Rade Krunić (; born 7 October 1993) is a Bosnian 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

club

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Krunić started his professional career at Sutjeska Foča, before joining Donji Srem in 2013. In 2014, he moved to

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

, who loaned him back to Donji Srem later that year. In 2015, he switched to Borac Čačak. Later that year, he signed with

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 ...

. Five years later, Krunić was transferred to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, who sent him on loan to Fenerbahçe in 2024, with whom he signed permanently later that year. He moved to Red Star Belgrade in 2024. A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Krunić made his senior international debut in 2016, earning over 30

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

since.

Club career

Early career

Krunić came through the youth setup of his hometown club Sutjeska Foča, which he joined in 2006. He made his professional debut in 2011 at the age of 17. On 6 November, he scored his first professional goal against

Modriča Modriča ( sr-cyrl, Модрича) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the town has a population of 10,137 inhabitants, while the municipality has a population of 25,720 inhabitants. Hist ...

, which secured the victory for his team. In January 2013, he signed with Serbian side Donji Srem. In the summer of 2014, Krunić moved to Italian outfit

, who loaned him back to Donji Srem. In January 2015, he switched to Borac Čačak.

Empoli

In July, Krunić joined

on a three-year contract. He made his official debut for the squad against

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

on 4 October. On 24 October, he scored his first goal for Empoli in a triumph over

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. In October 2017, he extended his deal with the team until June 2021. Krunić was an important piece in Empoli's conquest of the

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 ...

title, his first trophy with the club, which was sealed on 28 April 2018 and earned them 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 ...

just one season after being relegated. He had an impact of 5 goals and 10 assists. On 1 December, he played his 100th game for the side against SPAL and managed to score a goal.

Milan

In July 2019, Krunić was transferred to

for an undisclosed fee, speculated to be in the region of €8 million.

2019–20 season

He made his competitive debut for the team on 29 September in a loss to

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. On 3 November, he started his first match for Milan against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. In February 2020, he suffered a foot injury, which was diagnosed as a broken foot and was ruled out for at least a month. Over four months after the injury, on 4 July, he returned to the pitch.

2020–21 season

Krunić debuted in the season on 21 September against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. On 22 October, he scored his first goal for Milan in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

tie against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. Four months later, he scored his first league goal against his former squad Hellas Verona.

2021–22 season

Krunić played his first fixture of the campaign in a defeat of Sampdoria on 23 August 2021. On 19 October, he debuted in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

away at

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. He won his first title with the club on 22 May 2022, when they were crowned league champions after 11 years.

2022–23 season

Krunić appeared in his first encounter of the season against

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

on 13 August. In September, he extended his contract with Milan until June 2025. He made his 100th appearance for the side against

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

on 25 October. On 2 November, he scored his first

goal in a win over Red Bull Salzburg.

2023–24 season

Krunić made his season debut on 21 August against Bologna. He appeared in his 100th clash for Milan in the Serie A against

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

on 11 November.

Fenerbahçe

In January 2024, Krunić was sent on a six-month loan to Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe. He debuted officially for the club in a

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

contest against

Adanaspor Adanaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional Association football, football club based in Adana; currently, they play in the TFF First League. The club was founded in 1954 by middle-class merchants and artisans in response to their perceived ali ...

on 17 January. A week later, he made his league debut against

Samsunspor Samsunspor Kulübü, officially known as Samsunspor Football Club Joint Stock Company, or as Reeder Samsunspor due to sponsorship agreements, is a Turkey, Turkish Football club (association football), professional football club that competes in t ...

. In July, Fenerbahçe signed him on a three-year deal.

Red Star Belgrade

In September, Krunić joined

on a contract until June 2027. He debuted competitively for the team on 14 September against Napredak Kruševac. On 27 November, he scored his first goal for Red Star Belgrade in a

clash against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. Three weeks later, he scored a brace in a beating of Čukarički, which were his first league goals for the side. He won his first piece of silverware with the club on 6 April 2025, when they were proclaimed league champions.

International career

Krunić was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 team under coach Vlado Jagodić. In November 2015, he received his first senior call up, for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, but had to wait until 3 June 2016 to make his debut in a 2016 Kirin Cup game against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. On 23 March 2019, in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, Krunić scored his first senior international goal.

Personal life

Krunić married his long-time girlfriend Ivana in May 2022. Together they have two children, a son named Andrej and a daughter named Neva.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Krunić goal.''

Honours

Empoli *

: 2017–18 Milan *

: 2021–22 Red Star Belgrade *

: 2024–25 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2024–25

References

External links