Ivaylo Chochev

Early career

Born in Pleven, Chochev began his career with local club Spartak Pleven, before moving to Chavdar Etropole in 2008.

CSKA Sofia

On 16 January 2013, Chochev joined A Group club CSKA Sofia. He made his debut in a 2–0 home win against Chernomorets Burgas on 10 March 2013. Chochev swiftly became a regular starter. During 2013–14 season he established himself as a key member of the team. On 12 February 2014, it was officially announced that Chochev had signed a new three-year contract and doubled his previous salary.

Palermo

On 11 July 2014, Chochev moved to Serie A club Palermo, signing a three-year contract. Monaco and Wolfsburg were also keen on signing him but were not able to come to an agreement in time. Chochev scored his first goal for Palermo on 8 August, netting the tenth in a 12–0 pre-season friendly win over Calciochiese. He made his Serie A debut on 5 October against Empoli, coming on for the last 18 minutes in place of Franco Vázquez as Palermo lost 1–0 at Stadio Carlo Castellani. On 19 October, Chochev started for first time, playing 66 minutes in a 2–1 home win over Cesena. He scored his first Serie A goal on 12 April 2015, in a 3–1 away win over Udinese at Stadio Friuli. A week later on 19 April 2015, he scored another two goals against Genoa in a 2–1 home victory. His outstanding performances, both against Udinese and Genoa, saw him being named Man of the Match twice. On 22 June 2015, Chochev signed a new five-year…

Chochev made his debut with the Under 21 national team during the Under-21 European Championship qualifying category in 2013. He was called up to the senior national team for a friendly against Canada on 23 May 2014. He made his debut with the national team on 8 June 2015 in a 4–0 friendly loss against Turkey. He made his first start playing the full 90 minutes on 3 September 2015 as Bulgaria lost 0–1 to Norway in Sofia. Chochev scored his first goal with the national team on 3 June 2016 during the 2016 Kirin Cup in a 2–7 defeat to Japan. On 31 August 2017, Chochev scored the winning goal for the 3–2 win over Sweden. On 22 March 2019, Chochev received a heavy injury in a qualification match against Montenegro. After initially not being in new manager Mladen Krstajić's plans, Chochev was recalled to the national side for the June 2023 Euro qualifiers against Lithuania and Serbia.

Club

As of match played 9 September 2026

International

As of 18 November 2025

As of match played 5 September 2021. Bulgaria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Chochev goal.

Ludogorets Razgrad

Bulgarian First League: 2023–24, 2024–25 Bulgarian Cup: 2024–25 Bulgarian Supercup: 2024 Individual

Best midfielder in Bulgarian football: 2021 Bulgarian First League Top Scorer: 2022–23 Bulgarian Footballer of the Year second place: 2015; third place: 2022, 2023 Bulgarian First League Player of the Season: 2024–25, 2025–26