Bozhidar Kraev

Early career

Born in Vratsa, at the age of six Kraev began playing football at the local club Botev Vratsa, for whom his father Boyko Kraev had also played. In 2008, he joined Hristo Stoichkov's academy in Vilafranca, Spain, as a part of a Gillette programme for young talented players, which was initiated by Stoichkov. Two years later, Kraev returned to his home country to join Chavdar Etropole. Then he spent one year with his first club Botev Vratsa. He has a brother Andrian.

Levski Sofia

In January 2013, at the age of 15, Kraev joined Levski Sofia's academy. He made his first team debut in a 1–1 league draw against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on 19 July 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute. On 23 September, he marked his first start by scoring a hat-trick in a 7–1 away win over Spartak Varna in the Bulgarian Cup. On 14 October, Kraev was named by The Guardian as one of the forty most promising young players in the world. On 12 December 2014, Kraev signed his first professional contract, on a three-year deal. Two days later, he was invited for a trial at Juventus. In January 2015, Kraev also spent a week on trial at English club Manchester City. Kraev scored his first league goal for Levski in an 8–0 home win over Haskovo on 27 February 2015. On 26 May 2015, he scored his first A Group hattrick in a 6–0 win against Marek Dupnitsa. Kraev's hattrick was the 100th in Levski's history in the Bulgarian league. On 9 April 2017, Kraev scored four goals in a 5–0 win…

In March 2016, Kraev was in the starting lineup of Bulgaria U19 for the 0–1 defeats from Belgium U19 and Croatia U19. On 13 May 2016 he was included in the Bulgaria U21 squad for the 2016 Toulon Tournament. In November 2016, Kraev received his first call-up to the senior Bulgaria squad for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Belarus. He remained on the bench for the game. On 25 March 2017, Kraev made his complete debut for the team coming on as a substitute during the 2–0 home win over Netherlands for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 6 September 2018, he scored 2 goals against Slovenia in the UEFA Nations' League, helping his country to 3 points.

Club

As of match played 26 March 2024

International

As of match played 6 June 2025

Score and result list Bulgaria's goal tally first.

Bozhidar is the son of Boyko Kraev, a former professional footballer who played for Botev Vratsa, and brother of Andrian Kraev, footballer for Levski Sofia.