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Adnan Januzaj (born 5 February 1995) is a Belgian 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 a winger for La Liga club Las Palmas, on loan from Sevilla. Born and raised in Brussels, Januzaj began his career with
Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
before joining
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in 2011 at the age of 16. Januzaj broke into the Manchester United first-team under manager
David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
during the 2013–14 season, but struggled for opportunities under Moyes' successors Louis van Gaal and
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...
, and had loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
before joining
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
in July 2017. Januzaj made his full international debut in 2014 and later that year played for Belgium at the FIFA World Cup in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, reaching the semi-finals of the latter tournament.


Club career


Manchester United

Januzaj began his football career with FC Brussels but joined
Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
as a ten-year-old in 2005. He left Anderlecht for
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at the age of 16 in March 2011, after impressing in a skills session in Brussels. Towards the end of the 2012–13 season, United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
promoted Januzaj to the first-team and he was registered with the number 44 jersey; he did not feature in the remainder of the season, but he was an unused substitute in the final game of the season away to West Bromwich Albion. For his performances during the season, Januzaj won the 2013 Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award. He was included in the first-team squad for the 2013–14 pre-season tour of Asia and scored in the final game of the tour against Hong Kong side Kitchee five minutes after being substituted on. He also started in Rio Ferdinand's
testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...
; United lost 3–1 to Sevilla, but Januzaj provided the assist for United's only goal.


2013–14 season

Januzaj made his competitive debut for
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
against
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
on 11 August 2013 in the Community Shield, coming on for Robin van Persie with six minutes left to play. He made his Premier League debut a month later, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Ashley Young in a 2–0 home win over Crystal Palace on 14 September. On 5 October 2013, in what was his first start for the club, Januzaj scored twice as United came from behind to claim a 2–1 victory away to
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. In an effort to stave off interest from other clubs, who could have signed Januzaj for "minimal compensation" on the expiry of his existing contract in June 2014, Manchester United signed Januzaj to a new five-year contract on 19 October 2013. On 3 December 2013, he was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year; at the time of his nomination, he had played in ten games for Manchester United. Januzaj was left out of Manchester United's initial squad for the UEFA Champions League when it was registered in September 2013, which came as a surprise to some members of the media after his impressive start to the season. Manager
David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
later explained this was a tactical decision to allow the club to register an additional player for the competition; as Januzaj had not been with the club long enough to be eligible for the 'List B' squad, which for 2013–14 included any player born after 1 January 1992 who had been eligible to play for the club for at least two years, he would have had to be registered as one of only 25 'List A' players, taking up a space that could have been used by another player. By waiting until 7 October 2013 to register Januzaj, he became eligible as a List B player, but this meant that he could not be selected for the club's first two matches in the competition, at home to Bayer Leverkusen and away to Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite being available from the third game of the tournament, at home to
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
, Januzaj was left out of both games against the Spanish club and the return match against Bayer Leverkusen. He made his Champions League debut at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on 10 December 2013. Towards the end of the first half of the 2013–14 season, Januzaj gathered somewhat of a reputation for diving, beginning with a yellow card for a "clear dive" on his full debut against Sunderland in October 2013. He received another booking for simulation against West Ham United in December 2013, going to ground despite West Ham defender
James Collins James, Jim, Jimmy, or Jamie Collins may refer to: Sports Association football * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born 1872) (1872–1900), Scottish footballer * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born 1895), Scottish footballer * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born ...
not offering a challenge. His third yellow card – which made him the joint second-most-booked player in the Premier League since sanctions for diving were introduced in 2008 – came against Tottenham Hotspur on 1 January 2014 and was the most contentious of the three; although Januzaj went to ground "easily" under a challenge from Tottenham defender Danny Rose, others were of the opinion that Rose made no attempt to win the ball, and that Januzaj should not have been booked. David Moyes admitted speaking to Januzaj about simulation, but repeatedly requested that match officials protect the winger from overzealous tackling by opposition defenders.


