Emir Spahić

Over the course of his career, Spahić played for Zagreb, Shinnik Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv Moscow and Anzhi Makhachkala. He played for Zagreb and Leverkusen in the Champions League and with Montpellier, Sevilla and Lokomotiv in the Europa League.

Montpellier

On 24 June 2009, Spahić announced that he would join newly promoted Montpellier for the 2009–10 Ligue 1 season. On his league debut against Paris Saint-Germain, he scored a header in the 94th minute for a 1–1 draw, earning his side a point.

Sevilla

On 4 July 2011, Spahić agreed a transfer with Spanish side Sevilla for €2 million until July 2014. His national teammate Miroslav Stevanović also transferred to Sevilla in January 2013 and upon his arrival at San Pablo International Airport, he was received by Spahić. Spahić scored his first goal for Sevilla on 5 January 2013 in a 1–0 victory against Osasuna.

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 26 February 2013, Spahić left Sevilla on loan to Anzhi Makhachkala of the Russian Premier League. He scored his first goal for the club on 14 April 2013 against Volga Nizhny Novgorod.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 28 June 2013, Spahić was signed by Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga on a two-year contract. He conceded a penalty and was later sent off in a Champions League last-16 first-leg game on 18 February 2014, as Paris Saint-Germain beat Leverkusen 4–0. On 20 April, he scored his first two goals for the club in a 4–1 league victory against 1. FC Nürnberg. On 30…

On 7 June 2003, Spahić made his debut as a substitute against Romania at Stadionul Ion Oblemenco in Craiova. On 28 February 2006, he scored his first international goal, in a friendly game against Japan, played in Dortmund. Ever since his debut, he was an important member of the national team and served as their captain for a number of years. He headed a ball into the box and assisted Ermin Bičakčić who scored a crucial equalizer versus Slovakia in Žilina during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Bosnia and Herzegovina came back from one goal down in that game to win 2–1 and stay top of their qualifying group for ahead of Greece. Spahić retired from international football on 7 August 2014. After his retirement, Bosnia lost their first game of Euro 2016 qualifiers versus Cyprus (ranked 121 places behind Bosnia in FIFA Ranking for August 2014) without Spahić, which resulted in manager Safet Sušić calling him back from retirement on 22 September for the games that followed against Wales and Belgium. At the time, Bosnia's key defenders were either injured or lacked competitive matches for their clubs, which prompted in Spahić's call-up to the national side. Due to injury, he missed those two games and later returned to international stage against Israel on 16 November where he played the full game, his first since playing against Iran at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 29 May 2016, he scored in a 3–1 friendly loss to Spain in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and was sent off before half…

On 19 April 2024, Spahić took up the position of director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, replacing former national teammate Zvjezdan Misimović.

Spahić identifies as an ethnic Muslim. His father is from Sandžak, and his mother is from Gacko. They met when they were both working in Dubrovnik. Emir has two brothers, the older being Nermin and younger one Alen, who is also a football player. Spahić is a first cousin of fellow national team player Edin Džeko. Spahić is a fan of tennis, and has followed live matches in Dubai, Barcelona, Montpellier and Paris. He was enrolled at the University of Sarajevo, earning a degree in sport and physical education. Aside from his native Bosnian, he speaks English, Spanish, French, German and Russian to varying degrees of fluency. On 30 August 2019, Spahić was involved in a car accident, when his SUV rolled over on the road, sustaining multiple non-life-threatening injuries. In 2021, he was a candidate on the list of the local Dubrovnik regionalist party DUSTRA for the local elections in Croatia, but failed to enter the Dubrovnik City Council. In 2023, he became president of the executive board of the Islamic Community of Dubrovnik.