Milan Badelj

Early career

Milan Badelj signed for Dinamo Zagreb as a 17-year-old in 2007, just after he was snapped up from the youth system of Dinamo Zagreb's city rival, NK Zagreb. For the 2007–08 season, he was sent on loan to Dinamo Zagreb's affiliate Lokomotiva to gain first–team experience at the senior level. He played in 28 matches and scored seven goals for Lokomotiva in the Croatian Third League.

Dinamo Zagreb

At an early age, Badelj was already spotted as a possible replacement for Luka Modrić, a key figure in the Dinamo Zagreb first-team squad that joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. In 2008, Badelj joined the first team and immediately established himself as an important player. He made his senior debut for Dinamo in Champions League qualifier against Northern Irish club Linfield. He then made his domestic debut in the opening match of the 2008–09 season against Rijeka, scoring the first goal in 2–0 victory. He finished his first season with Dinamo with 31 domestic appearances and 12 UEFA Cup appearances. Badelj continued to impress at his young age, establishing himself as a first–team regular for the 2009–10 season. In March 2011, he scored a goal in a 2–0 victory in the derby match against great rivals Hajduk Split. Badelj continued with impressive performances in the 2010–11 season as well, even wearing the captain's armband in some matches. In the 2011–12 season, Badelj was one of the key players in the Dinamo squad that reached the 2011–12 UEFA…

During his youth career for the national team, Badelj earned a total of 63 caps, for all youth teams from U16 to U21. In 2010, Badelj was selected for the Croatia national team squad for the first time, but was mostly on the bench. His competitive debut came during a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Malta; a match Croatia won 3–1, on 2 September 2011, in which Badelj scored the second goal. He was selected for the UEFA Euro 2012 squad; and in May 2014, was selected for the final squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil following an injury to Ivan Močinić. However, he was an unused substitute for most of the tournament, as Croatia were knocked out in the group stage. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2016. In May 2018, Badelj was selected for the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He scored his first goal of the tournament in a 2–1 win over Iceland; helping Croatia en route to topping the group on maximum points. On 1 July, in Croatia's round of sixteen tie with Denmark, the game was drawn 1–1 and was decided through a penalty shootout in which Badelj missed Croatia's first penalty, though they would scored three while their opponents only scored two.

Club

As of match played 24 May 2025

International

As of 1 June 2021

Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first

Dinamo Zagreb

Prva HNL: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 Croatian Cup: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 Croatian Super Cup: 2010 Lazio

Coppa Italia: 2018–19 Croatia

FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018 Individual

Croatian Football Hope of the Year: 2009 Orders

Order of Duke Branimir : 2018