2014–15 season

At the start of the 2014–15 season, Januzaj was allocated the number 11 shirt, previously worn by the recently retired
Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...
. He made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in United's opening Premier League match; a 1–2 loss at home to
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
. His first start of the season came in a 2–2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 20 October 2014, in which he struggled against physical defenders
Sébastien Pocognoli Sébastien Pocognoli (born 1 August 1987) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a left-back. He is the head coach of the Under-21 squad of Union SG. Between 2008 and 2014, he made 13 appearances for the Belgium national ...
and
Joleon Lescott Joleon Patrick Lescott (born 16 August 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He currently works as a coach with the England U21s. Lescott is a graduate of the Wolverhampton Wanderers youth academy. H ...
.


2015–16 season

After not scoring in any competitions the previous season, and not making the bench for the first game of the new campaign, Januzaj scored his first goal for over a year on 14 August 2015, a close range 29th-minute strike which gave United victory at
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
. His first appearance upon return from loan came against Southampton on 23 January 2016, when he replaced
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson Cameron Jake Borthwick-Jackson (born 2 February 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Scottish club Ross County, on loan from Śląsk Wrocław. Club career Manchester United Born in Manchester, Borthwick-Jac ...
as a late substitute.


Loan to Borussia Dortmund

On 31 August 2015, Januzaj was loaned to German club Borussia Dortmund on a season-long deal. On 6 January 2016, he was recalled to United after only playing in 12 games for Dortmund in the first half of the season, starting three times.


Loan to Sunderland

On 12 August 2016, Januzaj agreed to join
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
on a season-long loan move from Manchester United, linking up with former Manchester United manager
David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
. Januzaj made his debut the following day, coming off the bench against
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
in a 2–1 defeat on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. In his third game for Sunderland against Shrewsbury Town, Januzaj scored his first goal for the team, a late winner. Januzaj was sent off for two yellow cards on 18 September in a 1–0 loss at Tottenham. Six days later, he suffered an ankle injury that ruled him out for at least six weeks during the 3–2 defeat to Crystal Palace. In December, Moyes said that despite Januzaj's talent, he needed to improve his performances at Sunderland if he wanted to break into Manchester United's squad.


Real Sociedad

Having failed to hold onto his place in the Manchester United squad, Januzaj signed a five-year contract with Spanish club
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
in July 2017. He made his debut in La Liga on 10 September, starting in a 4–2 win at Deportivo de La Coruña, and scored his first goal on 5 November in a 3–1 home victory against Basque neighbours Eibar. He also scored in a draw with Las Palmas and was one of three nominees for
La Liga Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countrie ...
. He also scored a late equaliser against Atletico Madrid that proved vital to secure his team a European place.


Sevilla

After being released by Real Sociedad at the end of the 2021–22 season, Januzaj signed a four-year contract with Sevilla on 31 August 2022.


Loan to Ä°stanbul BaÅŸakÅŸehir

On 3 February 2023, Januzaj signed for Süper Lig club
Ä°stanbul BaÅŸakÅŸehir ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...
on loan until the end of the season.


Loan to Las Palmas

On 24 July 2024, Januzaj joined Las Palmas also in the Spanish top tier on loan for the 2024–25 campaign.


International career

Due to his Kosovan-Albanian parents and his Turkish grandparents, in 2013, media reported that Januzaj was eligible to represent several national teams - Belgium (through being born there and having a Belgian passport), Albania (through his Albanian descent) and Kosovo (which was not a FIFA member at that time and only a partially recognized independent state), as well as Serbia, Turkey and Croatia. About this case, Abedin Januzaj (Adnan's father) stated "I am not closing the doors to Albania, because we are Albanian. However, they are closing the doors to themselves. I only deal with professionals on the issue," and said that Adnan would not represent Serbia, Turkey or Croatia because "we have no connections with these countries". In October 2013, England manager
Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...
stated that The Football Association was monitoring the player with a view to calling him up if Januzaj was naturalized as a British citizen (and passed the residency requirement of FIFA, according to
David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
). However, despite widespread press coverage, Januzaj did not meet the requirements to play for England under the rules set out in the Home Nations agreement, which requires that players engage in a minimum of five years of education before the age of 18 within the territory of the relevant association and national team eligibility through residency as an adult is not applicable. Despite having played competitively for Belgium at senior level, Januzaj remained eligible to represent Kosovo, as it was not a UEFA or FIFA member when he made his Belgian debut. However, once he made another appearance with Belgium after 2016 (the year in which Kosovo became a member of FIFA), Januzaj became ineligible to represent Kosovo and could from then on represent Belgium only.


