Croatian league voted him the Best Footballer. He was the first Hajduk player to win this award since 2003. Livaja finished the 2021–22 season as the top goalscorer with 28 goals. This set a new Hajduk record for goals in a single season. In July 2022, he extended his contract for four more years.
Livaja won the Best Player award for 2022, becoming the first player to win it two years in a row since 2012. For the 2022–23 Croatian Football League season, he was again the top goalscorer with 19 goals. He also scored a late penalty in the 2023 Croatian Football Cup final, helping Hajduk win the Croatian Cup for the second year in a row. In July 2023, he was again voted the best player in the HNL.
In January 2025, Marko Livaja was chosen as the best player in the HNL for a record third time. At the end-of-season awards, he won Best Player, Top Scorer, and Best Goal of the Season.
International Career
On August 20, 2018, Livaja was called up to the Croatia national team for the first time. This was because of his excellent play with AEK Athens.
In May 2021, he was named in a larger squad for the UEFA Euro 2020, but he did not make the final team. He was called back to the national team in September 2021 for World Cup qualifying matches. He scored his first international goal on September 7 against Slovenia, helping Croatia win 3–0.
On October 31, 2022, Livaja was chosen for Croatia's team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On November 27, 2022, he scored his first World Cup goal in a 4–1 win over Canada. He became the first Hajduk Split player to score for Croatia at a World Cup. In the third-place play-off against Morocco, Livaja assisted the winning goal. Croatia won 2–1 and earned their third World Cup medal.
In June 2023, Livaja was named in Croatia's squad for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals. However, he later decided to leave the squad. In October 2023, Livaja decided to retire from the national team permanently.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cesena (loan) | 2011–12 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Inter Milan | 2012–13 | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | — | 13 | 4 | |
| Atalanta | 2012–13 | Serie A | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Serie A | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 23 | 4 | |||
| Total | 31 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 34 | 6 | ||||
| Rubin Kazan | 2014–15 | Russian Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie A | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| Las Palmas | 2016–17 | La Liga | 25 | 5 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 7 | ||
| AEK Athens (loan) | 2017–18 | Super League Greece | 27 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | 42 | 10 | |
| AEK Athens | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 25 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | 38 | 12 | |
| 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 32 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | — | 42 | 15 | ||
| 2020–21 | Super League Greece | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 25 | 5 | ||
| Total | 101 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 26 | 8 | — | 147 | 42 | |||
| Hajduk Split | 2020–21 | Prva HNL | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | Prva HNL | 34 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 40 | 32 | ||
| 2022–23 | HNL | 34 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 21 | |
| 2023–24 | HNL | 25 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 12 | |
| 2024–25 | HNL | 25 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 17 | |
| Total | 133 | 78 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 160 | 89 | ||
| Career total | 320 | 109 | 40 | 22 | 44 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 405 | 144 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2018 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 4 | |
- Croatia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Livaja goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September 2021 | Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia | 7 |  Slovenia |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 8 October 2021 | AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis, Larnaca, Cyprus | 8 |  Cyprus |
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| 3 | 25 September 2022 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | 14 |  Austria |
2–1 | 3–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A |
| 4 | 27 November 2022 | Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | 16 |  Canada |
2–1 | 4–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
Awards and Achievements
AEK Athens
- Super League Greece: 2017–18
Hajduk Split
- Croatian Cup: 2021–22, 2022–23
Croatia
- FIFA World Cup third place: 2022
Individual Awards
- Super League Greece Player of the Season: 2019–20
- Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2017–18, 2019–20
- AEK Athens Player of the Season: 2019–20
- Croatian First Football League Player of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
- Croatian First Football League Top scorer: 2021–22, 2022–23
- Croatian First Football League Team of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
- Croatian First Football League top assist provider: 2022–23
Images for kids
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Livaja in 2012
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Livaja with Rubin Kazan
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See also
In Spanish: Marko Livaja para niños
