The 2025–26 Aberdeen F.C. season was Aberdeen's 112th season in the top flight of Scottish football and the thirteenth in the Scottish Premiership. Aberdeen also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup. They participated in qualifying for the UEFA Europa League having won the Scottish Cup. However, they competed in the Group phase of the Conference League and finished in 35th place and lost in the Scottish Cup to Dunfermline Athletic.
Summary May On 15 May 2025, Australian winger Nicolas Milanovic signed for an undisclosed fee, reported to be the highest in Western Sydney Wanderers history. Topi Keskinen was named in the Finland U21 squad for the UEFA European U21 Championships. On 29 May, the club announced the departures of players Jack MacKenzie who joined Plymouth Argyle, Ross Doohan, Tom Ritchie, Jamie McGrath who signed a pre-contract with fellow Premiership side Hibernian, youth players Blair McKenzie, Evan Towler, Victor Enem and Fraser Mackie. All players on loan returned to their respective clubs. On 30 May, Australian goalkeeper Nick Suman signed on a free after being released by League One side Cove. June On 2 June, Timothy Akindileni left the club to join EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee. On 3 June, Dutch defender Mats Knoester signed a long-term contract lasting until 2029. On 6 June, Emmanuel Gyamfi signed for an undisclosed fee from German Bundesliga 2 side Schalke 04. On 8 June, Australian international striker Kusini Yengi joined on a free from English side Portsmouth. On 19 June, James McGarry left and signed a deal with Brisbane Roar to join their club on 1 July. Ipswich Town was confirmed as a pre-season friendly for the new campaign along with Cove Rangers and a match behind closed doors.https://www.afc.co.uk/2025/06/17/old-european-rivals-return-to-pittodrie-for-pre-season/ The regular league fixtures were also announced.
July Pre-season started with a win at Cove Rangers, followed by a loss at Fulham's training ground and then at Pittodrie against Ipswich Town. Nineteen year old Icelandic midfielder Kjartan Már Kjartansson joined for an undisclosed fee while James McGarry and Richard Jensen left the club. The Dons signed a new Co-operation loan deal as part of the SPFL agreement with Kelty Hearts and Elgin City. Alfie Stewart re-joined Inverness and Vinnie Besuijen went also on a half-season loan to HJK. Adil Aouchiche joined on loan from Sunderland and Alfie Dorrington re-signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. On 31 July, Cammy Wilson left the club to sign for Derby County for an undisclosed fee.
August Striker Pape Habib Guèye was sold to Kasımpaşa for a reported £850,000. Alfie Bavidge re-joined Inverness on a season long loan. They lost the season opener to Hearts on a Monday night live on television. This was followed up with another loss at home to Celtic. However they bounced back with a comfortable win at Morton in the League Cup. Slobodan Rubežić was sold and the club signed Kenan Bilalović from Värnamo and Marko Lazetić from AC Milan both for fees. The Dons came from two goals down to draw their first leg play-off match against FCSB. On 22 August, Ellis Clark left the club to sign for Burnley for an undisclosed fee. FCSB won the play-off with Aberdeen finishing the match with ten players and dropping to the Conference League Group Stage. Young left-back Mitchell Frame signed from Celtic for £250,000. A loss in the League at home to Falkirk, again ending a match with ten players resulted in the club being bottom having lost all three matches without scoring.
September On Deadline Day, Kevin Nisbet re-joined the club on a permanent basis from Millwall for £300,000. Swedish International Jesper Karlsson joined on loan from Bologna. Shayden Morris left for Luton Town for an undisclosed fee. Stuart Armstrong signed a two year deal on a free. Aston Villa signed Fletcher Boyd for an undisclosed fee believed to be close a to a million pounds and joined up with their Academy. Ester Sokler left on a season loan deal to Serbian club Radnički Kragujevac. Dimitar Mitov, Topi Keskinen, Nicolas Milanovic and Kjartan Már Kjartansson along with youngsters Cooper Masson and Rodrigo Vitols were called up for the September Internationals. The club went on a score-less run in September and were knocked out of the League Cup by Motherwell.
October After losing their first match in the Conference League to Shakhtar Donetsh, the Dons finally hit the ground running in the League with a comprehensive home victory against Dundee. This was followed up with a 96th minute winner by Marko Lazetić at St Mirren. They then suffered a humbling defeat by six in Athens, their worst ever European defeat. This compounded with a home defeat to Hibernian but ended the month with victory at Kilmarnock with Stuart Armstrong scoring his first for the club.
November The Dons went the month unbeaten across the League and Conference League starting with a gritty goalless draw in Larnaca with the Dons finally holding their own with a disciplined defensive display. A home victory in the League against leaders Hearts as suffered their first league defeat of the season, Topi Keskinen's goal giving Aberdeen what seemed a surprising but excellent victory. However, a disappointing draw against Armenian minnows Noah meant the Dons faced an uphill task to qualify for the knock out stages of Europe. Despite being disjointed, they got a narrow victory at Livingston.
