Adem Ljajić

Partizan

Born in Novi Pazar in the Serbian region of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Ljajić joined Partizan at age 14 in 2005, signing from Serbian lower-tier club FK Jošanica. Ljajić was the first player to wear the number 22 for Partizan after Saša Ilić transferred to Galatasaray in 2005. Ljajić made an appearance for Partizan in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League on 29 July 2008 as a second-half substitute. He made a second substitute appearance in the second leg and another substitute appearance in the second leg of the third qualifying round. He scored his first competitive goal for Partizan on 23 November 2008 in a league match against OFK Beograd. In October 2008, Manchester United had given Ljajić a trial, although no information was given about the length of the trial initially. On 2 January 2009, Manchester United announced the signings of both Ljajić and his Partizan teammate, Zoran Tošić. Tošić would join the club immediately while Ljajić would remain at Partizan for the remainder of 2009, joining United in January 2010. Despite being unable to officially join the club until January 2010, Ljajić made regular trips to Manchester throughout 2009 to train with the United first team, so the club's coaches could monitor his progress. However, United decided not to take up their option to sign Ljajić due to issues surrounding the club's application for a work permit. Following the transfer's collapse,…

Ljajić represented the Serbia under-17 and under-19 teams. On 7 September 2008, he made his international debut for the under-21 squad in a European Championship qualification match against Hungary. On 26 October 2010, it was announced by Serbia coach Vladimir Petrović that Ljajić would receive his first senior call-up against Bulgaria in a friendly match on 17 November 2010. Ljajić was removed from his country's squad by head coach Siniša Mihajlović after refusing to sing the Serbian national anthem in a 2–0 friendly loss against Spain on 28 May 2012 for personal reasons. Ljajić previously signed a code of conduct established by Mihajlović that included, among other things, to sing the Serbian national anthem, "Bože pravde" (God of Justice). Ljajić confirmed Mihajlović's statement, also claiming he loves Serbia and that he has a will to play for its national team, but added he must respect himself, implying he was no longer going to play under Mihajlović. On 17 February 2014, the new head coach of the Serbia national team, Ljubinko Drulović, said he would not require players to sing the national anthem but to give their all for their country on the field. Ljajić scored his first goal for the senior side on 7 June 2015 in a 4–1 friendly win against Azerbaijan. In June 2018, Ljajić was included in the 23-man Serbian squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where he played in all three group matches as Serbia was eliminated during the group stage.

On 7 November 2024, Ljajić signed a contract with KK Novi Pazar 1969. The club announced that Ljajić would "be available to coach Hadžerić when he balances his obligations with the football team".

Ljajić is an ethnic Bosniak and a practising Muslim.