Viktor Claesson


Viktor Johan Anton Claesson is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Danish Superliga club Copenhagen, which he captains. He is known for his passing and set piece abilities.
A full international between 2012 and 2023, Claesson won 74 caps and scored 15 goals for the Sweden national team. He represented his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career

Early career

Claesson started his career with local club IFK Värnamo. After progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut in 2009 in a Division 1 Södra match. After a breakthrough campaign during the 2011 Superettan season, Claesson join IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football.

Krasnodar

On 25 January 2017, Claesson signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League team FC Krasnodar. He scored on his debut on 16 February 2017 in a 1–0 Europa League Round of 32 win against Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe, scoring a header on his first touch in any competitive Krasnodar game in the 4th minute. He was selected by UEFA as "Man of the Match". He continued his form with two goals in a Russian Cup game against FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast on 28 February 2017 and a goal against Celta de Vigo in the first leg of Europa League Round of 16 on 9 March 2017.
Claesson missed all of the 2019–20 season with a serious knee injury.

2020–21 season

Out of action for over 14 months, Claesson returned from injury on 18 August 2020, playing the last 15 minutes of Krasnodar's 2–0 home win over Arsenal Tula in the Russian Premier League. On 18 September, he scored his first two goals since his return from injury in a 7–2 thrashing of Khimki. Four days later, Claesson scored from the penalty spot in the club's first-leg play-off round match against PAOK for qualification to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Krasnodar would win the second leg against PAOK by the same scoreline and secure progression to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

2021–22 season

On 3 March 2022 Krasnodar announced that his contract was suspended and he would not train with the team, but the contract was not terminated and remained valid. On 5 March 2022, his contract was terminated and he was released from the club.

Copenhagen

On 30 March 2022, Claesson signed with Copenhagen in Denmark until the end of the season. On 3 April, he scored the winning goal in his debut match for the club after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute.
On 16 June 2022, Claesson signed an extension with Copenhagen until 2026.

International career

In May 2018, Claesson was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was one of Sweden's main men for the duration of the tournament, in which the Blågult reached the quarterfinals.
In a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Spain on 10 June 2019, Claesson suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing the cruciate knee ligaments, after a clash with Jordi Alba.
He was named in Sweden's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, and appeared in all four games as Sweden was eliminated in the round of 16 by Ukraine. He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win against Poland in the group stage. On 19 November 2023, Claesson registered one goal and one assist against Estonia in their 2–0 win in their European Qualifiers game.
In October 2025, he announced his retirement from the national team. He was capped 74 times and scored 15 goals.

Career statistics

Club

[Image:Viktor_Claesson_2017.jpg|thumb|upright|180px|Claesson playing for Krasnodar in 2017.]

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
123 January 2012Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–05–0Friendly
228 March 2017Estádio do Marítimo, Funchal, Portugal1–23–2Friendly
328 March 2017Estádio do Marítimo, Funchal, Portugal2–23–2Friendly
410 September 2018Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden2–02–32018–19 UEFA Nations League B
523 March 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden2–02–1UEFA [Euro 2020 qualifying Group F|UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying]
626 March 2019Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway1–23–3UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
77 June 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden2–03–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
817 November 2020Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France1–02–42020–21 UEFA Nations League A
925 March 2021Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden1–01–02022 [FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B|2022 FIFA World Cup qualification]
1023 June 2021Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia3–23–2UEFA Euro 2020
112 September 2021Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden2–12–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
1224 September 2022Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia1–01–42022–23 UEFA Nations League B
1319 November 2022Stadion, Malmö, Malmö, Sweden2–02–0Friendly
149 September 2023Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia5–05–0UEFA [Euro 2024 qualifying Group F|UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying]
1519 November 2023Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden1–02–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Elfsborg
Copenhagen
Sweden
Individual