December Aberdeen were knocked out of the Conference League after a home loss to top of the table Strasbourg. This was compounded with a heavy defeat in Prague, leaving the Dons finishing 35th out of the 36 clubs. A last minute equalizer seen them slip up at home to St Mirren but a dominant display with Adil Aouchiche scoring a double seen them past Dundee. A superb second-half fightback earned Aberdeen the three points at home to Kilmarnock but losses followed at Celtic and Hibernian with also an enthralling draw against Dundee United.
January Manager Jimmy Thelin lost his job along with Assistant manager Christer Persson after a loss at Falkirk and winless run. First-team coach Peter Leven took charge on an interim basis for the club for the third time in his coaching career. He was assisted by Craig Hinchliffe and new sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel who was appointed in October. However in their first match in charge, the Dons went down to Rangers as familiar issues plagued Aberdeen. Alfie Dorrington's loan was cut short before the match and he returned to his parent club. Unfortunately another loss followed at home to them. Ester Sokler was sold to his loan club for an undisclosed fee and Lyall Cameron joined on loan from The Rangers. Toyosi Olusanya signed on a loan deal from Houston Dynamo, Ex Bayern Munchen defender Liam Morrison joined on loan from QPR and former Norwegian International goalkeeper Per Kristian Bråtveit joined as a free agent as back-up Nick Suman suffered an ankle injury. Aberdeen battered basement dwellers Livingston to end their run of six Scottish Premiership games without a win in a topsy-turvy game at Pittodrie that ended with both sides down to 10 men and an unbelievable 6–2 victory. Nigerian midfielder Afeez Aremu joined from German side 1. FC Kaiserslautern for £130,000. American midfielder Dante Polvara left for St Louis City in the MLS for £150,000. Aberdeen were well beaten at Kilmarnock who were previously seventeen matches without a win.
February With the transfer window closing, German midfielder Dennis Geiger joined on a loan deal from TSG Hoffenheim. Adil Aouchiche's loan was cut and he joined Schalke 04 with Leighton Clarkson also leaving for Blackpool for an undisclosed fee. The following day, defender Tom McIntyre joined having been released by Portsmouth with Peter Ambrose heading out on loan to Hungary. Having suffered a traumatic impact in the defeat at Kilmarnock, defender Mats Knoester was ruled out for a 'short to medium' term with the club. The home League match scheduled on February 4 against Celtic was postponed 4 hours before kick-off with part of the pitch unplayable due to persistent rain. The Scottish Cup match against Motherwell was postponed the day before the match. The away league fixture at Dundee United was also postponed. Part of the pitch was re-laid at Pittodrie in front of one of the goal-mouths. Alfie Bavidge, out on loan at Inverness, admitted his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season. Aberdeen finally played another game but lost at Motherwell in the league. However, they seen past them by the same score line in a hectic Cup match which seen three red cards, one for Geiger for the Dons. This set up a Saturday evening Quarter Final Cup tie at Dunfermline.
March Despite an improved and spirited performance the Dons lost narrowly at home to Celtic. The Scottish Cup defence ended with a beleaguered and atrocious display against Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. This was Peter Leven's last match as interim manager with Tony Docherty also leaving as former St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson took the helm. However, his debut was ruined at home to Falkirk with a late equaliser. Relegation worries deepened with a convincing loss at Rangers. Aberdeen signed defender Elvis Bwomono & sold Sivert Heltne Nilsen to FK Haugesund.
April The alarming decline continued as they slumped to another abject defeat at rejuvenated St Mirren on Stephen Robinson's return to Paisley. They eased their relegation concerns with their first League win since January, as Kevin Nisbet's double helped them see off 10-man Hibernian. Pre-match club legend Joe Harper was honoured in the clubs inaugural Legends Day. Boss Robinson was set to evaluate the squad over the remaining split fixtures. Defender Tom McIntyre returned to Portsmouth for treatment due to a hamstring injury ruling him out for the rest of the season. Findlay Marshall, on loan at Arbroath, signed a two-year deal. Afeez Aremu's deflected effort after 51 seconds was enough to see off Kilmarnock at home despite the away side hitting the bar three times.
May Mitchel Frame's first senior goal and a Daniel Finlayson own goal put Aberdeen in front but Joel Nouble and substitute Robbie Muirhead netted equalisers for hosts Livingston in an entertaining Friday night draw which ultimately seen Livi relegated. A goal and assist from Toyosi Olusanya continued the club's improvement as they defeated Dundee United at Pittodrie. Stuart Armstrong and Dimitar Mitov underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season. Jack Milne's alleged racist abuse towards Livingston's Bokila earlier in the season was 'not proven', says SFA. St Mirren earned a hard-fought win over Aberdeen - but it was not enough to prevent their place in the relegation play-off being confirmed. Dundee pipped Aberdeen to eighth after Ryan Astley crashed in a 90th-minute winner which also seen Mats Knoester injure his knee. The Dons were linked with Hibernian's Martin Boyle during the split fixtures but he signed a new deal. Aberdeen were winless away from home in 2026 and finished the Premiership League season in ninth place.
Results & fixtures
Pre-season
Scottish Premiership
Scottish League Cup
Knockout phase
Scottish Cup
UEFA Europa League
Play-off round
UEFA Conference League
League phase
Squad statistics Appearances
|colspan="17"|Players who left the club during the season
Goalscorers As of 17 May 2026