Christian Lund Gytkjær (; born 6 May 1990) is a Danish 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 lea ...

who plays as a striker for Italian club

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Early life

Christian Gytkjær started his youth career playing for

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, before moving on to

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish language, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping stre ...

in 2005. In October 2007, he was invited for a trial at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in England with his brother, Frederik, ultimately nothing materialized from the visit. Gytkjær went on to be Lyngby's top scorer in 2007–08 for the under-18 side.

Club career

Lyngby Boldklub

Gytkjær was called up to the Lyngby first team in the middle of 2008, signing a new contract keeping him at the club until 2010. He scored three goals in eight appearances in his debut season in the 1st Division. By the 2009–10 campaign, Gytkjær had become one of Lyngby's most anticipated talents to come through their youth system. On 2 February 2010, it was confirmed Gytkjær would leave Lyngby when his contract expired in the summer to join

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

winners Nordsjælland on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract, following in the footsteps of

Andreas Bjelland Andreas Bjelland (born 11 July 1988) is a retired Danish-Norwegian professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back for a number of clubs in Denmark, the Netherlands and England. He is currently assistant head coach at Ly ...

, Andreas Laudrup and

Morten Nordstrand Morten Nordstrand Nielsen (; born 8 June 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer, who played as a striker. He is currently the assistant coach of F.C. Copenhagen U17. He has played eight times for the Denmark national football team. ...

, who had left Lyngby for the

Farum Farum is a town on the northeast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, 20 km northwest of Copenhagen. The town has a population of 20,369 (1 January 2025).

-based club. While his future had been set, Gytkjær was still to play out the remainder of the 2009–10 season with Lyngby, where he was targeted by the supporters who disapproved in seeing another player their team had nurtured head over to neighboring rivals. The backlash was only increased when the player was photographed with an FCN shirt while still under contract to Lyngby.

Nordsjælland

Gytkjær made his debut for Nordsjælland in a 2–0 away defeat to

Superliga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

champions

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

on 14 August 2010, when he was brought into the team to replace Nicki Bille Nielsen, who was sold to

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. In 2012, he was loaned out to

Akademisk Boldklub Akademisk Boldklub Gladsaxe (AB) is a Denmark, Danish professional football (soccer), football club from Gladsaxe north of Copenhagen, currently playing at the 3rd highest level of Danish domestic football in the Danish 2nd Division group 1. The ...

(AB) and

Sandnes Ulf Sandnes Ulf is a Norwegian association football club from Sandnes, Rogaland, currently playing in the 2. divisjon, the third highest division in the Norwegian football league system. The club play their home matches at Øster Hus Arena. The cl ...

Haugesund

On 23 January 2013, Gytkjær joined Norwegian side

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

by signing a four-year contract.

Rosenborg

On 6 January 2016, Gytkjær signed for fellow Norwegian club Rosenborg on a three-year deal. In his debut season, he achieved the domestic double, and became the league's top scorer with 19 goals.

1860 Munich

On 27 January 2017, Gytkjær joined German club

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

by signing a contract until 2019.

Lech Poznań

On 28 June 2017, Gytkjær signed a two-year contract with

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

side

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

, with the option for an extra 12 months. He made his debut for the club during the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round away game against

FK Haugesund Fotballklubben Haugesund (), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional association football, football club from the city of Haugesund that plays in the top tier of the Norwegian football league system. FK Haugesund previousl ...

, which Lech lost 3–2. He scored his first two goals for Lech in a 5–1 home win over

Piast Gliwice Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice () is a Polish professional football club based in Gliwice. In the 2018–19 season, Piast won its first Polish championship. As of 2025–26, it competes in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division. Histo ...

in the third round of the 2017–18 season. On 7 March 2019, Gytkjær signed a contract extension, running until the end of the 2019–20 season. On 19 July 2020, in his last game for Lech, Gytkjær scored twice in a 4–0 home win against

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...

and led the team to secure second place in the 2019–20 season. He finished the campaign as the top scorer with 24 goals, and won the Ekstraklasa Forward of the Season award. In total, Gytkjær scored 65 goals for Lech in 119 appearances, which made him the all-time highest foreign goalscorer in the club's history, until his tally was surpassed by Mikael Ishak in 2024.

Monza

On 22 July 2020, Gytkjær joined newly promoted Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract with the option of a third. He made his debut on 3 October against

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

, and scored his first goal on 31 October, converting a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

against

Cittadella Cittadella () is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around . There are fo ...

. He renewed his expiring contract in February 2022 for one year. With five goals in four

2021–22 Serie B The 2021–22 Serie B (known as the Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons) was the 90th season of the Serie B since its establishment in 1929. Changes The following teams have changed division since the 2020–21 season: To Serie B Relegated fr ...

promotion play-off games – including three goals in two final games against

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

– Gytkjær helped Monza gain promotion to the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

for the first time in their history, and was awarded the play-off MVP award. He made his Serie A debut on 13 August 2022, as a substitute in a 2–1 home defeat to

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. On 18 September, Gytkjær came on as a substitute and scored in an upset 1–0 win against Italian giants

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

; it was Monza's first-ever Serie A win.

Venezia

On 20 July 2023, Gytkjær joined Italian side

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

as a free agent for two seasons. On 2 June 2024, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over

Cremonese Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

in the promotion playoffs final, securing his club's promotion to Serie A.

Bari

On 12 July 2025, Gytkjær signed a one-season contract with

International career

Gytkjær was part of the Denmark under-17 team that won the 2006 Nordic Championship in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

. He scored three goals in a 4–0 win over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the final.

Personal life

Gytkjær's younger brother, Frederik, also is a footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Nordsjælland *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Rosenborg *

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () 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 football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

Venezia *

Promotion play-offs: 2023–24 Denmark U17 * Nordic Championship: 2006 Individual * Tippeligaen top scorer:

* Ekstraklasa top scorer: 2019–20 *

Striker of the Year: 2016 *

Forward of the Season: 2019–20 * Ekstraklasa Player of the Month: March 2018,

July 2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns, and the largest economic recession since the Great Depr ...

play-offs MVP: 2021–22

References

External links

Rosenborg BK official profile
(archived 15 August 2016)
AC Monza official profile

Christian Gytkjær
at rbkmedia.no * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gytkjaer, Christian 1990 births Living people Footballers from Roskilde Danish men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Lyngby Boldklub players FC Nordsjælland players Akademisk Boldklub players Sandnes Ulf players FK Haugesund players Rosenborg BK players TSV 1860 Munich players Lech Poznań players AC Monza players Venezia FC players SSC Bari players Danish 1st Division players Danish Superliga players Eliteserien players 2. Bundesliga players Ekstraklasa players Serie B players Serie A players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Danish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Danish expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Danish expatriate sportspeople in Italy 21st-century Danish sportsmen