Ylber Ramadani


Ylber Latif Ramadani is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Lecce. Born in Germany, he represents the Albania national team.
Ramadani began his senior career with Ferizaj in Kosovo before joining Prishtina and later Drita. He then moved to Albania with [FK FK Partizani Tirana|Partizani Tirana|Partizani Tirana], where his strong performances earned him a transfer to Vejle in Denmark. During four seasons there, he was an undisputed starter and played a key role in helping the club win promotion twice to the Danish Superliga. He subsequently represented MTK Budapest in Hungary and Aberdeen in Scotland, where he was instrumental in the team’s third-place finish in the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership. In 2023, Ramadani signed for Italian side Lecce, establishing himself as a regular starter in Serie A and earning praise for his tireless work rate and leadership in midfield.
Internationally, Ramadani switched allegiance from Kosovo to Albania in 2016 and has since become an integral member of the Albanian national team. After making his senior debut in 2018, he eventually established himself as a regular starter under coach Edoardo Reja, scoring his first international goal in Albania’s 2–0 victory over Moldova during the Euro 2020 qualifiers. He played a key role in Albania’s successful UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, helping the team finish top of their group and reach the European Championship for only the second time in history. Ramadani was also part of the final 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024, featuring in all three group stage matches.

Club career

Early life and youth career

Ramadani was born in Starnberg, Germany, to ethnic Albanian parents from the village of Vojnoc near Shtime, Kosovo, where he was also raised. Growing up in a modest family, he often helped his parents with agricultural work to support their livelihood.
As a teenager, he began playing football with Çeliku Ferizaj, a small local youth team in the Ferizaj region. During a friendly match between Çeliku and Ferizaj, the former were short of players and invited Ramadani to take part in the game. His qualitative performance impressed the Ferizaj coaching staff and president, who offered him the opportunity to join their team—an invitation that marked the real beginning of his football career.

Ferizaj

After joining Ferizaj, Ramadani quickly progressed through the club’s youth setup. At the age of 17, he made his senior debut and established himself as a regular member of the first team in the Superleague of Kosovo. Over the course of the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, he made 42 appearances and scored three goals for the club.

Prishtina

In the second half of the 2014–15 season, Ramadani transferred to Prishtina, one of Kosovo’s most prominent clubs. He made 14 appearances and scored one goal during his time with the team.

Drita

On 1 August 2015, Ramadani signed for Drita.
During the first half of the 2015–16 season, he made 17 league appearances for the club before leaving in the winter transfer window.

Partizani

In December 2015, Ramadani was reported to be close to joining Kategoria Superiore side Partizani during the upcoming January transfer window. He began training with the team before officially signing a three-year contract on 10 January 2016. However, the transfer was temporarily delayed as Drita initially refused to release him, before both clubs reached an agreement and finalized the move on 10 February 2016. In his first full season with Partizani, Ramadani made 42 appearances in all competitions and was named the Kategoria Superiore Best Young Player of the Year.

Vejle

On 14 June 2017, Danish 1st Division side Vejle announced the transfer of Ramadani from Partizani Tirana for a fee of €200,000. The player was presented the same day and signed a four-year contract. On 26 November 2017, Ramadani scored his first goal abroad against Vendsyssel, helping Vejle to a 4–1 victory that kept them top of the league after 19 rounds with 38 points. In his debut season, he became an undisputed starter, completing almost every match and making 31 league appearances as Vejle won the division title and secured promotion to the Danish Superliga.
In the following 2018–19 season, Ramadani made 26 appearances, remaining a regular starter despite the club finishing second from bottom and being relegated back to the First Division.
He continued as a key player during the 2019–20 campaign, making 31 appearances and scoring 3 goals as Vejle once again won the division and earned promotion back to the Superliga.
In his final season with the club, he played 32 matches and scored once, helping Vejle finish 10th in the Superliga to retain their top-flight place, and reached the quarter-finals of the Danish Cup.
On 23 May 2021, after four seasons at the club, Vejle announced that Ramadani would not be extending his contract.

