Petar Ratkov


Petar Ratkov is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Serie A club Lazio and the Serbia national team.

Club career

On 18 June 2023, Ratkov signed for reigning Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg on a five-year contract.
On 8 January 2026, Ratkov signed with Serie A club Lazio for a fee of €13 million.

International career

Ratkov is of mixed Bulgarian and Croatian descent. He holds both Serbian and Bulgarian citizenships which made him able to represent Serbia or Bulgaria; he was also eligible to play for Croatia through his mother's aforementioned descent. In September 2023, he declined a call up for Bulgaria, committing himself to the Serbian national team.
Ratkov was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, but did not make an appearances in the tournament.

Style of play

Issue number 375 of the CIES Football Observatory puts Ratkov in the 79th place of 100 best performing U20 outfield players from 32 European leagues according to players’ performance compared to teammates, the employer team’s sporting level, as well as that of opponents, covering eight different game areas: air defence, ground defence, recovery, distribution, take on, chance creation, air attack and shooting. Ratkov is the third-youngest player on the list at the age of 18.6, the only Serbian player on the list, and his game profile is characterized as a target man shooter.

Career statistics

Club

International