Oleksii Shliakotin
Oleksii Ihorovych Shliakotin is a professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Hong Kong Premier League club HKFC. Born in Ukraine, he acquired his HKSAR passport in May 2025.
Club career
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Shliakotin is a graduate of the Dynamo Kyiv football academy of Valeriy Lobanovskyi, where he was enrolled in 1997, aged 8, by Oleksandr Lysenko, and played at its various levels. By doing so, he left his family home when was eleven. In 2005, he was called up to Ukraine national under-17 team. In 2006, he signed his first professional contract with the second division team Dynamo-3 Kyiv.In July 2010, Shliakotin moved to Poland, where he played for the next five years. In January 2011, he received an offer from MŠK Žilina, champions of Slovakia, but transfer never materialised.
In January 2012, Shliakotin was brought to the attention of Leszek Ojrzyński, and subsequently signed for Korona Kielce, where he has worked with Maciej Szczęsny.
In early July 2015, Shliakotin signed a two-year deal with recently promoted C.F. União.
In 2016, he moved to Hong Kong to sign for Hong Kong Premier League club Biu Chun Glory Sky.
In May 2017, Shliakotin was nominated for "Goalkeeper of the Year", and "Player of The Year" in Hong Kong Premier League. Three of his saves were nominated for "Save of the Year" in Hong Kong Premier League.
On 2 August 2017, it was revealed that [Hong Kong Hong Kong Rangers FC|Rangers FC|Rangers] had signed Shliakotin.
On 22 October 2020, Rangers announced that Shliakotin would return to the club after two years away from the game.
On 4 October 2022, Shliakotin joined Sham Shui Po.
On 31 January 2024, Shliakotin was loaned to Rangers, before joining them on a permanent basis in July 2024.
On 14 November 2025, Shliakotin joined HKFC.
International career
On 30 August 2023, having lived in Hong Kong for seven years, Shliakotin said he's open to playing for the national team and is eligible to apply for a Hong Kong passport.On 9 May 2025, it was announced that Shliakotin had received his HKSAR passport, making him eligible to represent Hong Kong internationally.