Belgium

In June 2013, the former coach of the Belgian under-18 and under-19 teams, Marc Van Geersom, declared that Januzaj had refused a call-up to the Belgian team a number of times, since he would prefer to play for Albania. On 7 October 2013, former national team coach Marc Wilmots attempted to select Januzaj for the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...
games against Croatia and Wales, but Januzaj refused the call-up, saying he still needs to make a choice. In response, Wilmots stated: "I wanted to send him a clear signal. Just as
Zakaria Bakkali Zakaria Bakkali (born 26 January 1996) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk. He is most famous for becoming the youngest Eredivisie player of all-time to score a hat-trick, at the age o ...
, Adnan is a very promising youngster and I would like to integrate him into the group. I do not want to force his hand. I respect his choice and consider discussing with Adnan and his family". On 16 October, discussing rumours that suggested Januzaj would choose to represent Belgium if he is included in the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
squad, Wilmots declared: "The boy was born in Belgium, should he say that he wants to play for Belgium – from there, there is no haggling. I'm not going to play that game. If you're at the top level in Manchester or elsewhere, show me your skills and if I need you I will call. I make no promises, to Januzaj or any person". The following day, Januzaj's father told Kosovar TV station KTV that he did not like the Belgian federation's approach: "I am not blackmailing them as I'm not asking for any national team to get my son. It is them who want Adnan. ..you have to be professional in this issue. Belgium should follow the rules as well. I run his career in a sportive sense, and I have Belgium managers running the legal issues." On 23 April 2014, Wilmots announced that Januzaj had committed himself to the Belgium national team. This message was confirmed the day itself by Januzaj's manager Dirk De Vriese. On 13 May 2014, Januzaj was included in Belgium's 23-man squad for the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
. He played a first game with the national team two weeks later in a match against Luxembourg, but he did not earn his first cap; the match was considered unofficial by
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
on 4 June because Belgian coach Wilmots made 7 substitutions while only 6 are allowed in international friendlies. His official debut came in the next warm-up game, a 1–0 win over Tunisia on 7 June, replacing Eden Hazard after 73 minutes. In November 2017, Januzaj was recalled to the Belgian squad for the first time in three years ahead of friendlies against Mexico and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, but did not play. In June, he was named by Roberto Martínez in the 23-man squad for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
in Russia. In the final group game against England in Kaliningrad, he scored the only goal as the Belgians advanced as group winners.


Sponsorship

In 2014, New Balance announced that they were taking over Warrior Sports, and they would be intent on making their own football boots. They recruited many professional footballers, including Januzaj, who also featured in an advertisement promoting the new range.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Manchester United *
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
Real Sociedad * Copa del Rey: 2019–20 Belgium * FIFA World Cup third place:
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
Individual *
Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effective ...
:
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
* Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup Golden Ball: 2013


References


External links


Profile
at the UD Las Palmas website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Januzaj, Adnan 1995 births Living people Belgian people of Albanian descent Belgian people of Kosovan descent Belgian people of Turkish descent Footballers from Brussels Belgian men's footballers Men's association football wingers Manchester United F.C. players Borussia Dortmund players Sunderland A.F.C. players Real Sociedad footballers Sevilla FC players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players UD Las Palmas players Premier League players Bundesliga players La Liga players Süper Lig players Belgium men's international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey