Nicklas Bendtner
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Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former 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 ...
who played as a forward. His preferred position was
centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left. A large, tall, and physically strong player, he was known for his ability in the air and possessed a powerful header. Having progressed through the youth ranks at
Tårnby Boldklub Tårnby Boldklub (or Taarnby Boldklub, ) were a Danish football club based in Tårnby on Amager, which played their home games at Taarnby Stadium. The club was formed on 21 April 1935 as Arbejdernes Idræts Klub Tårnby (AIK Tårnby) and becam ...
,
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...
and Arsenal, Bendtner signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in 2005. He made his debut in October 2005 in the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
against Sunderland. For the 2006–07 season, Bendtner was loaned out to
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
club
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
, where he made 48 appearances. Following his return to Arsenal, he became a regular first team player, but began to slip out of favour during the 2010–11 season. As a result, he moved on loan to Premier League club Sunderland for the majority of the 2011–12 season, where he made 30 appearances. He then spent the entire 2012–13 season on loan to
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
club Juventus, where he made 10 appearances but failed to score. Bendtner was released by Arsenal in 2014. He subsequently joined
VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
on a free transfer, for whom he scored the winning goal in the
2015 DFL-Supercup The 2015 DFL-Supercup was the sixth edition of the German Super Cup under the name DFL-Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. It featured Bayern Munich, the wi ...
. Released in 2016, he returned to England, where he spent the first half of the 2016–17 season with
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
of the Championship, and in March 2017 he signed for Rosenborg. Bendtner has played internationally for Denmark at under-16, under-17, under-19, under-21 and senior levels. He made his senior international debut as an 18-year-old, on 16 August 2006 in a
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
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, and scored his first international goal in that match. Bendtner was a member of Denmark's
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
and
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
squads, and helped them qualify for the
2018 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 ...
.


Club career


Youth career

Bendtner was born in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. As a child, he played football for
Tårnby Boldklub Tårnby Boldklub (or Taarnby Boldklub, ) were a Danish football club based in Tårnby on Amager, which played their home games at Taarnby Stadium. The club was formed on 21 April 1935 as Arbejdernes Idræts Klub Tårnby (AIK Tårnby) and becam ...
before joining
F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
's feeder club
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...
(KB) in 1998. He scored four goals in six Danish national youth team matches, before joining English club Arsenal in August 2004.


Arsenal

Bendtner formed a prolific strike partnership in the Arsenal reserves with
Arturo Lupoli Arturo Lupoli (born 24 June 1987) is a former Italian footballer who last played as a forward for Borgo San Donnino. His former clubs include Parma, Arsenal and Derby County, where he spent the 2006–07 season on loan. Club career Parma Orig ...
. His first-team debut for Arsenal came on 25 October 2005 in a
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, as a late substitute for Quincy Owusu-Abeyie.


Loan to Birmingham City

Bendtner was loaned to
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
team
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
in August 2006 to gain first team experience; the loan initially ran until January 2007. He made his debut for Birmingham as a substitute for Stephen Clemence against
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
on 5 August. He played the final half-hour and scored the winning goal. The loan at Birmingham was extended until the end of the 2006–07 season. He finished with eleven league goals as Birmingham were promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.


2007–08 season

Bendtner signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal in May 2007, and returned to the club for the
2007–08 Premier League The 2007–08 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) season was the 16th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 11 August 2007, and the season ended on 11 May 2008. Manche ...
season. After impressing at Birmingham, the teenage striker was presented with opportunities to seek first-team football elsewhere, with reports that Olympique Lyonnais and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
wanted the promising teenager, but he stayed on in order to earn his place in the starting eleven. Bendtner scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium against
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
in the inaugural Emirates Cup pre-season tournament; he assisted another for
Mathieu Flamini Mathieu Pierre Flamini (born 7 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer and environmental entrepreneur. A midfielder, he has played for French side Marseille, English sides Arsenal and Crystal Palace, Italian side Milan and Spanish ...
and missed a late
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) A p ...
. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Fulham on 12 August 2007. His first competitive strike for the Gunners was the match-winning goal in a 2–0 League Cup match against Newcastle United on 25 September 2007. On 23 October, he scored his debut
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
goal in the 89th minute against
Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in ...
, finishing off a back-heeled pass from
Emmanuel Eboué Emmanuel Eboué (born 4 June 1983) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a right back. Formed at ASEC Mimosas, he moved to Europe to play for Belgium's Beveren in 2002. He spent most of his career, from 2005 to 2011, with A ...
to complete a 7–0 win and equal the record Champions League victory. Bendtner's first Premier League goal came on 22 December 2007 in a 2–1 Arsenal victory in the
North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is co ...
against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
at the Emirates Stadium. He headed the winning goal from a
Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...
corner just 1.8 seconds (official time) after coming on as a substitute for Eboué, breaking the previous record. His first Premier League start came a week later at Everton; he was sent off for two bookable offences. After serving his suspension, he scored his first
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 ...
goal against
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
on 6 January 2008 as Arsenal won 2–0. During the season, manager Arsène Wenger tried to partner Bendtner with
Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Ho ...
whenever
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball c ...
was rested. Bendtner and Adebayor, however, did not get along well. It became apparent during the 2008 League Cup semi-final second leg away at Tottenham when the pair had a heated on-pitch altercation with the scoreline at 4–1 to Tottenham and referee
Howard Webb Howard Melton Webb MBE (born 14 July 1971) is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014. Webb is co ...
, captain
William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...
, and other teammates had to intervene and separate the two. Adebayor later apologized on Arsenal's website and
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
declined to take any formal action against either. Bendtner also scored a last minute equaliser against Aston Villa to keep Arsenal top of the table.


2008–09 season

The highlight of Bendtner's 2008–09 pre-season was scoring four goals in the first half of Arsenal's 10–2 victory against Burgenland XI on 29 July 2008. He scored his first Premier League goal of the season against Bolton Wanderers and within 90 seconds provided an assist for Eboué to score. Bendtner had a hard time in October and November, but on 25 November, he scored a controversial 87th-minute winner against
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
in the Champions League to ensure Arsenal progressed to the knockout stages. After treatment to an injured player, with Dynamo apparently expecting the ball to be returned to them, Fàbregas hit the ball forward and Bendtner scored with a left-footed shot. He was booked for removing his shirt in celebration. In January, he scored two more goals as a substitute, late winners at home to Bolton and
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, both from Van Persie crosses. On 24 February, Bendtner was goaded after missing a number of chances in the 1–0 win over Roma in the Champions League knockout stages. The following week, he scored two goals at
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
as Arsenal won 3–1. The fans were much more supportive towards him when he missed a string of chances against
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
. Arsenal still won 4–0, thanks to Andrey Arshavin's stunner, and a brace from Eboué. Bendtner got a goal in a 3–1 win at Newcastle United, a header from a long free-kick. On 5 May 2009, the 21-year-old Bendtner was seen leaving a nightclub hours after Arsenal's 3–1 home defeat by
rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
side Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, pictured with his belt undone and jeans pulled down. He later said: "I may be young, but my actions were a poor error of judgment and something I deeply regret." Bendtner was a second-half substitute for Arsenal, who lost 4–1 on aggregate to defending champions United. Bendtner made amends with a goal, albeit a consolation, in a 4–1 defeat to London rival club
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.


2009–10 season

Bendtner started the 2009–10 season by announcing a change in his Arsenal squad number from 26, which he had been allocated initially, to 52, which he claimed was "a special number to impersonally". He agreed to refund any supporters who had already bought a shirt printed with his original number. He scored his first goal of the season in the Champions League group stage in a 3–2 away win against
Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...
. On the morning of 27 September, he was involved in a car accident while driving along the A1. He suffered cuts to his knees and shoulder pain, and wrote off his Aston Martin. He returned to action on 4 October and scored his first league goal of the season in Arsenal's 6–2 win over Blackburn Rovers. On 28 October, he scored the winning goal in the League Cup in a 2–1 win 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 populat ...
. On 10 November, Bendtner underwent surgery in Germany after aggravating a groin injury in the 3–0 win on 31 October playing against Tottenham Hotspur. He was expected to be out for up to four weeks, but did not return until 27 January in a 0–0 draw at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
. He started his first match after recovering from his injury and played 82 minutes in Arsenal's victory over Liverpool on 10 February to complete his return to full fitness. Ten days later, he scored his first league goal since October with the opener in a 2–0 home defeat of Sunderland. He followed this up with the equalising goal in a 3–1 win against Stoke City at the
Britannia Stadium The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
on 27 February. On 9 March, Bendtner scored the first
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
of his professional career in a 5–0 victory over
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
in the second leg of the Champions League first knockout round to overturn their 2–1 loss in the first leg. Four days later, he scored a stoppage-time winning goal against Hull City to put the Gunners level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League. Another stoppage-time winner followed in the 1–0 victory over
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
on 3 April. Bendtner won the Arsenal Player of the Month award for his performances in March, taking over 33% of the votes. He scored the only goal for Arsenal in a 4–1 defeat to
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
at the Camp Nou as they were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-final on 6 April.


2010–11 season

After worsening his groin problem during the
2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, and spending almost four months out of action, Bendtner's first appearance of the season came as a substitute against Birmingham City on 16 October. On 24 October, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 away win against Manchester City. Three days later, he scored again in a match against Newcastle United in the League Cup at
St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...
, as Arsenal won 4–0. Bendtner scored his first goal of 2011 on 25 January against
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in the League Cup, to level the aggregate score at 1–1. Arsenal won the match 3–0, and 3–1 on aggregate. The goal earned him the Arsenal Goal of the Month award for January. On 2 March, Bendtner scored a hat-trick in the
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 ...
fifth round replay against
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
team
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
. it was his first hat-trick for nearly a year, and the first by an Arsenal player in an FA Cup tie since
Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
's against
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
in 1993. Bendtner was left out of Arsenal's 2011 summer tour of Asia while talks took place over a transfer. Amid rumours of interest from Stoke City and
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 fo ...
, as well as confirmed interest from
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
sporting director
Frank Arnesen Frank Arnesen (born 30 September 1956) is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was Sporting Director a ...
, Bendtner made public his desire to leave Arsenal in August, citing the need for first-team football as motivation.


Loan to Sunderland

On the last day of the August 2011 transfer window, Premier League club Sunderland completed a one-year loan deal for Bendtner; the striker linked up again with manager Steve Bruce. A couple of days later, Bendtner was reported as saying that he would never play for Arsenal again because he was not given the opportunity to establish himself in the first team after his car accident. On his debut, he made an assist against Chelsea. His first goal came on 1 October to begin Sunderland's comeback from 2–0 down to draw with
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, and he made the cross from which Ahmed Elmohamady equalised. Bendtner had to wait three weeks for the
Dubious Goals Committee A Dubious Goals Committee is a committee in the English football leagues which adjudicates in any instance where the identity of the scorer of a goal is disputed. The Premier League Committee meets on an ad hoc basis, whenever a disputed goa ...
to credit him with the goal, which had gone into the net off
Gareth McAuley Gareth Gerald McAuley ( ; born 5 December 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He represented Northern Ireland at senior international level, being capped on 80 occasions and scoring nine times ...
. Bendtner's second goal for Sunderland came in injury time against Bolton Wanderers; the match ended 2–0 and was Sunderland's first away win of the season. He scored his third in a 3–2 win at
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
. On 21 January 2012, Bendtner fractured his eye-socket in a collision during Sunderland's match against Swansea City on 21 January 2012; when he returned to action, he wore a protective facemask. He converted a penalty in the
Tyne-Wear derby Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...
on 4 March to put Sunderland 1–0 up, and scored again the following week to give his team a 1–0 victory against Liverpool. In Sunderland's 3–1 victory at home to Queens Park Rangers, he scored the opening goal with an "unstoppable" header, and took his total for March to four from five matches with Sunderland's second goal in a 3–3 draw away to Manchester City. He finished the season as Sunderland's top scorer in Premier League matches with eight goals.


Loan to Juventus

On the last day of the August 2012 transfer window, Bendtner joined Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
club Juventus on loan for the season, with an option to make the move permanent. He made his debut as a substitute for Fabio Quagliarella in a 2–0 win against
Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...
at the
Juventus Stadium Juventus Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Stadium since July 2017, sometimes simply known in Italy as the Stadium ( it, Lo Stadium), is an all-seater football stadium in the Vallette borough of Turin, Italy, and the home o ...
on 22 September 2012, and his first start came five weeks later in a 1–0 win against Catania. He again started in the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
match against Cagliari in December, but suffered a thigh injury that required surgery and was expected to be out for at least two months. While he was ruled out through injury, he was at the centre of controversy when he was arrested for drink driving on 4 March 2013. Bendtner did not return to action until Juventus's last league match of the season with the title already secured. Coming on as a 74th-minute substitute in the 3–2 defeat away to
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
on 18 May 2013, he fractured his wrist late in the game. He finished his season with only two league starts and without a goal in eleven appearances in all competitions. Juventus chose not to make the loan move permanent, and Bendtner returned to Arsenal.


2013–14 season

On 22 September 2013, Bendtner was an unused substitute against Stoke City. Three days later, he made his first Arsenal appearance for two years in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion. He made the assist for Thomas Eisfeld's goal as the match finished 1–1 after extra time. Bendtner played the whole 120 minutes and scored Arsenal's first penalty as they won the shoot-out 4–3. He scored his first Arsenal goal since March 2011 with a second-minute header in a 2–0 win against Hull Cuty on 4 December. On 1 January 2014, Bendtner scored his last goal for Arsenal against Cardiff City in the 88th minute, injuring his ankle in the process before
Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with ...
sealed a 2–0 win. Although he had hoped to prove himself to Arsenal, this did not happen, and he was released at the end of the season when his contract expired.


VfL Wolfsburg

On 15 August 2014, Bendtner signed a three-year deal with
VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
of the
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 ...
. Managing director
Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional football player, manager, and executive. A striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the co ...
described him as "a striker at the best age, who already was able to gather a lot of international experience in his career, which did not always run in a straight line". Bendtner made his Wolfsburg debut on 30 August, as a second-half substitute against
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
in a match that finished 2–2. On 6 November, he scored his first two goals for Wolfsburg, one from the penalty-spot and one from open play, in a 5–1 win against
Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...
in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. Sixteen days later, he scored his first
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 ...
goal, 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 ...
in a 3–2 away defeat. On 19 March 2015, he scored an 89th-minute winner against
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums i ...
to secure a 5–2 aggregate victory that took Wolfsburg to the quarter-final of the Europa League. Bendtner was an unused substitute as Wolfsburg beat Borussia Dortmund 3–1 in the
2015 DFB-Pokal Final The 2015 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal, the 72nd season of Germany's premier football cup. It was played on 30 May 2015 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Borussia Dortmund, runners-up in the previous final, faced ...
. Bendtner began his second season at Wolfsburg with the
2015 DFL-Supercup The 2015 DFL-Supercup was the sixth edition of the German Super Cup under the name DFL-Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. It featured Bayern Munich, the wi ...
against Bayern Munich: he produced a "poacher's finish" in the 89th minute from
Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often des ...
's cross to draw the game level at 1–1 and then scored the winner in the penalty shootout to clinch the trophy. On 8 August 2015, he continued his good form by scoring in a 4–1 win at
Stuttgarter Kickers Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. History In its early years the club had a decent local squad that played in the Südk ...
in the first round of the
2015–16 DFB-Pokal The 2015–16 DFB-Pokal was the 73rd season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It began on 7 August 2015 ...
, and opened his Bundesliga account for the season two weeks later with a goal in a 1–1 draw with 1. FC Köln. On 25 April 2016, Wolfsburg announced that Bendtner's contract, which was due to run until June 2017, had been terminated with immediate effect. While a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
, Bendtner trained with his hometown club F.C. Copenhagen.


Nottingham Forest

On 7 September 2016, Bendtner signed a two-year deal with English Championship club
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
. Bendtner said that he moved to Forest because both parties were desperate- Forest offered Bendtner a large salary as they were desperate for a striker, and Bendtner wanted to move closer to his son in London and to get his footballing career back on track. He made his debut for the club on 20 September in the
2016–17 EFL Cup The 2016–17 EFL Cup was the 57th season of the EFL Cup, formerly known as the Football League Cup, featuring all 92 clubs from the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL). It began on the week commencing 8 August 2016 and concluded w ...
against former club Arsenal, after which Arsène Wenger asserted that "if he keeps fit he still has a chance to come back to the top level. I think a hungry Nicklas Bendtner can score goals against anybody, and that's what you want from him." On 11 December 2016, Bendtner scored an own goal against Forest's rivals
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
in an eventual 3–0 defeat. Bendtner finished his Forest career with two goals from seventeen appearances in all competitions. Bendtner felt that his heart wasn't really in it when he moved to Forest, and felt that 'It wasn't until I got to Rosenborg that I found myself again and found that true love of football'.


Rosenborg BK

On 6 March 2017, Bendtner signed for Norwegian club Rosenborg for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in the Mesterfinalen of
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
against Brann, and supplied the assist for the second goal in a 2–0 win. He also scored his first league goal in his
Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...
debut against
Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...
at
Lerkendal Lerkendal () is a borough in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The borough was established on 1 January 2005 in a municipal borough reform that reduced the number of boroughs in the city. The borough of Østbyen lies to the ea ...
. On 12 August, Bendtner scored a trivela goal from outside the penalty box in a 2–1 win over
Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name t ...
. Bendtner won his second consecutive Mesterfinalen in the 2018 event, scoring the only goal of the game against
Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...
,
nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
ging defender Marius Amundsen en route to goal.


Copenhagen

On the transfer deadline day, 2 September 2019,
F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
signed Bendtner on a deal until the end of the year. On 17 December 2019 it was confirmed, that Copenhagen would not extend his contract and Bendtner left the club again at the end of 2019. He scored his only goal in a cup tie against
FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the town's two football club ...
on 31 October 2019.


Retirement

On 25 August 2020, Tårnby FF, whose senior team competes in the fourth-tier Denmark Series, announced that Bendtner had signed up for the club, where he would become part of the "M+32 Old Boys" team. On Bendtner joining the team, organiser of the M+32 team, Martin Skov Hæstrup stated that "we are very happy that Nicklas wants to stay in shape with some of the guys he has known for many years. This opportunity is something we have been discussing for many years." He made his debut for the team on 9 September where he started as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
against the Fredensborg BI M+32 team which ended in a 1–0 win. In June 2021, Bendtner announced his retirement from football in the
Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...
programme ''Bendtner og Philine''. In the episode, he stated that: "all your life you play football, and from one day to the next it ends", and added that he had "not been able to do some of the things I liked because of
corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
. I think I need to have a little more time to process that it's over now".


International career

Bendtner started his international career with three matches for the Denmark under-16 team in February 2004. During his third game he scored a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
against
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. He then scored six goals in 15 appearances for the under-17s, and was named Danish Under-17 Player of the Year for 2004. Bendtner made his under-21 debut on 17 May 2006, at the age of 18, scoring both goals in a Danish 2–0 victory over
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in a
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
. He was the youngest player selected for Denmark's squad for the 2006 European Under-21 Championships, and replaced Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen in the Danish starting line-up. When Rasmussen came on to replace Bendtner during the match against the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Bendtner told the press afterwards that the change was a mistake and that he was a better striker than Rasmussen. He received a reprimand, apologised to his teammates, and retained the starting position for Denmark's remaining group match before they were eliminated. On 16 August 2006, Bendtner made his first senior appearance for
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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
; aged 18 years and 212 days, he was the seventh youngest debutant ever. He started the match, a friendly against
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and scored after 32 minutes, helping Denmark to a 2–0 win. On 1 September, he played his second senior match for his country, as a substitute in a friendly against
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 ...
. He scored the final goal in a 4–2 win for Denmark. Although he still qualified to play for the U21s, Bendtner soon earned a starting place for the senior team; he scored two goals in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers. In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Bendtner scored an 84th-minute goal against Portugal to make the score 1–1; Denmark went on to win 3–2. He scored again in the reverse fixture against Portugal which ended 1–1, and four days later scored a header against
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 ...
in another 1–1 draw. He assisted
Jakob Poulsen Jakob Bendix Uhd Poulsen (born 7 July 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and current assistant coach of Viborg FF. Poulsen started his senior career with Esbjerg fB, before moving to Dutch side SC Heeren ...
's goal in Denmark's 1–0 win over Sweden, which meant they qualified for the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. He ended the campaign with three goals. For his contribution, he was voted
Danish Player of the Year The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best male Danish football player by the Danish Football Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote among the professional Danish footballers. Since 2000 ...
and his goal against Portugal won the Goal of the Year award. Bendtner was selected by coach
Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...
for the World Cup squad. He played in all three of Denmark's group matches, and scored his country's first goal of the 2–1 win against
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. Bendtner turned down the opportunity of representing his country at the 2011 European Under-21 Championships because he wanted to "spend some quality time with isyoung son". In qualifying for UEFA Euro 2012, he scored two goals for the senior team in a 2–0 win against
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
on 6 September 2011. On 11 October, he scored a "second-half tap-in" against Portugal to ensure Denmark qualified for
Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
. In friendlies in November, Bendtner scored against both Sweden and Finland; in the latter match, he "finished a fine counterattacking move to net the winning goal". Bendtner was selected in the Denmark squad for Euro 2012. A ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
'' preview described him as "tall and powerful, capable of acting as a target man, yet also has the technical gifts to play deeper or on the flank." On 13 June, he scored twice in Denmark's narrow 3–2 defeat to Portugal in the second group match. After scoring his second goal, Bendtner revealed the logo of
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...
s
Paddy Power Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK Ireland (UKI) and International. UKI operations ...
on the waistband of his underwear, in an instance of
ambush marketing Ambush marketing or ambush advertising is a marketing strategy in which an advertiser " ambushes" an event to compete for exposure against other advertisers. The term was coined by marketing strategist Jerry Welsh, while he was working as the m ...
for which UEFA banned him for one 2014 World Cup qualifying match and fined him €100,000. The company paid the fine. On 12 October 2012, he scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
in a World Cup qualifier, and received a
yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...
when playing 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 ...
four days later. In March 2013, after Bendtner's arrest for drink driving, the Danish Football Association (DBU) suspended Bendtner from consideration for national team selection for six months. According to their statement: "The DBU have demanded that Nicklas Bendtner take six months off to think over his international future. The DBU respect the rights of all players to have a private life, but we also have certain rules that need to be met by international players in their public behaviour." On his next appearance, in the return fixture against Italy, he scored both of Denmark's goals in a 2–2 draw and was yellow-carded for removing his shirt in celebration. An ankle injury sustained on club duty with Arsenal resulted in Bendtner being sidelined from international football until a friendly against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
in March 2014, in which he played the first 63 minutes. In the first round of international call-ups after Bendtner's transfer to Wolfsburg, he was left out of the Denmark squad by Morten Olsen, who named
Martin Braithwaite Martin Christensen Braithwaite (; born 5 June 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Espanyol and the Denmark national team. He plays mainly as a forward, but he can also play as a winger. Having begun his career ...
as his sole striker for a friendly against
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
and a Euro 2016 qualifier against
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. In March 2015, he scored a hat-trick as Denmark came from behind to beat the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
3–2 in a friendly at Aarhus. He was named in Denmark's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and retained his place when the group was reduced to 27, but a groin injury sustained on club duty meant he was not included in the final 23.


Style of play

Bendtner was as versatile forward capable of playing in several attacking positions. Although his preferred role was as a centre-forward, he has also been used out wide on either flank. A large, tall, and physically strong player, he was known for his ability in the air and possessed a powerful header. Considered a promising but undisciplined player in his youth, he was regarded as "a player blessed with a fabulous all-round talent", and a quick, intelligent, and hard-working striker, with a good positional sense, first touch, tactical awareness, and an ability to score goals or hold up the ball and create chances. His former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger once labelled Bendtner as a potentially "unstoppable striker", and also described him as a player who as a youngster was "good in the air", and who had "good technique, good stature, good pace, ... good link play", also adding that "he had it all in the locker." Despite his talent and confidence in his abilities, Bendtner often struggled with injuries, which limited his fitness; he was also criticised in the media for his perceived arrogance, mentality, and inconsistency, as well as his off-field antics, and as a result, he has been accused of failing to live up to his potential.


Personal life

In November 2009, it was reported that Bendtner was seen in Hyde Park with former Baroness Caroline Iuel-Brockdorff, a socialite and close friend of the
Danish Royal Family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...
. In 2008 she divorced banker Rory Fleming, first cousin once removed of ''
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
'' writer Ian Fleming, with whom she has two children. The couple met when Iuel-Brockdorff was filmed renovating her family home,
Valdemar's Castle Valdemar's Castle (Danish: Valdemars Slot) is a manor house situated on the island of Tåsinge near Svendborg in southern Denmark. History Valdemar's Castle was commissioned by King Christian IV (1588–1648) and built between 1639 and 1644 u ...
, on a reality show. Bendtner was a guest and they did a photoshoot together to promote his appearance. In December 2010, Iuel-Brockdorff gave birth to Bendtner's son at London's
Portland Hospital The Portland Hospital for Women and Children is a private maternity hospital on Great Portland Street, City of Westminster, London, England, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America. History The Portland was conceived by Barry Lewis, a ...
. The couple separated soon afterwards. Bendtner has a cult following who refer to him as "Lord Bendtner". In March 2015, Danish celebrity tabloid ''
Se og Hør ''Se og Hør'' (; "See and Hear") is a TV guide and celebrity journalism magazine published in three independent versions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden (where it is called ''Se & Hör'' ) by the Danish company Aller Media. The Danish version is ...
'' bought him a square foot of land in Scotland to bestow him the title of "Lord", and according to his agent, he considered it a "fun gimmick". Bendtner has also taken part in the joke, uploading on Instagram a poster of him holding the
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...
and running as a candidate for Prime Minister in the June 2015 Danish election. During his time at Rosenborg, Bendtner was dubbed "Emperor" as
Mushaga Bakenga Mushagalusa Bakenga Joar Bahati Namugunga (born 8 August 1992) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Stabæk. Career At a very young age Bakenga was spotted, his rise to the first team is testament to his undoubted ...
was already nicknamed 'Lord' at Rosenborg. In November 2018 Bendtner was sentenced to 50 days in prison in Denmark for assaulting a taxi driver. On 21 November, Bendtner and his lawyer dropped the appeal, accepting that Bendtner will serve his sentence either in jail or house arrest. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Bendtner began playing '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', and became the owner of a small CSGO team called Prosapia Esport. In November 2022, he participated in a showmatch at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals at the
Royal Arena The Royal Arena is a multi-use indoor arena in the Ørestad South area of Copenhagen, Denmark. The ground was broken for construction on 26 June 2013 and the arena opened in February 2017. It has a capacity of 13,000 for sporting events and up t ...
in Copenhagen, playing on Team Denmark.


Career statistics


Club


International

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


Honours

Birmingham City * Football League Championship runner-up: 2006–07 Arsenal * Football League Cup runner-up:
2010–11 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. ...
Juventus *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
:
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 ...
VfL Wolfsburg *
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
: 2014–15 * DFL-Supercup: 2015 Rosenborg *
Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...
:
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
,
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 Unit ...
*
Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest footba ...
:
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 Unit ...
* Mesterfinalen:
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
,
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 Unit ...
Individual * Danish Under-17 Player of the Year: 2004 *Danish Talent of the Year: 2007 *
Danish Football Player of the Year The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best male Danish football player by the Danish Football Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote among the professional Danish footballers. Since 20 ...
: 2009 *Danish Goal of the Year: 2009 * Eliteserien top scorer:
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...


References


External links


Player profile
at Arsenal F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendtner, Nicklas 1988 births Living people Footballers from Copenhagen Danish men's footballers Denmark youth international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Denmark international footballers Association football forwards Arsenal F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Juventus F.C. players VfL Wolfsburg players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Rosenborg BK players F.C. Copenhagen players Tårnby FF players English Football League players Premier League players Serie A players Bundesliga players Eliteserien players Danish Superliga players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Danish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Danish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Norway People convicted of assault AB Tårnby players