Muhammad Farhan bin Zulkifli (born 10 November 2002), better known as Farhan Zulkifli or just Farhan, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a winger or full-back for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team. Considered as one of the brightest talents in the country, he is known for his pace, dribbling and playmaking abilities.
Club career
Hougang United Farhan make his career debut coming on as a substitute and scored 12 minutes into his 2019 Singapore Premier League debut against Home United on 29 June 2019, where at 16 years and 231 days, he became the Singapore Premier League's second-youngest ever scorer then in a 2–0 win. Farhan was named in Goal Singapore's NxGn 2020 list as one of the country's biggest talents following his impressive start to life at Hougang. He made a further 11 appearances for Hougang in the 2019 season.
Farhan would start both the 2020 Singapore Premier League season opener and the 2020 Singapore Community Shield. However, the 2020 Singapore Premier League season hasn't been the best of years for Farhan, by his own admission. Farhan played in 12 matches and only had a solitary goal to his name.
Farhan would go on to play a total of 1767 minutes in the 2021 season bagging 20 appearances however, he failed to score a goal once during the 2021 Singapore Premier League season.
2022 for Farhan could be called his breakout year as he managed to make 18 appearances for the team and scoring 1 goal during the 5–1 thrashing of Young Lions. Farhan also played a crucial role in Hougang United's triumph over Tampines Rovers in the 2022 Singapore Cup Finals, helping his team stun Tampines Rovers 3–2 to clinch the cup.
Young Lions (loan) On 12 July 2023, Farhan joined Young Lions on loan from Hougang United as he is undergoing his compulsory National Service. He was named the club vice-captain ahead of the 2024–25 Singapore Premier League season.
In November 2024, Farhan completed his National Service and returned to Hougang United.
Lion City Sailors On 1 July 2026, Farhan joined Lion City Sailors on a two-year contract.
International career
Youth Farhan has represented Singapore Singapore U16, Singapore U19 and Singapore U23 respectively. In October 2021, he was called up to the Singapore U23 squad for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification fixtures.
Senior Farhan was first called up to the Singapore national team in 2019, for the friendly against Jordan on 5 October and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan on 10 and 15 October respectively.
In 2022, Farhan was called up to the national team for the 2022 AFF Championship tournament. He make his international debut against causeway rival, Malaysia.
On 14 November 2024, Farhan scored his first goal for Singapore during a friendly match against Myanmar where he opened up the account in the 5th minute.
Career statistics
Club
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHougang United2019Singapore Premier League913000001212020Singapore Premier League1310010001412021Singapore Premier League2000000002002022Singapore Premier League1816100002422024–25Singapore Premier League1234000001632025–26Singapore Premier League152430000195Total87717310001058Young Lions2023Singapore Premier League703100001012024–25Singapore Premier League113000000113Total183310000214 Career total10510204100012616 International goals #DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1.14 November 2024Singapore National Stadium, Singapore1–03–2Friendly
Honours
Club Hougang United Singapore Cup: 2022
References