Gábor Szalai (born 9 June 2000) is a Hungarian

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 defender for Nemzeti Bajnokság club

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

Club career

Kecskemét

Szalai joined the football academy of

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

in 2010. He has been playing for the club's first team since the 2019–20 season. On 24 June 2022, he renewed his contract with Kecskemét.

2022–23 season

On 8 April 2023, he scored his first goal in the

2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (also known as 2022–23 OTP Bank Liga), also known as NB I, was the 124th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league was officially named ''OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. Ferencvárosi TC, Fer ...

season against

Puskás Akadémia FC Puskás Akadémia Football Club is a professional football club based in Felcsút, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Puskás Akadémia have spent ten seasons in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, t ...

in a 3–0 victory at the Pancho Aréna, Felcsút. On 28 April 2023, he scored a goal in a 3–2 defeat against

Paksi FC Paksi FC (''Paks''; ) is a Hungarian professional football club based in Paks. Since its founding in 1952, it has played at either a county or national level. In 2006, it ascended to '' Borsodi Liga'', or NB I, the top division in Hungarian foot ...

at the

Széktói Stadion Széktói Stadion is a multi-use stadium in Kecskemét, Hungary. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football and Rugby football, rugby matches, and is the home stadium of Kecskeméti TE of the Hungarian National Championship I an ...

on game week 29. On 13 May 2023, he scored his third goal in the season in a 2–0 victory against reigning champions

Ferencvárosi TC Ferencvárosi Torna Club, commonly known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, FTC is a Hungary, Hungarian professional Association football, football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hunga ...

on game week 31.

2023–24 season

On 7 August 2023, he scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory over

Kisvárda FC Kisvárda Football Club is a Hungarian football club located in Kisvárda. It currently plays in Nemzeti Bajnokság II. The team's colors are red and white. History Kisvárda FC, later known as Várda SE, was founded in 1911 as ''Kisvárdai Sp ...

in the

2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (also known as 2023–24 OTP Bank Liga), also known as NB I, was the 125th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league was officially named ''OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. The fixtures were anno ...

season at the

. On 13 August 2023, he scored the winning goal against

Fehérvár FC Fehérvár Football Club (commonly known as ''Fehérvár'', ''Vidi'', or ''MOL Fehérvár Football Club'' for sponsorship reasons), is a Hungarian professional football club based in Székesfehérvár, which plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II ...

at the

. He scored his third goal in

Szusza Ferenc Stadion Szusza Ferenc Stadion (formerly known as Megyeri úti Stadion or simply Megyeri út) is a football stadium in Újpest and the home of Újpest FC. The stadium was designed by Alfréd Hajós and opened on 17 September 1922. The stadium was renovat ...

on 21 October 2023 in 5–3 defeat against

Újpest FC Újpest Football Club () is a Hungary, Hungarian professional association football, football club based in Újpest, Budapest, that competes in Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Formed in 1885, Újpest reached the first division of the Hungarian League in ...

on game week 10. On 26 November 2023, he scored his fourth goal in the season in a 3–3 draw against

at the

Sóstói Stadion Sóstói Stadion, formerly known as MOL Aréna Sóstó, (''MOL Aréna Salt Lake'') is a multi-purpose stadium in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, primarily used for football (soccer), football matches. History Planning On 12 November 2014, the desi ...

. On 4 January 2023, it was rumored that the club received an offer from a club to purchase his rights to play.

Lausanne

On 7 January 2024, he was signed by

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

club

FC Lausanne-Sport Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss Association football, football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challeng ...

. On 20 January 2024, he debuted in a 1–0 defeat against

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. It is the oldest football club in continental Europe after Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. The tea ...

at the

Stade de la Tuilière Stade de la Tuilière is a football stadium in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is the current home of the football club FC Lausanne-Sport. The stadium has a capacity of 12,544. FC Lausanne-Sport planned the construction of the stadium in 2017. Their s ...

. On 28 January 2024, he received a yellow card in a 2–1 defeat against

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

at the

Swissporarena Swissporarena is a multi-use stadium in Lucerne, Switzerland, completed in 2011. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of FC Luzern of the Swiss Super League. The stadium has a capacity of 16,800 spectators, including ...

in the

2023–24 Swiss Super League The 2023–24 Swiss Super League (referred to as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsoring reasons) was the 127th season of top-tier competitive football in Switzerland and the 21st under its current name. It was the first season under its ...

season.

Ferencváros

On 31 August 2024, he was signed by Nemzeti Bajnokság club

. On 12 April 2025, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 victory over

Zalaegerszegi TE Zalaegerszegi Torna Egylet Football Club (), commonly known as Zalaegerszegi TE, Zalaegerszeg or ZTE, is a Hungary, Hungarian professional association football, football club based in Zalaegerszeg. Zalaegerszeg has won one Hungarian League title ...

at the

ZTE Arena ZTE Arena is a stadium in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Zalaegerszegi TE. The stadium is able to hold 11,200 people. History On 26 March 2017 the renovated ...

in the

2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (also known as 2024–25 OTP Bank Liga), also known as NB I, will be the 126th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league was officially named ''OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. The fixtures were a ...

season. On 27 April 2025, he scored his second goal in a 3–2 victory over

MTK Budapest FC Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre Budapest Futball Club or shortly MTK is a professional Association football, football club based in Józsefváros, Budapest, Hungary. The club currently plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. The club's colours are blue ...

at the

Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion () is a multi-purpose stadium in Józsefváros, Budapest, Hungary. The stadium was opened on 13 October 2016. It was renamed after the MTK Budapest FC, MTK Budapest and Hungary national football team, Hungary footballer ...

. On 10 May 2025, he also scored an important goal in a 3–2 away victory over

International career

In an interview with

Nemzeti Sport ''Nemzeti Sport'' (, ) is a Hungarian sports daily. History and profile ''Nemzeti Sport'' was founded in 1903. It is frequently cited by quality English-language media The paper is published in broadsheet format. Between the World War I and Worl ...

, he said that he was surprised that Marco Rossi invited him to join the national team. At the press conference of the national team in

Telki Telki is a village near Budakeszi, in Hungary, some away from Budapest. Twin towns * Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on t ...

, he said that he had

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

to some extent but he could sleep well before joining the national team. He said that the community of the national team is really good and the team will accept him. He was called up in the

Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team (, ) represents Hungary in men's international Association football, football, and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made nine appearances in the FIFA World Cup, and five in the ...

against

Serbia national football team The Serbia men's national football team ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалска репрезентација Србије, translit=Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in men's international Association football, football competition. It is ...

Career statistics

Club

''As of match played 24 May 2025''

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szalai, Gabor 2000 births Footballers from Kecskemét Living people Hungarian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Kecskeméti TE players FC Lausanne-Sport players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Nemzeti Bajnokság II players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland 21st-century Hungarian sportsmen