Stefan Savić ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Стефан Савић, ; born 8 January 1991) is a Montenegrin 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

and the Montenegro national team. Born in

Mojkovac Mojkovac ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Мојковац, ) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region. It has a population of 2,506 (2023 census). Mojkovac is the centre of Mojkovac Municipality, which has a population of 6,824. Geography The mu ...

, Savić started his career at the local club Brskovo, before moving to BSK Borča, and then to Partizan. He won the

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

with Partizan, and then joined

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

for £6 million, winning the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

title in his only season there. In 2012, he was transferred 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 ...

, making over 100 appearances across three seasons before signing with Atlético Madrid in 2015, where his team reached the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final, won the

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 ...

and

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

in 2018, and won La Liga in 2021. A full international since 2010, Savić has made over 70 appearances and scored nine goals for Montenegro.

Club career

Career in Serbia

Savić began his professional career with BSK Borča during the 2008–09 season. In early 2010, he was on a ten-day trial with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. According to Savić, he had agreed to join Arsenal in the summer, but the transfer never went through. On 29 August 2010, it was announced that Savić had signed for Partizan on a four-year contract and was given the number 15 shirt. He made four appearances in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage and helped the club win the double.

Manchester City

On 6 July 2011, Savić signed a four-year contract for

in a £6 million deal. He made his debut against Swansea City on 15 August as a substitute at the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...

. On 1 October, he came off the bench and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 victory away to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, heading in the conclusive goal from a corner from Samir Nasri. Throughout centre-back

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He is currently the head coach of ...

's four-match ban from 11 to 25 January, Savić replaced him in the starting line-up, with third-choice

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former player. He most recently managed then-Championship club Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic. Beginning his career as a ...

away on international duty with the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

in the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

. Although Savić showed brief flashes of form in this time, he showed many instances of nervousness resulting in frequent misplaced passes, clearances and crucially conceded a penalty against

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 a League Cup match, resulting in a Liverpool win. Via a poor first touch, he caused

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the under-18s coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlto ...

's goal in City's 3–2 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. With Kompany's return to the starting team, Savić returned to the bench. He ended the season with 12 league appearances, enough for a medal, as Manchester City won the 2011–12 Premier League on the last day of the season.

Fiorentina

On 31 August 2012, Italian

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 ...

club

signed Savić as part of a deal for Matija Nastasić to transfer the other way. He was given the number 15 shirt and made his Fiorentina debut on 7 October, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win over

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 ...

, and in December he scored his first two goals in a 2–2 home draw with Sampdoria. He finished the season with 26 league appearances and one

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

appearance, helping Fiorentina to finish in fourth place in the

2012–13 Serie A The 2012–13 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th season of top-tier Italian football, the 81st in a round-robin tournament, and the 3rd since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

, thereby securing a

place for 2013–14. Savić continued to be a mainstay in the Fiorentina defence in the 2013–14 season, making 31 appearances in the league as Fiorentina again finished in fourth place. Savić made four appearances in the Europa League proper and two more in qualifying as Fiorentina made the last 16 of the competition, being beaten 2–1 on aggregate by rivals

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 ...

. He also played both matches in the

semi-final win over

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 ...

and in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, where his side lost 3–1 to

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

. In the 2014–15 season, Savić reached the milestone of 100 appearances for Fiorentina in all competitions. He was a major part of their run to the semi-finals in the 2014–15 Europa League and the third consecutive fourth-place finish in Serie A, making 41 appearances in all competitions.

Atlético Madrid

On 20 July 2015, Savić moved to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

for €10 million fee and signed a five-year contract with the club;

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 ...

Mario Suárez moving in the opposite direction for free as part of the deal, though Suárez later sold for €4 million in January 2016. Savić became the first Montenegrin footballer who played in the Champions League final in the 21st century, 18 years after

Predrag Mijatović Predrag Mijatović ( sr-cyrl, Предраг Мијатовић; born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrin Association football, football administrator and former player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. At club level, Mijato ...

, who scored decisive goal in the 1998 final for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

against Juventus.

Trabzonspor

On 25 July 2024,

club

confirmed that Savić had signed for the club.

International career

Having represented Montenegro at every youth level, Savić made his international debut for the senior team in a friendly match against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

on 11 August 2010, replacing Milan Jovanović for the final 15 minutes at the Stadion Pod Goricom. On 10 August 2011, he scored twice in a 3–2 friendly loss to neighbours

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

at the Loro Boriçi Stadium in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

Personal life

Stefan's father Dragan was the president of the municipal assembly in

when he committed suicide on 6 April 2011 when Stefan was 20 years old. Subsequently,

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 ...

's Delije ultras, who are otherwise not known for being sympathetic to people associated with crosstown rivals Partizan, held up a banner which said "Support for Stefan Savić" after the loss of his father. In addition to his native Montenegrin, Savić speaks English,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

fluently.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 6 June 2025. Montenegro score listed first, score column indicates score after each Savić goal.''

Honours

BSK Borča *

Serbian First League The Serbian First League (), referred to as the Mozzart Bet First League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier in professional Serbia's football league. The league was formed in 2005, following a reshuffle of the second tier Serbo-Montenegr ...

: 2008–09 Partizan *

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 ...

: 2010–11 *

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. ...

: 2010–11 Manchester City *

: 2011–12 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Fiorentina *

runner-up: 2013–14 Atlético Madrid *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

: 2020–21 *

: 2017–18 *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Trabzonspor *

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 ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Individual *Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season: 2010–11 * Montenegrin Footballer of the Year (7): 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savic, Stefan 1991 births Living people People from Mojkovac Men's association football central defenders Montenegrin men's footballers Montenegro men's youth international footballers Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers Montenegro men's international footballers FK BSK Borča players FK Partizan players Manchester City F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players Atlético Madrid footballers Trabzonspor footballers Serbian First League players Serbian SuperLiga players Premier League players Serie A players La Liga players Montenegrin expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in England Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Italy Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Spain Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Turkey UEFA Europa League–winning players