Ivan Perišić

Early career

Perišić played in the youth ranks of the club he grew up supporting, Hajduk Split. He received interest from a number of clubs, including Anderlecht, PSV, Ajax, Hertha BSC and Hamburger SV. The only match he played for Hajduk was a friendly 3–1 win over Smederevo in Murska Sobota on 16 July 2006. Returning from Murska Sobota to Split, Perišić received offers from Anderlecht and Sochaux. Hajduk offered Perišić a €100,000 contract, which was only €20,000 less than Hajduk's best player Niko Kranjčar's contract. However, the Perišić family opted for French club Sochaux, which paid €360,000 to sign him in the summer of 2006. Sochaux's coach Alain Perrin personally arrived to Split with a private jet to convince Perišić to sign, waiting two days for his signature. His physical and technical attributes led to comparisons to former Croatia international Aljoša Asanović by some journalists. He was a member of the Sochaux youth team, which won the Coupe Gambardella in 2007. During his time at Sochaux, he failed to make a first-team appearance, but did play for the B team. In January 2009, Perišić was sent on loan to Belgian top flight club Roeselare for six months. At the end of the 2008–09 season, there were reports Perišić sought to join Belgian side Anderlecht.

Club Brugge

On 26 August 2009, Belgian club Club Brugge acquired Perišić from Sochaux for a €250,000 transfer fee and signed him to a three-year contract. Prior his move, Perišić was linked…

Perišić has been lauded by the likes of Luciano Spalletti, José Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Hansi Flick and other high profile managers. Alongside his ambipedality, ESPN stated in 2016 that Perišić is "defensively superb in tracking back and working for the team, while his ability to find space and his calmness on the ball is exemplary."

Perišić has appeared internationally for the Croatia national under-17, under-19 and under-21 teams. He participated in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification for Croatia, where he scored two goals. On 26 March 2011, at age 22, Perišić made his debut for the senior national team against Georgia. He was a member of Croatia's squad for UEFA Euro 2012, starting in the team's opening two matches against the Republic of Ireland and Italy, and appearing as a substitute in the team's final match, a 1–0 loss to Spain. During the 2014 World Cup qualification, Perišić appeared in 12 matches for Croatia and scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw with Belgium. On 14 May, Perišić was named in Croatia's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 31 May, he scored a brace in a 2–1 win against Mali in a World Cup warm-up match in Osijek. Perišić was confirmed as a member of Croatia's final 23-man World Cup squad on 2 June. Perišić was in Croatia's starting team for the opening match of the 2014 World Cup, a controversial 3–1 defeat to tournament hosts Brazil at the Arena Corinthians, São Paulo. In the following match, he scored Croatia's second goal as they defeated Cameroon 4–0. On 23 June, he scored a consolation goal in the team's final group match, 3–1 defeat to Mexico which eliminated them from the tournament. Despite Croatia's early elimination, Perišić was ranked as the second-best performing player of the group stage by FIFA. Perišić was…

Born in Split, Perišić grew up in the town of Omiš, where his parents are from. As a child, he worked on his father's poultry farm. Perišić married Josipa in 2012, having first met her while they were in high school. The pair have two children.