Milot Rashica (; born 28 June 1996) is an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n- Kosovan footballer. He is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

or winger for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, on loan from club

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, and the Kosovo national team.

Club career

Early career

Rashica was born in

Vučitrn Vushtrri ( sq-definite, Vushtrria) or Vučitrn ( sr-Cyrl, Вучитрн), is a city and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in northern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Vushtrri has 26,964 inhabitants, while the muni ...

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

, in present-day Kosovo. He made his professional debut with local club

Vushtrria Vushtrri ( sq-definite, Vushtrria) or Vučitrn ( sr-Cyrl, Вучитрн), is a city and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in northern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Vushtrri has 26,964 inhabitants, while the munic ...

, aged only 16. In August 2013, after a trial period at

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent (Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, a ...

, he refused a transfer offer from the club and made his senior debut with Vushtrria. In September 2013, after suffering an injury, Rashica moved to

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

for treatment and only returned to his parent club in 2014.

Vitesse

On 10 September 2014, Rashica moved to Vitesse on a trial basis, appearing for the club's youth team. On 10 February 2015, he signed a three-year deal with the

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

side, being effective on 1 July, for a reported

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

300,000 fee. On 30 July 2015, Rashica made his professional debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Uroš Đurđević Uroš Đurđević (, ; born 2 March 1994), commonly known as Đuka, is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Sporting Gijón. Born in Serbia, he represents the Montenegro national team. Club career Earl ...

in a 3–0 away loss against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for the third qualifying round of 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. On 9 August, he made his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

debut, starting and assisting Denys Oliynyk in a 1–1 away draw against Willem II. On 20 September 2015, Rashica scored his first professional goal, netting the last in a 3–0 home victory against

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

. On 18 December, he scored a brace in a 5–1 routing of

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

also at the

GelreDome The GelreDome () is a football stadium in the city of Arnhem, Netherlands. It is one of the largest and most modern stadiums in the country, built from 1996 to 1998 at a cost equivalent to €75 million, that opened on 25 March 1998. The stadium ...

. He played as Vitesse won the final of the

KNVB Beker The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

2–0 against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

on 30 April 2017 to lead the club, three-time runners up, to the title for the first time in its 125-year history.

Werder Bremen

On 31 January 2018, Rashica joined

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

, reportedly signing a 4.5-year contract until 2022. On 3 February 2018, he made his debut in a 2–1 away win against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

after being named in the Werder Bremen starting eleven. Rashica started in Werder Bremen's first match of the 2019–20 season against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

and assisted Johannes Eggestein's goal before sustaining an injury and being subbed off. He scored his first goal of the 2019–20 season on his return from an injury, on the sixth matchday of the season against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

in a 2–2 draw against the black and yellows.

Norwich City

On 22 June 2021, Rashica signed a four-year contract with the newly promoted

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

, and received squad number 17. Norwich City reportedly paid a €11 million transfer fee plus a possible €4 million in bonuses. On 14 August 2021, he made his debut in a 3–0 home defeat against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

after being named in the starting line-up. Rashica scored his first goal for Norwich City in January 2022, when he netted the winning goal in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

tie at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

. He provided an assist for

Josh Sargent Joshua Thomas Sargent (born February 20, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward or winger for EFL Championship club Norwich City and the United States national team. In May 2017, at the age of 17, he became t ...

as Norwich City moved out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3–0 win over

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. He scored his first Premier League goal for Norwich when he scored the first goal in a 3–1 defeat away to Liverpool at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

; in doing so he became the first Kosovan to score in the Premier League.

Loan to Galatasaray

On 8 September 2022, Rashica joined

side

, on a season-long loan. Galatasaray will reportedly pay him a €1.5 million net fee. His debut with Galatasaray came three days later in a 3–2 away win against Kasımpaşa after coming on as a substitute at 83rd minute in place of Yunus Akgün. He scored his first goal against Giresunspor on January 28, 2023, after substituting in place of

Dries Mertens Dries Mertens (; born 6 May 1987), nicknamed "Ciro", is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker or winger for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Belgium national team.

. As of early March 2023, he scored 2 goals and made 3 goal assists in 18 official games he played for

International career

Albania

Under-17

Rashica was called up to

's under-17 team by coach

Džemal Mustedanagić Džemal Mustedanagić (born 8 June 1955) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian retired footballer and current manager of the Albania national under-16 football team. Playing career Club Born in Bosanski Novi, his playing career started in FK Sloboda Bosansk ...

for the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round in October 2012, and made his debut for the side on the 18th, starting in a 1–0 loss against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Five days later, he scored the fifth in a 6–0 routing of Liechtenstein; he appeared in three matches and scored once, as Albania was knocked out after finishing third in its group.

Under-19

On 7 November 2014, Rashica was called up to the under-19s by coach

Altin Lala Altin Dodë Lala (born 18 November 1975) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and former manager. He spent his entire playing career in Germany and represented the Albania national football team. He ...

ahead of

2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round The 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-19 association football, football competition played in 2014 and 2015 to determine the seven teams joining Greece national under-19 football team, Greece, who qua ...

. He appeared against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, as Albania was again eliminated.

Under-21

On 28 August 2015, Rashica was included in

Redi Jupi Redi Jupi (born 31 May 1974) is an Albanian retired footballer. He played in the central midfield for KS Dinamo Tirana and has 19 caps for the Albania national team since his debut in 1995. Jupi is currently the manager of Albania U21 for the ...

's under-21 squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Poland in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament ...

matches against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

. He made his debut on 3 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against the former, and also suffering a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

which was later converted by

Endri Çekiçi Endri Çekiçi (born 23 November 1996) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish club Konyaspor and the Albania national team. Club career Early career Çekiçi started his career with his local club Pogradeci i ...

Senior

Rashica made his debut for the full squad on 29 March 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Ledian Memushaj Ledian Memushaj (born 7 December 1986) is an Albanian professional football coach and a former central midfielder. He is the head coach of the Under-19 squad of the Italian club Pescara. Club career Early career Memushaj joined A.S.D. Sarzane ...

in a 2–0 friendly win against

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. He only appeared in one further match for the national setup, a 3–1 win against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

on 29 May.

Kosovo

On 15 August 2016, it was announced that Rashica had switched to

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. On 30 August 2016, he received a call-up from Kosovo for a

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...

match against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Kosovo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rashica goal.''

Honours

Vushtrria *

Football Superleague of Kosovo The Football Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës) for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Kosovar football ...

: 2013–14 Vitesse *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2016–17

References

External links