Bojan Krkić
Who was Bojan Krkić?
Spanish forward who emerged from FC Barcelona's youth academy and has played for clubs across Europe including Stoke City and Montreal Impact.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Bojan Krkić (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Bojan Krkić Pérez, born on August 28, 1990, in Linyola, Catalonia, Spain, became a standout young talent in Spanish football, praised even before he turned eighteen. Primarily a forward or winger, Bojan's career spanned five countries. Although he didn't quite reach the heights once anticipated, he still achieved a lot in top-level European and international football.
Bojan came up through FC Barcelona's renowned youth academy, La Masia, and joined the first team at just 17 years and 19 days old. This broke Lionel Messi's record as the youngest player to debut for Barcelona in the modern era. In his first senior season, he scored 12 goals in 48 matches, quite the feat for a teenager in such a tough football environment. Over four seasons at Camp Nou, he netted 41 goals in 162 games. Barcelona sold him in July 2011 to Italian club AS Roma for €12 million. In Rome, he scored seven goals in 37 appearances in the 2011–12 season, then went on loan to AC Milan, adding three goals in 27 games.
Roma chose not to activate their €28 million purchase option, so Barcelona bought Bojan back for €13 million. He was loaned to Dutch club Ajax for the 2013–14 season and helped them win the Eredivisie title. The next summer, he permanently joined English Premier League's Stoke City for €1.8 million. His time in England was marred by a major Achilles tendon injury in January 2015, which kept him out for long and affected his progress at the club.
After his recovery, Bojan had loan stints in Germany with Mainz 05 in 2017 and in Spain with Deportivo Alavés during the 2017–18 season. Then he moved to Major League Soccer, playing one season with the Montreal Impact in Canada before heading to Japan to join Vissel Kobe. He played two seasons in Japan before being released in January 2023, and officially retired from professional football two months later at 32.
Internationally, Bojan represented Spain in various youth groups, winning the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2007 and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2011. He earned one cap for Spain's senior national team in 2008. He also played for the Catalan national team eight times from 2007, maintaining a strong bond with his regional roots throughout his career.
Before Fame
Bojan Krkić grew up in Linyola, a small town in the Lleida province of Catalonia. From a young age, he showed outstanding technical skills and a talent for scoring goals, catching the eye of FC Barcelona's scouts. He joined La Masia, the club's famous youth academy, and moved up steadily through the age groups, always standing out with his movement, finishing, and football smarts.
His time in Barcelona's youth system happened during a golden age for Spanish football, when La Masia was producing top talents and Spain's national teams were starting to dominate in Europe and worldwide. By the time Bojan was a teenager, he was already being talked about in the Spanish press as a potential leader for the next wave of Barcelona and Spain stars, an expectation that carried into his professional career.
Key Achievements
- Broke the record for the youngest FC Barcelona first-team debutant in the modern era at age 17, surpassing Lionel Messi
- Scored 41 goals in 162 appearances for FC Barcelona across four senior seasons
- Won the Eredivisie title with Ajax during the 2013–14 season
- Won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship with Spain in 2007
- Won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Spain in 2011
Did You Know?
- 01.Bojan broke Lionel Messi's record as the youngest player to make a first-team debut for FC Barcelona in the modern era, achieving the feat at just 17 years and 19 days old.
- 02.Despite being sold to Roma for €12 million in 2011, Barcelona later re-signed him for €13 million after Roma opted not to pay the agreed €28 million permanent fee.
- 03.He suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing for Stoke City in January 2015, an injury that kept him out for nearly a full calendar year and fundamentally altered the trajectory of his time in the Premier League.
- 04.Bojan represented the Catalan national team eight times beginning in 2007, playing for an unofficial side that competes in friendly matches and tournaments not recognized by FIFA.
- 05.His career spanned five countries across three continents, with professional football played in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Canada, and Japan.