Milan Badelj (; born 25 February 1989) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was a member of the Croatian squad that finished runners-up in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as part of the country's squad at its 2014 edition and the UEFA Euro's editions in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Club career Early career Milan Badelj signed for Dinamo Zagreb as a 17-year-old in 2007, just after he was snapped up from the youth system of Dinamo Zagreb's city rival, NK Zagreb. For the 2007–08 season, he was sent on loan to Dinamo Zagreb's affiliate Lokomotiva to gain first–team experience at the senior level. He played in 28 matches and scored seven goals for Lokomotiva in the Croatian Third League.

Dinamo Zagreb

At an early age, Badelj was already spotted as a possible replacement for Luka Modrić, a key figure in the Dinamo Zagreb first-team squad that joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2008.

In 2008, Badelj joined the first team and immediately established himself as an important player. He made his senior debut for Dinamo in Champions League qualifier against Northern Irish club Linfield. He then made his domestic debut in the opening match of the 2008–09 season against Rijeka, scoring the first goal in 2–0 victory. He finished his first season with Dinamo with 31 domestic appearances and 12 UEFA Cup appearances.

Badelj continued to impress at his young age, establishing himself as a first–team regular for the 2009–10 season. In March 2011, he scored a goal in a 2–0 victory in the derby match against great rivals Hajduk Split. Badelj continued with impressive performances in the 2010–11 season as well, even wearing the captain's armband in some matches.

In the 2011–12 season, Badelj was one of the key players in the Dinamo squad that reached the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in 12 years. He appeared in all six of Dinamo's group stage games against Real Madrid, Lyon and Ajax.

In what would be his final game at the Stadion Maksimir for Dinamo, in a Champions League playoff match against Slovenian side Maribor, Badelj scored an own goal that gave the opposition an equaliser in the first leg match. However, Badelj later scored the winning goal at the other end in the second half.

Hamburger SV

Badelj joined Hamburger SV of the Bundesliga in August 2012 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of €4.5 million, according to the Croatian media. He made his domestic debut soon after joining the club in a match against Werder Bremen. He soon established himself as a first-team regular, typically operating as a deep-lying playmaker. Badelj scored his first Bundesliga goal against Schalke 04, in a 3–1 win, on 27 November 2012.

Fiorentina On 31 August 2014, it was announced Badelj had signed for Serie A side Fiorentina for a fee believed to be in the region of €5 million. In 2018, after the sudden death of Davide Astori due to cardiac arrest in early March 2018, Badelj was appointed as team captain.

Lazio Badelj joined Lazio on 1 August 2018, on a free transfer. On 17 February 2019, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss to Genoa.

Loan to Fiorentina On 5 August 2019, Badelj joined Fiorentina on loan until 30 June 2020 with an option to buy. On 3 September 2019 he wore captain armband in 1–1 draw against Parma, despite being a loaned player, due to absence of regular captain Germán Pezzella. It was the first time for Badelj to being captain since his comeback. Fiorentina chose not to activate the option and Badelj returned to Lazio at the end of the spell.

Genoa On 16 September 2020, Badelj signed a three-year contract with Genoa.

On 20 February 2021, he scored his first goal for the club, as he equalized at the last minute of a match against Hellas Verona: in that occasion, he celebrated by displaying the number 13 with his fingers pointed to the sky, as a way to pay tribute to his late friend and former teammate Davide Astori (who had wore the number 13 throughout most of his career until his death in 2018).

Retirement from playing On 21 August 2025, Dinamo Zagreb announced that Badelj agreed to return to the club for a position at the club's academy.

International career During his youth career for the national team, Badelj earned a total of 63 caps, for all youth teams from U16 to U21.

In 2010, Badelj was selected for the Croatia national team squad for the first time, but was mostly on the bench. His competitive debut came during a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Malta; a match Croatia won 3–1, on 2 September 2011, in which Badelj scored the second goal. He was selected for the UEFA Euro 2012 squad; and in May 2014, was selected for the final squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil following an injury to Ivan Močinić. However, he was an unused substitute for most of the tournament, as Croatia were knocked out in the group stage. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2016.

In May 2018, Badelj was selected for the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He scored his first goal of the tournament in a 2–1 win over Iceland; helping Croatia en route to topping the group on maximum points. On 1 July, in Croatia's round of sixteen tie with Denmark, the game was drawn 1–1 and was decided through a penalty shootout in which Badelj missed Croatia's first penalty, though they would scored three while their opponents only scored two.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLokomotiva2007–08Treća HNL287———287Dinamo Zagreb2008–09Prva HNL31471121—5062009–10Prva HNL271121112—40142010–11Prva HNL29683110104992011–12Prva HNL24362121—4262012–13Prva HNL21—61—82Total113252375251018937Hamburger SV2012–13Bundesliga311———3112013–14Bundesliga29140—203512014–15Bundesliga2010——30Total62250—20692Fiorentina 2014–15Serie A21130130—3712015–16Serie A2711070—3512016–17Serie A3322060—4122017–18Serie A27200——272Total108660260—1406Lazio2018–19Serie A2311020—261Fiorentina (loan)2019–20Serie A22120——241Genoa2020–21Serie A30110——3112021–22Serie A34120——3612022–23Serie B26330——2932023–24Serie A32120——3412024–25Serie A24120——261Total1467100——1567Career total498494678053062761

International

Croatia YearAppsGoals2010202011112012402013202014202015602016120201760201891201960202030202120Total552

Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 2 September 2011 Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard, Malta UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying 2 26 June 2018 Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don, Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup

Honours Dinamo Zagreb Prva HNL: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 Croatian Cup: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 Croatian Super Cup: 2010

Lazio Coppa Italia: 2018–19

Croatia FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018

Individual Croatian Football Hope of the Year: 2009

Orders Order of Duke Branimir : 2018

References

External links