MTK Budapest

On 14 June 2021, Ramadani joined Hungarian side MTK Budapest on a free transfer.
He immediately established himself as a regular starter, making 30 league appearances during the 2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, with MTK Budapest finishing in 11th place.
Ramadani also captained the team in several matches and scored twice in league victories, including a decisive goal in a 2–1 win over league leaders Puskás Akadémia, which lifted MTK from the bottom of the table.

Aberdeen

On 8 June 2022, Ramadani signed for Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee, agreeing to a three-year contract. He became a key player during his single season with the Dons, totaling 44 appearances in all competitions and scoring once, playing a vital role, as Aberdeen secured third place in the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership.

Lecce

On 4 August 2023, Ramadani joined Italian Serie A side Lecce for an undisclosed fee. In his first season, he became an undisputed starter, making 36 appearances across Serie A and the Coppa Italia, playing over 3,000 minutes and scoring once, as Lecce finished 14th in the league. He scored on 16 December 2023 a late winner in the 89th minute in a 2–1 home victory over Frosinone, earning Lecce crucial points in their fight for top-flight retaining. His consistent performances and work rate in midfield earned praise from Italian media, with Calcio Lecce describing him as “uomo ovunque” for his tireless displays.
In the 2024–25 season, Ramadani continued as a starter for the club, and his contributions were considered pivotal in Lecce’s efforts to remain in Serie A. Later in the campaign, he faced a more challenging period following the appointment of new head coach Marco Giampaolo in November, experiencing reduced playing time, with several appearances coming from the bench, as reports suggested Giampaolo preferred different midfield options. In an interview, Ramadani described this as a “difficult period”, noting minor back problems but stressing that he continued to work hard in training. Despite this, he later regained his place in the starting lineup and featured regularly during the closing stages of the season. On 19 May 2025, he scored a decisive goal in a 1–0 home victory over Torino. Eventually, he accumulated 29 Serie A appearances and one in the Coppa Italia, scoring once, as Lecce finished 17th in the league, three points above the relegation zone.

International career

Kosovo

Ramadani received his first call-up from Kosovo under-19 manager Ramiz Krasniqi for the friendlies against Albania in October 2015. He played in the first match on 13 October, scoring in the 2–0 win.
He was also part of Kosovo under-21 squad.

Albania

On 18 August 2016, Ramadani received Albanian citizenship, opting to switch allegiances to Albania internationally. On 27 August, he earned his first call-up to the Albania under-21 squad by coach Redi Jupi for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match against Greece. He made his debut later in tournament on 10 October 2016 in the final qualifying match against Israel, a 4–0 away defeat.
Ramadani continued with the under-21 side in the following qualifying campaign, being called up in June 2017 for the friendly against France and the opening qualifier against Estonia.
He received his first senior call-up by manager Christian Panucci for the friendly against Turkey on 13 November 2017. Ramadani described his first senior call-up as a "dream come true".
After his senior call-up, he scored his first goal for the under-21s on 10 November in the fifth qualifying match against Northern Ireland, with Albania conceding late to draw the game.
Meanwhile, with senior side he remained an unused substitute in the 3–2 away win over Turkey. Ramadani made his senior international debut on 26 March 2018 in a 1–0 home loss to Norway.
He concluded his youth international experience with the under-21 side with 11 appearances and 1 goal, before becoming a regular for the senior team.
After the appointment of Edoardo Reja as Albania's new manager in June 2019, Ramadani became an important part of the national setup. He made his first competitive appearance on 11 June 2019, in Reja’s debut match, scoring his first international goal in a 2–0 home win over Moldova during the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
He continued to be a regular starter for the national team under Reja for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification and his successor Sylvinho, featuring consistently throughout the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, where Albania topped their group to qualify for the final tournament for the second time in history.
Ramadani was named in Albania’s final 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024.
During the finals in Group B, he featured in all of Albania’s matches as a central midfielder, as Albania finished bottom of the group with a single point and were eliminated from the tournament. He completed all three matches, earning positive remarks for his work rate and defensive contribution.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 June 2019Elbasan Arena, Elbasan, Albania2–02–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Individual