Mateo Kovačić

Mateo Kovačić
Kovačić with Chelsea in 2019
Personal information
Full name Mateo Kovačić
Date of birth (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994
Place of birth Linz, Austria
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Manchester City
Number 8
Youth career
2000–2007 LASK
2007–2010 Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Dinamo Zagreb 43 (6)
2013–2015 Inter Milan 80 (5)
2015–2019 Real Madrid 73 (1)
2018–2019Chelsea (loan) 32 (0)
2019–2023 Chelsea 110 (4)
2023– Manchester City 61 (7)
International career
2008 Croatia U14 2 (1)
2008 Croatia U15 2 (0)
2009–2011 Croatia U17 15 (0)
2011–2012 Croatia U19 6 (0)
2011–2014 Croatia U21 7 (0)
2013– Croatia 110 (5)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Croatia
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up2018
2022
UEFA Nations League
Runner-up2023
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:48, 21 May 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:28, 23 March 2025 (UTC)

Mateo Kovačić (Croatian pronunciation: [matěo kǒʋatʃitɕ]; born 6 May 1994) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Croatia national team.

Kovačić began his professional career with Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16, with whom he won two consecutive Prva HNL titles, before joining Inter Milan in 2013. In 2015, he moved to Real Madrid, where he won nine trophies, including three UEFA Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018. He subsequently joined Chelsea, where he won the UEFA Europa League, a fourth Champions League title, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, as well as being named Chelsea Player of the Year for the 2019–20 season. He joined Manchester City in the summer of 2023, and won the Premier League with them in his first season.

Born in Austria, Kovačić played for Croatia at multiple youth levels before making his debut for the senior national team in 2013. He has represented the nation at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2016, 2020 and 2024 UEFA European Championships, reaching the 2018 World Cup final and 2023 UEFA Nations League final.