Nikos Karelis

Ergotelis

Born in Arkalochori, Heraklion, Karelis began playing football at the age of six, when his father, a retired footballer, signed him up at the infrastructure segments of Ergotelis. Karelis started training with the men's team at age 14 and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15. He made his debut on 20 April 2008, on the final day of the 2007–08 Super League Greece, entering as a second-half substitute (78 minute) in Ergotelis' 2–0 victory over Skoda Xanthi, thus becoming the youngest player to have ever been fielded for Ergotelis in a Super League match. Karelis soon drew the attention of Premier League club Arsenal, and was invited to London to take part in a ten-day trial. He joined Arsenal's under 16s and travelled with them to Italy to take part in the Atalanta u16s Cup Tournament. Karelis scored two goals for the Gunners and made a strong impression, helping Arsenal win the cup, beating Juventus in the final on penalties. Having already signed a new contract with Ergotelis, a possible transfer move to the Premier League side was postponed, and eventually never completed. In the 2008–09 season, Karelis was sidelined, making only two senior appearances adding up a total of 17 minutes of play. In August 2009 he was offered a new three-year contract. Karelis featured more in the 2009–10 season, making six appearances, predominantly as cover for veteran strikers Māris Verpakovskis and Sergio Leal. Karelis scored during a…

In his full international debut with the Greece national football team he scored against Finland in Helsinki during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. In that 1–1 away draw, the risk that Greece coach Claudio Ranieri took by introducing a previously unseen forward lineup (Charalampos Mavrias, Nikos Karelis and Stefanos Athanasiadis) seemed to pay off in the first half, but the lack of experience shown in the second as Greece could not hold onto their lead and risked losing all three points, besides the fact that with 24 minutes on the clock the ball fell to Karelis who unleashed a swerving shot from the left that swung its way to the left corner of the Finnish goal for 1–0.

Club

As of match played 17 May 2026

International

As of 7 August 2020.

International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first.

Panathinaikos

Greek Cup: 2013–14 PAOK

Super League Greece: 2018–19 Greek Cup: 2018–19 Individual

Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2014–15 Panetolikos Player of the Season: 2022–23