Kristian Traychev Dimitrov (; born 27 February 1997) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for First League club Levski Sofia and the Bulgarian national team.
Club career Botev Plovdiv In the summer of 2013, Dimitrov joined Botev Plovdiv at under-17 level from Lokomotiv Plovdiv and progressed through the club's academy system.
Dimitrov made his first-team debut on 13 March 2016, when he came off the bench to replace Serkan Yusein in the 81st minute of a 3–1 league win over Cherno More Varna. His first senior goal came in the last round of the 2015–16 season; he scored the second goal in a 2–1 win over Ludogorets Razgrad on 27 May.
Dimitrov began to establish himself in the Botev first team from the 2016–17 season, making eight league starts. On 8 June 2017, he signed a new two-year contract with the club.
On 5 February 2018, Dimitrov joined Second League club Montana on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. He made 13 appearances in total. His only goal came on 5 May 2018 when he opened the scoring in a 2–0 away win over Botev Galabovo.
In June 2018, Dimitrov returned to Botev and continued his progress during 2018–19, becoming a regular in the defence. On 24 April 2019, he scored a last-minute goal against CSKA Sofia, bringing the score to 3–3 and enabling his team (which had been reduced to nine men) to progress to the final of the Bulgarian Cup 6–5 on aggregate.
Hajduk Split and the loan to CFR Cluj On 11 February 2020, it was announced that Dimitrov had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Hajduk Split.
Not finding much playing time in the 2021–22 season, he was loaned out to CFR Cluj in February 2022. He became a Liga I champion with the Romanian club, featuring in a single game, a 3–1 loss against FCSB, scoring in the 45th minute. Na zimu je otišao iz Hajduka, zaigrao jednom i osvojio naslov at 24 Sata
Returning to Hajduk, he spent the first part of the 2022–23 season largely on the bench, starting a single cup match, a 5–1 away win against Tehničar Cvetkovec, where he received a red card for a counter-attack stopping foul in the 33rd minute,Hajduk bez problema pobijedio u Cvetkovcu i plasirao se u osminu finala Kupa: Mlakar, Vuković i Šarić zabijali, Dimitrov ‘pocrvenio‘ at Slobodna Dalmacija and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 17 December 2022. Dimitrov had scored three goals in 40 league matches at the Croatian club.
Levski Sofia On 30 December 2022, Dimitrov returned to Bulgaria, signing a one-and-a-half-year deal with Levski Sofia.
International career In May 2019, following his good performances for Botev, Dimitrov was called up to the national team by new manager Krasimir Balakov. On 7 June 2019, he made his debut, playing the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 away loss against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2020 qualifier.
Style of play Krasimir Balakov compared Dimitrov with the legendary Bulgarian defender Trifon Ivanov, while being manager of Bulgaria.Кристиан Димитров разкри какво му е казал Балъков
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBotev Plovdiv2015–16Bulgarian First League310000—312016–17Bulgarian First League12010——1302017–18Bulgarian First League00200000202018–19Bulgarian First League31451——3652019–20Bulgarian First League18000——180Total645810000726Montana (loan)2017–18Bulgarian Second League13100——131Hajduk Split2019–201. HNL14100——1412020–211. HNL2021000—2122021–221. HNL603010—1002022–231. HNL001000—10Total403501000463CFR Cluj (loan)2021–22Liga I11———11Levski Sofia2022–23Bulgarian First League90———902023–24Bulgarian First League2521040—3022024–25Bulgarian First League2752000—2952025–26Bulgarian First League3031080—3932026–27Bulgarian First League41008110132Total9511402011012012Career total213211712111025223
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBulgaria201961202060202120202330202560202650Total281
Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dimitrov goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Kristian Dimitrov No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition 1 10 June 2019 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria 6 2–1 2–3 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
Honours Botev Plovdiv Bulgarian Cup: 2016–17 Bulgarian Supercup: 2017
CFR Cluj Liga I: 2021–22
Hajduk Split Croatian Cup: 2021–22
Levski Sofia Bulgarian First League: 2025–26
Individual Bulgarian First League Best Defender: 2018–19
References