Duje Ćaleta-Car (; born 17 September 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Sassuolo and the Croatia national team.
Ćaleta-Car was a member of the Croatian squad which ended as runners-up to France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Club career Early career Ćaleta-Car joined FC Liefering in 2014 from FC Pasching. He made his Austrian Football First League debut with FC Liefering on 25 July 2014 against FAC Team für Wien.
Red Bull Salzburg
During the 2017–18 season Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their Europa League group, for a record fourth time, before beating Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund thus making their first ever appearance in a UEFA Europa League semi-final. On 3 May 2018, he played in the Europa League semi-final as Marseille played out a 1–2 away loss but a 3–2 aggregate win to secure a place in the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final.
Marseille
On 20 July 2018, Ćaleta-Car joined Marseille on a five-year deal for a transfer fee of €19 million. Upon his arrival, Ćaleta-Car was given the squad shirt number 15.
On 29 September 2019, he scored his first goal for Marseille, the equalizer in a 1–1 draw with Rennes.
At the start of the 2020–21 season, Ćaleta-Car scored a brace against Brest, converting assists of Florian Thauvin, as Marseille won 3–2. At the end of the January 2021 transfer window, Premier League side Liverpool launched a £23 million bid to secure his services but the move failed to materialize as Marseille didn't have enough time to sign a replacement.
Southampton On 1 September 2022, Ćaleta-Car joined Southampton on a four-year contract. On 1 October 2022, Ćaleta-Car made his Premier League debut in a 1–2 defeat against Everton. In the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Newcastle United on 24 January 2023, Ćaleta-Car was given a second yellow card and sent off following a foul on Allan Saint-Maximin. On 1 March 2023, Ćaleta-Car scored his first professional goal for Southampton in a 1–2 shock defeat to Grimsby Town in the FA Cup. He scored his first league goal on 21 April 2023 in a 3–3 away draw at Arsenal.
Lyon
On 2 August 2023, Ćaleta-Car joined Lyon on a season-long loan. Ćaleta-Car made his debut for the club on 13 August 2023 in a 2–1 defeat to Strasbourg. On 8 July 2024, he joined the club permanently and signed a three-year contract.
Loan to Real Sociedad
On 1 August 2025, Ćaleta-Car moved to La Liga side Real Sociedad on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy for €3 million.
Sassuolo On 1 September 2026, Ćaleta-Car joined Italian side Sassuolo.
International career In October 2015, Ćaleta-Car received a first call-up for the senior national team for the Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Malta, as a replacement for injured Jozo Šimunović. He was in the first 27 players team called for the Euro 2016 but was dropped along with midfielder Alen Halilović and goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.
In May 2018, he was named in Croatia's preliminary 32-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On 3 June, he made his international debut in a friendly match against Brazil, coming on as a substitute for Vedran Ćorluka in the 52nd minute.
In June 2019, he refused to be part of Croatia squad for 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro, citing exhaustion and the club's demand to take a rest for the upcoming season as reasons. Soon it was discovered that the real reason was a vacation in the Maldives with his club teammate Nemanja Radonjić. As a disciplinary action, he was the only outfield player who wasn't given even a minute of playing time in senior Croatia squad's June fixtures against Wales and Tunisia and was completely dropped ahead of September fixtures against Slovakia and Azerbaijan. In an interview with Sportske novosti, he denied going on the vacation and said that the sole reason of not participating in the tournament was suggestion of his club coaches Andoni Zubizarreta and André Villas-Boas to take a rest instead since his previous season was not on the level it was expected to be, partially due to his participation in the World Cup the summer before, and that it was not his personal wish. He also claimed that the Croatia U21 manager Nenad Gračan "had lied and had disappointed him", that "it had hurt him to read the lies of the media" about the vacation, and that he accepted senior Croatia squad manager Zlatko Dalić's decision to drop him from the team.
He was called up again ahead of Croatia's November fixtures against Slovakia and Georgia following suspensions of the standard starting defenders Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida. He was a starter in the decisive match against the former opponent that ended in a 3–1 victory, leading Croatia to qualify for the Euro 2020.
On 18 May 2026, Ćaleta-Car was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Personal life In May 2021, Ćaleta-Car married Adriana Đurđević in a civil ceremony at the top of the Revelin Fortress in Đurđević's native Dubrovnik. In August 2021, Ćaleta-Car and Đurđević became parents of a baby son, whom they named Mauro. In June 2022, Ćaleta-Car and Đurđević married in a church ceremony in the St. Ignatius Church in Dubrovnik.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsŠibenik2012–13Druga HNL17000———170Pasching2013–14Austrian Regionalliga15300———153Liefering (loan)2014–15Erste Liga19000———1902015–16Erste Liga1000———10Total20000——— 200Red Bull Salzburg2014–15Austrian Bundesliga7010—10—902015–16Austrian Bundesliga31240—20—3722016–17Austrian Bundesliga18050—80—3102017–18Austrian Bundesliga28260—190—532Total844160—300—1304Marseille2018–19Ligue 1200100050—2602019–20Ligue 12312010——2612020–21Ligue 133210—40103922021–22Ligue 126230—90—3822022–23Ligue 11000—00—10Total10357010180101305Southampton2022–23Premier League1312140——192Lyon (loan)2023–24Ligue 124050———290Lyon2024–25Ligue 119100—90—2812026–27Ligue 10000—00—00Lyon total43150—90—571Real Sociedad (loan)2025–26La Liga26150———311Sassuolo2026–27Serie A2000———20Career total32315351505701042116
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsCroatia2018202019302020502021101202230202460202580202610Total381
Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ćaleta-Car goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Duje Ćaleta-CarNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 11 November 2021 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 20 2–0 7–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Red Bull Salzburg Austrian Bundesliga: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Austrian Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
Lyon Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24
Real Sociedad Copa del Rey: 2025–26
Croatia FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018 Individual Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2017–18 Orders Order of Duke Branimir: 2018
References
External links