Mikael Ishak (Arabic:ميكائيل إسحاق; born 31 March 1993) is a Swedish professionalfootballer who plays as aforward for andcaptainsEkstraklasa clubLech Poznań. Beginning his career withAssyriska FF in 2010, he has gone on to play professionally in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, and Poland. A full international since 2015, he has won sevencaps and scored one goal for theSweden national team. He represented theSweden Olympic team at the2016 Summer Olympics.

Mikael Ishak

Ishak in 2023 withLech Poznań
Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-03-31)31 March 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	Södertälje, Sweden
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Lech Poznań
Number	9
Youth career
0000–2010	Assyriska FF
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Assyriska FF	47	(13)
2012–2013	1. FC Köln	18	(0)
2013	→St. Gallen (loan)	13	(3)
2013–2014	Parma	0	(0)
2013–2014	→Crotone (loan)	24	(4)
2014–2017	Randers	71	(31)
2017–2020	1. FC Nürnberg	77	(17)
2020–	Lech Poznań	124	(67)
International career‡
2011	Sweden U19	8	(3)
2012–2016	Sweden U21/O	27	(11)
2015–2022	Sweden	7	(1)
Medal record Men'sfootball Representing Sweden UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 2015 Czech Republic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:16, 30 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:20, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Ishak's parents wereAssyrian migrants fromSyria.^[2] He was born inSödertälje, Sweden and started his professional career atAssyriska FF, where he was included in the first team in 2010.

In December 2011, Ishak was signed by GermanBundesliga club1. FC Köln after a successful trial.^[3] He made his debut for the side on 21 January 2012 in a 1–0 away defeat atVfL Wolfsburg, where he came on as a substitute in the 85th minute forMartin Lanig.^[4] After being used mostly as a substitute during his first month in Köln, Ishak made his first start for the club on 18 March following a suspension for regularstrikerLukas Podolski, playing the entire match in a 4–1 away loss atHannover 96.^[5] Ishak would make 11 appearances for 1. FC Köln during his first season.

In February 2013, Ishak signed a six-month loan deal with Swiss clubFC St. Gallen, who had recently been promoted to theSwiss Super League, in order to play more.^[6] He became a regular starter for the club, before suffering amandibular fracture in a match for theSweden under-21 team.^[7] Ishak made his return in late-April as a substitute in a match againstFC Zürich, before becoming a full-time starter again the following week. He made a total of 13 league appearances for St. Gallen, in which he scored three goals.^[8]

Ishak joined ItalianSerie A clubParma on a four-year contract on 5 August 2013.^[9][10]

He was loaned out toCrotone, competing in theSerie B, following his arrival. He made his debut for Crotone on 24 August 2013 in a match againstSiena. On 24 September, he scored his first goal for the side in a 3–1 home win overModena.

In August 2014, a year after joining Parma, Ishak moved toDanish Superliga clubRanders FC, signing a three-year contract.^[11][12] He played for the club for two-and-a-half years, scoring 31 goals in 71 league appearances.^[8]

After a highly successful stay at Randers, Ishak joined German2. Bundesliga club1. FC Nürnberg in January 2017, six months before his contract expired.^[13] He scored Nürnberg's 1000th goal in the 2. Bundesliga on 25 November 2017, in a match againstEintracht Braunschweig.^[14] At the end of the2017–18 season, he reached promotion to theBundesliga with the club. Ishak scored his first goal in the Bundesliga on 1 September 2018, an important equalizer in the away game againstMainz 05, which ended 1–1.^[15]

On 14 July 2020, Ishak joined Polish clubLech Poznań on afree transfer, signing a three-year contract. He was given the shirt number 9, previously worn by the outgoing Danish strikerChristian Gytkjær.^[16] In his firstseason in Poland, despite missing over a dozen games due to health issues, he was Lech's top scorer with 20 goals, including two strikes againstBenfica and three goals againstStandard Liège in the2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stages.^[17]

Despite missing out on European competitions, the2021–22 campaign was successful for both Lech and Ishak, who improved both health-wise and stats-wise. Named captain before the start of the season,^[18] the Swedish striker scored 18 league goals to lead Lech to their eighthEkstraklasatitle,^[19] including a 88th-minute winner againstPiast Gliwice on 8 May 2022, which put Lech on top of the league table with two games to go.^[20]

Ishak opened the2022–23 campaign season by scoring the only goal in aUEFA Champions League first qualifying round match against Azerbaijani sideQarabağ on 5 July 2022.^[21] Although marred by health concerns throughout the season, he appeared in all but one of Lech's twenty games across their European campaign, scoring nine goals as the Poznań outfit reached theUEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals.^[22] In November 2022, he extended his deal until the end of June 2025,^[23] reportedly becoming the highest-earning player in Ekstraklasa at the time.^[24] With 20 goals to his name across all competitions, he was the club's best scorer for the third season in a row.

On 13 April 2024, Ishak became Lech's top foreign scorer of all time, taking the title away from Gytkjær, after scoring his 66th goal in a 2–1 away loss againstPuszcza Niepołomice.^[25] Later that year, on 5 November, he signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until mid-2027.^[26]

Ishak represented theSweden U21 team at the2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and played in four games as Sweden won the entire tournament.^[27] He was also a part of theSweden Olympic team that competed at the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, and scored in a group stage game againstColombia before Sweden was knocked after only three games.^[27]

Ishak made his full international debut for theSweden national team on 15 January 2015 in afriendly 2–0 win against theIvory Coast, coming on as a substitute forIsaac Kiese Thelin in the 82nd minute.^[28] He scored his first international goal for Sweden on 6 January 2016, in a 1–1 tie withEstonia.^[29] Ishak made his competitive international debut for Sweden on 24 September 2022, in a2022–23 UEFA Nations League B game againstSerbia, coming on as a substitute forDejan Kulusevski in the 85th minute of a 1–4 loss.^[30]

As of match played 6 December 2024^[8]

As of match played 16 November 2022

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ishak goal.

Lech Poznań

• Ekstraklasa:2021–22

Sweden U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship:2015

Individual

• Ekstraklasa Player of the Month:May 2022
• Ekstraklasa Forward of the Season:2021–22^[36]
• Piłka NożnaForeigner of the Year: 2022^[37]

• Mikael Ishak at theSwedish Football Association(in Swedish) (archived)
• Mikael Ishak –UEFA competition record (archive)
• Mikael Ishak atOlympics.com
• Mikael Ishak atOlympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)