The 2026–27 season is the 81st season in the existence of HNK Rijeka and the club's 36th consecutive season in the top flight of Croatian football. In addition to the domestic league, Rijeka compete in this season's editions of the Croatian Cup and the UEFA Conference League.
Season overview
Managerial change and preparations
Rijeka entered the season under Matjaž Kek, who returned to the club after the departure of Víctor Sánchez on 27 May 2026. Sánchez had guided Rijeka to fourth place in the 2025–26 Croatian Football League, the Croatian Cup final and the round of 16 of the UEFA Conference League.
Kek was appointed on 7 June, returning almost eight years after the end of his first spell at the club. He signed a two-year contract with an option for a further season. During his previous tenure, Kek had led Rijeka to the 2016–17 league and cup double, two additional Croatian Cups and three UEFA Europa League group-stage appearances.
The change of coach was followed by a substantial restructuring of the squad. Among the early additions were returning forward Jakov Puljić and midfielder Ivan Ćubelić, while captain and goalkeeper Martin Zlomislić departed for Qarabağ FK. Croatian media described the summer activity as a major rebuild under Kek, including an attempt to reintegrate Niko Janković and the search for a replacement goalkeeper.
Rijeka subsequently signed Slovenian goalkeeper Igor Vekić, who had previously worked with Kek in the Slovenia national-team set-up. On 9 August, German winger Yusuf Kabadayı arrived from FC Augsburg on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
Start of the competitive season
Rijeka began their competitive campaign in the second qualifying round of the 2026–27 UEFA Conference League. They defeated Derry City 1–0 in both legs, progressing 2–0 on aggregate.
Kek's side opened their domestic league season with a 2–1 home victory over newly promoted Rudeš, with goals from Justas Lasickas and Daniel Adu-Adjei. Four days later, Rijeka defeated Ilves 1–0 in the first leg of the Conference League third qualifying round through a goal from Niko Janković. The result gave Rijeka four consecutive victories at the beginning of the season, although their narrow scorelines were attributed partly to missed chances.
In the return leg in Tampere on 13 August, Ilves took the lead through Semyon Baranov in the 64th minute, levelling the tie on aggregate. Lasickas equalised six minutes later after goalkeeper Otso Krkalić parried a long-range attempt from Mladen Devetak. The 1–1 draw sent Rijeka through 2–1 on aggregate, extending their unbeaten start to five competitive matches.
Rijeka suffered their first defeat of the season on 16 August, losing 2–0 away to Varaždin after two first-half goals from Ivan Mamut. Four days later, FC Midtjylland defeated Rijeka 2–0 in the first leg of their Conference League play-off in Herning.
Between the two play-off legs, Rijeka defeated Istra 1961 3–2 at Rujevica. An own goal by Mohamed Nasraoui and goals from Jakov Puljić and Toni Fruk gave Rijeka a three-goal lead before Istra scored twice during the final 20 minutes. In the return against Midtjylland on 27 August, Rijeka took the lead in the fourth minute, but the Danish side responded with four goals to win 4–1. Rijeka were eliminated 6–1 on aggregate, ending their European campaign in the play-off round.
Rijeka subsequently drew 0–0 away to Gorica in a match in which both sides created few goalscoring opportunities. On 1 September, the club signed Iranian international winger Mohammad Mohebi, who had become a free agent following his departure from Rostov.
On 5 September, Rijeka produced their largest victory of the season to that point, defeating Osijek 4–1 at Rujevica. After conceding the opening goal, Rijeka responded through Samuele Vignato, two goals from Adu-Adjei and a fourth from Fruk. Mohebi made his debut as a second-half substitute. The result left Rijeka fifth in the league with ten points from five matches.
September: domestic league and cup
On 7 September, Rijeka signed Swiss left-back Calixte Ligue from Venezia on loan until the end of the season, with an option to make the transfer permanent. Five days later, Rijeka drew 1–1 away to Lokomotiva at Maksimir. Tiago Dantas opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, before Marko Vešović equalised for the hosts in the 65th minute.
Rijeka began their Croatian Cup campaign on 16 September with a 6–0 victory away to Vrbovec, advancing to the round of 16. Jakov Puljić scored twice, while Alfonso Barco, Mohammad Mohebi, Niko Janković and Ante Matej Jurić each scored once.
On 20 September, Rijeka defeated Hajduk Split 3–0 at Rujevica in the first Adriatic derby of the season. Dantas and Samuele Vignato scored before half-time, with Daniel Adu-Adjei adding the third after the interval. The match attracted 7,848 spectators. Following the eighth round, Rijeka were fifth in the league with 14 points from seven matches, two points behind leaders Dinamo Zagreb.
On 22 September, the club announced that its Croatian Cup round-of-16 match away to Karlovac 1919 would be played on 20 October at Stadion Branko Čavlović-Čavlek.
Competitions Overall
SuperSport HNL
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Results by opponent TeamResultsPoints1234Dinamo Zagreb – – – – Gorica 0–0 – – – 1Hajduk Split 3–0 – – – 3Istra 1961 3–2 – – – 3Lokomotiva 1–1 – – – 1Osijek 4–1 – – – 3Rudeš 2–1 – – – 3Slaven Belupo – – – – Varaždin 0–2 – – – 0 Source: 2026–27 Croatian Football League article
Matches Croatian Football League
Croatian Cup
UEFA Conference League
Friendlies Pre-season
In-season (2026)
Player seasonal records Updated 20 September 2026. Competitive matches only.
Goals Rank Name League Europe Cup Total1 Daniel Adu-Adjei 4 1 – 52 Toni Fruk 2 1 – 3 Jakov Puljić 1 – 2 34 Tiago Dantas 2 – – 2 Samuele Vignato 2 – – 2 Justas Lasickas 1 1 – 2 Niko Janković – 1 1 28 Alfonso Barco – – 1 1 Ante Matej Jurić – – 1 1 Mohammad Mohebi – – 1 1 Own goals 1 1 – 2TOTALS135624 Source: Competitive matches
Clean sheets Rank Name League Europe Cup Total1 Igor Vekić 2 – 1 3 Aleksa Todorović – 3 – 3TOTALS2316 Source: Competitive matches
Disciplinary record NumberPositionPlayerHNLEuropeCroatian CupTotal3DF Moreno Živković1000000001005MF Alfonso Barco0002000002006MF Branko Pavić1001000002008MF Ivan Ćubelić20010000030010MF Toni Fruk00010000010018FW Daniel Adu-Adjei10010000020021FW Jakov Puljić10010000020022DF Ante Oreč00010000010023DF Justas Lasickas20010000030034DF Mladen Devetak00010000010045DF Ante Majstorović10020000030051DF Anel Husić100000000100TOTALS100012000002200 Source: nk-rijeka.hr
Appearances and goals NumberPositionPlayer Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsTotalHNLConference LeagueCroatian Cup3DF Moreno Živković20+00+00+004MF Niko Janković132+20+01+015MF Alfonso Barco111+30+00+016MF Branko Pavić140+10+00+007FW Yusuf Kabadayı50+20+20+008MF Ivan Ćubelić130+30+40+109FW Mohammad Mohebi51+40+00+0110MF Toni Fruk123+12+01+0011FW Gabriel Rukavina40+00+20+0013GK Igor Vekić50+00+00+0014MF Amer Gojak130+50+30+0015FW Goran Grulović40+10+20+1018FW Daniel Adu-Adjei135+14+01+0019MF Samuele Vignato72+02+10+0021FW Jakov Puljić93+31+30+0222DF Ante Oreč130+10+00+1023DF Justas Lasickas132+11+41+0026MF Tiago Dantas132+02+00+0034DF Mladen Devetak120+30+00+0045DF Ante Majstorović130+00+00+0051DF Anel Husić60+00+00+0077FW Ante Matej Jurić61+20+30+1191DF Noel Bodetić10+00+00+1099GK Aleksa Todorović90+00+00+00 Source: nk-rijeka.hr
Suspensions Date Incurred Competition Player Games Missed Reason
Penalties For Date Competition Player Opposition Scored? 23 Aug 2026HNL Jakov PuljićIstra 1961 16 Sep 2026Cup Jakov PuljićVrbovec Against Date Competition Goalkeeper Opposition Scored? 16 Aug 2026HNL Aleksa TodorovićVaraždin
Transfers In DatePos.PlayerMoving fromTypeFeeRef.2 Jun 2026CF Jakov Puljić Vukovar 1991TransferFree16 Jun 2026AM Ivan Ćubelić Slaven BelupoTransfer€300,000 (reported)26 Jun 2026GK Domagoj Ivan Marić Karlovac 1919Return from loan26 Jun 2026CB Petar Raguž Karlovac 1919Return from loan26 Jun 2026LW Dominik Simčić Karlovac 1919Return from loan30 Jun 2026CB Jovan Manev Novi PazarReturn from loan30 Jun 2026AM Dominik Yankov Lokomotiv SofiaReturn from loan30 Jun 2026RW Šimun Butić Vukovar 1991Return from loan30 Jun 2026CF Marko Aščić Slaven BelupoTransferUndisclosed30 Jun 2026CF Dominik Dogan Velež MostarReturn from loan15 Jul 2026AM Niko Janković Slovan BratislavaReturn from loan17 Jul 2026CB Moreno Živković Dinamo ZagrebTransferFree18 Jul 2026GK Maroje Kostopeč Lokomotiva ZagrebTransferFree5 Aug 2026GK Igor Vekić VejleTransferUndisclosed9 Aug 2026LW Yusuf Kabadayı AugsburgLoan (until 30/6/2027; option to buy)1 Sep 2026LW Mohammad Mohebi RostovTransferFree7 Sep 2026LB Calixte Ligue VeneziaLoan (until 30/6/2027; option to buy) Source: Glasilo Hrvatskog nogometnog saveza
Out DatePos.PlayerMoving toTypeFeeRef.9 Jun 2026CF Duje ČopRetirement21 Jun 2026GK Martin Zlomislić QarabağTransfer€500,000 (reported)30 Jun 2026GK Josip Jurčević TBCEnd of contractFree30 Jun 2026LB Mile Škorić Sloga Novi MikanovciEnd of contractFree30 Jun 2026CB Stjepan Radeljić Dinamo ZagrebEnd of contractFree30 Jun 2026CM Dejan Petrovič Johor Darul Ta'zimEnd of contractFree30 Jun 2026RW Matej Momčilovski TBCEnd of contractFree1 Jul 2026LW Dominik Simčić Široki BrijegEnd of contractFree2 Jul 2026RW Šimun Butić MuraLoan (until 30/6/2027)7 Jul 2026GK Niko Vučetić OrijentEnd of contractFree7 Jul 2026CM Rajan Žlibanović Kapfenberger SVLoan (until 30/6/2027)9 Jul 2026CB Bruno Burčul RadomljeEnd of contractFree10 Jul 2026CF Marko Aščić MuraLoan (until 30/6/2027)16 Jul 2026CB Jovan Manev ShkëndijaReleased (mutual consent)Free18 Jul 2026AM Dominik Yankov Arda KardzhaliReleased (mutual consent)Free21 Jul 2026CB Lovro Kitin MuraLoan (until 30/6/2027)22 Jul 2026AM Merveil Ndockyt AS FARTransferUndisclosed24 Jul 2026RW Dominik Thaqi Lokomotiva ZagrebLoan (until 30/6/2027)11 Aug 2026AM Petar Raguž Karlovac 1919Released (mutual consent)Free12 Aug 2026GK Maroje Kostopeč Karlovac 1919Loan (until 30/6/2027)12 Aug 2026CF Dominik Dogan Karlovac 1919Loan (until 30/6/2027)18 Aug 2026GK Domagoj Ivan Marić OrijentDual registration18 Aug 2026CB Roko Valinčić OrijentDual registration19 Aug 2026GK Vito Kovač OpatijaDual registration19 Aug 2026GK David Nwolokor OpatijaDual registration28 Aug 2026CF Cherno Saho RudešLoan (until 30/6/2027)31 Aug 2026LW Tornike Morchiladze LugoReleased (mutual consent)Free3 Sep 2026LB Dimitri Legbo ZiraTransferUndisclosed4 Sep 2026LW Gabriel Rukavina AroucaTransferUndisclosed7 Sep 2026CM Simon Karshe Cletus GrobničanDual registration7 Sep 2026CF Alasana Samateh GrobničanDual registration Source: Glasilo Hrvatskog nogometnog saveza
Spending: €300,000 Income: €500,000 Expenditure: €200,000
Notes
References