Niko Kranjčar

Dinamo Zagreb

Kranjčar spent most of his youth playing for Dinamo Zagreb, and later, at the age of 17, became the youngest captain of the squad for the first time. He also became one of the youngest goalscorers in the Prva HNL as he scored on his league debut for Dinamo at the age of 16 before helping them win the double of a Croatian cup and a league title in 2003 and then the Croatian cup again the following season. Such abilities and assistance led him to become a fan favorite, he began to receive comparison to French football legend Zinedine Zidane.

Hajduk Split

In January 2005, Kranjčar experienced a disagreement with the Dinamo Zagreb management, which led to a surprise transfer to Dinamo's biggest rivals, Hajduk Split, which was accomplished thanks to Hajduk's sporting director Igor Štimac for a reported fee of €1.88 million. Over 10,000 people came to his official unveiling at the Poljud stadium. Outside Kranjčar's family home, Dinamo fans lit 200 blue candles in mock memoriam of his "death" of moving to their rival. Kranjčar made his league debut for Hajduk on 26 February 2005 in a 2–2 draw against Osijek. He scored his first goal for Hajduk on 23 April 2005 at Poljud in a 5–1 victory against NK Inter. He scored his second goal in the decisive 6–0 victory against Varteks on 28 May 2005. Kranjčar helped Hajduk win the 2004–05 Prva HNL which was their 2nd league trophy in a row. Thanks to his fine games and good sportmenship, Kranjčar became the…

Kranjčar was previously a part of the Croatia national Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 teams before advancing to the senior national team. His senior debut for Croatia came on 18 August 2004 in a friendly match against Israel. He was a regular for Croatia during their qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup, making nine appearances and scoring two goals, including a brilliant single effort against Bulgaria. Niko was then chosen for "Young guns firing for World Cup glory" on eurosport.com with some of the greatest talents in the world, such as Lionel Messi, Lukas Podolski and future Pompey teammate Sulley Muntari. He went on to play in all of Croatia's three group stage matches at the final tournament, proving to be a prestigious player for his impressive performances. With the departure of his father as national team manager, Kranjčar became a regular for Croatia in their qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, having appeared in all 12 matches and scoring two goals. The most famous of such was his long range opener for Croatia during their final match away to England. Croatia eventually won the game 3–2, resulting in England's failure to qualify for the final tournament. He then scored in a friendly match against Scotland with a spectacular effort from just inside the penalty area in a match played that ended 1–1, the equalising goal coming from Kenny Miller. He was a part of the Croatia team in Euro 2008 tournament, being a starter in 2 group match games and…

Kranjčar is the son of former Dinamo Zagreb and Rapid Vienna forward Zlatko and he spent his childhood years in Austria, where his father was playing. Therefore, he holds an Austrian passport and this qualified him as a European Union player prior to the enlargement of the EU and Croatia's admission in 2013.

Kranjčar is the son of Croatian footballer and manager Zlatko Kranjčar. He was married to Simona Fistrić and the couple lived in Cuffley, Hertfordshire. Fistrić gave birth on 7 March 2011 to a baby girl by the name of Loree. However, Kranjčar and Fistrić divorced less than a year after Loree's birth. He is currently in a relationship with actress Zrinka Cvitešić.