Georgi Iliev (footballer, born 1981)

Georgi Iliev
Iliev in 2022
Personal information
Full name Georgi Iliev Rusev
Date of birth (1981-09-05) 5 September 1981
Place of birth Varna, Bulgaria
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Youth career
–1999 Cherno More
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2003 Cherno More 72 (13)
1999–2000Svetkavitsa (loan) 5 (0)
2003–2005 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 67 (8)
2005–2008 CSKA Sofia 57 (3)
2008–2014 Cherno More 135 (35)
2014–2015 Shijiazhuang Yongchang 37 (13)
2015–2019 Cherno More 111 (23)
2019 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 19 (4)
Total 503 (99)
International career
2004–2020 Bulgaria 24 (2)
Managerial career
2021–2022 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (assistant)
2023–2025 Qingdao Hainiu (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Georgi Iliev Rusev (Bulgarian: Георги Илиев Русев; born 5 September 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, notably for Cherno More, where he made over 350 appearances for the club in all competitions. Iliev is the second highest scorer for Cherno More in the Bulgarian top flight with 71 goals.

His playing career included also spells at Lokomotiv Plovdiv and CSKA Sofia, as well as with Shijiazhuang Yongchang in China. Iliev holds the record for the highest number of appearances in the Bulgarian First League, with 461 (318 for Cherno More, 86 for Lokomotiv and 57 for CSKA). He also gained 24 Bulgaria caps between 2004 and 2019.