Eriksen made his senior international debut for Denmark in 2010 at age 18, and is currently the nation'srecord appearance holder with more than 140 caps, including appearing in six major tournaments; he was also the youngest player at the2010 FIFA World Cup.[nb 1]
Born inMiddelfart, Denmark, Eriksen followed in the footsteps of his father Thomas when he started playing football in the academy of local side,Middelfart G&BK.[5] Eriksen's father was also one of the coaches at the time and in 2004 they helped the youth side finish unbeaten in the local youth championship for the third time in a period of four years.[5]
The following year, he joinedOB, who competed in the Danish youth championships, and within a year had helped the club to an age-group title. It was at OB that Eriksen first began showing signs of his technical ability, with his dribbling and free-kick techniques lauded by then-coach, Tonny Hermansen.[5] His form at youth level attracted the attention of a number of major European clubs, including the likes ofChelsea andBarcelona.[6] Eriksen ultimately underwent trials with both clubs as well asReal Madrid,Manchester United andMilan, but finally decided to move toAjax, stating, "My first step should not be too big. I knew that playing in the Netherlands would be very good for my development. Then Ajax arrived and that was a fantastic option."[7]
On 17 October 2008, Eriksen signed a two-and-a-half-year contract withAmsterdam-based club,Ajax.[8] Thetransfer fee received by OB was estimated at €1 million (£847,199) while Middelfart also received a sum of €35 000 which they later used to construct a football pitch.[9][5] He worked his way through the youth teams at Ajax and was promoted to thefirst team squad in January 2010, where he was given the number 51 shirt.[10] Later that month, he made his first team debut in a 1–1Eredivisie withNAC Breda.[11][12] He scored his first goal for Ajax on 25 March in a 6–0 win overGo Ahead Eagles in theDutch Cup and extended his contract with the club the following month.[13] On 6 May, he played in the second match of the final of the2009–10 Dutch Cup as Ajax beatFeyenoord 4–1, prevailing 6–1 on aggregate.[14] At the end of his first professional season with the club, Eriksen had played 21 competitive matches, scoring one goal, and had made his international debut for Denmark.[15][16] Eriksen's form throughout the campaign earned praise from managerMartin Jol who compared him to former youth productsWesley Sneijder andRafael van der Vaart as well as Danish legend,Michael Laudrup for his reading of the game in the traditionalnumber 10 role.[10]
Eriksen took the number eight jersey ahead of the following campaign and began the2010–11 season well, scoring his first Ajax league goal on 29 August 2010 in an away victory overDe Graafschap.[17][18] Over the course of the next few months, he scored his first home goal at theAmsterdam Arena, in a 3–0 Cup victory overBV Veendam, and his first European goal, in a 3–0UEFA Europa League win overAnderlecht.[19][20] In between the milestone goals, Eriksen was also namedDanish Talent of the Year.[21] His growing capabilities as the team's playmaker saw him become an undisputed starter in the side and he helped Ajax to their firstEredivisie title in seven years. At the end of the season he was named Ajax'sTalent of the Year.[22] His form throughout the campaign also earned him theDutch Football Talent of the Year award which saw him become only the second Danish player to win the award sinceJon Dahl Tomasson in 1996.Johan Cruyff, whose panel selected Eriksen for the award, described Eriksen as a typical product of the Danish school and added to previous comparisons between him andBrian and Michael Laudrup.[23]
On 18 October 2011, Eriksen scored his first goal in theUEFA Champions League when Ajax beatDinamo Zagreb 2–0 in thegroup stage.[24] In the return fixture the following month, he provided assists to teammatesGregory van der Wiel andSiem de Jong as Ajax recorded a 4–0 victory.[25] Five days later he was namedDanish Football Player of the Year in recognition of his role in helping Ajax to the league title the season before and in Denmark's successfulUEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign.[26] Eriksen continued to impress for Ajax and his strong contribution, both in terms of goal and assist returns, helped the club to a second consecutive league title.[27]
Eriksen and Ajax repeated the feat in the2012–13 season following which he opted not to renew his contract with the club. With only one year remaining on his current contract, Eriksen was permitted to search for a new club and he agreed terms withTottenham Hotspur in England. Eriksen departed Ajax having made 162 appearances across all competitions and scored 32 goals. Along with his league success, he had also featured in three consecutive editions of theJohan Cruyff Shield, which Ajax won once.[28]
On 30 August 2013,Premier League clubTottenham Hotspur announced that they had completed the transfer of Eriksen from Ajax in a deal believed to be worth £11 million (€12.45 million).[29] Eriksen joined the club on the same day asErik Lamela,[30] who joined fromRoma, andVlad Chiricheș, who joined fromSteaua București, and took the club's total spending for the2013 summer transfer window to £109.5 million.[30] He made his league debut againstNorwich City on 14 September and provided an assist forGylfi Sigurðsson in a 2–0 victory.[31] After the match, Spurs managerAndré Villas-Boas commented: "It was a great debut for Christian, he is a pure number 10, a creative player and his individual quality made all the difference."[32]
Five days later, Eriksen "clipped a wonderful dipping shot" over the goalkeeper to score his first Tottenham goal and complete a 3–0 win overTromsø IL in theEuropa League.[33] He added to his Tottenham goal tally with a goal from a free kick in a 1–1 draw againstWest Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day 2013, and the second goal in Spurs' 1–2 away win againstManchester United on 1 January 2014.[34] On 23 March and two goals down againstSouthampton atWhite Hart Lane, Eriksen scored twice to level the score and then assisted Sigurðsson to score the winning goal.[35] He continued his goalscoring form on 12 April when he scored a stoppage-time equaliser to help Tottenham come from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at West Brom.[36] By the end of the season, he had scored 10 goals and registered 13 assists across all competitions, won theDanish Football Player of the Year award and was named Tottenham's Player of the Season.[37][38]
Ahead of the2014–15 campaign, Tottenham appointedMauricio Pochettino as new club manager after the unsuccessful period under Villas-Boas and interim-managerTim Sherwood. Between November and December 2014, Eriksen scored late winners againstAston Villa,Hull City andSwansea City which he credited to the Argentine manager for raising the team's fitness levels.[39] By the end of the calendar year, Eriksen had scored 12 goals from open play – more than any other player in England – and was soon after awarded his second consecutive Danish Footballer of the Year award.[40] On 28 January 2015, Eriksen scored twice in a 2–2 (3–2 aggregate) win overSheffield United to send Tottenham into theLeague Cup Final.[41] His first goal, a 30-yard curling free kick, was later lauded by former professionalsMichael Owen andGary Neville.[42] The final, played against London rivalsChelsea, took place on 1 March and ended in a 2–0 defeat for Tottenham.[43] Eriksen completed the 2014–15 campaign having featured in every Premier League game for Mauricio Pochettino, starting all-but one match, and scored 12 goals across all competitions.[44]
On 9 June 2015, amid speculation that he would be joining Manchester United, Eriksen confirmed to Danish media whilst on international duty that he would stay at Tottenham for the foreseeable future and was quoted as saying: "I feel right at home at Tottenham and I haven't thought about leaving yet."[45] He did in fact remain with the club and scored his first goals of the season in October, netting from two free-kicks in a 2–2 draw with Swansea.[46] In January 2016, Eriksen was once again named Danish Footballer of the Year. In doing so he became the first ever player to win the award in three consecutive years.[40] He ultimately scored 6 goals and registered 13 assists as Tottenham ended the league season in third place, thereby qualifying for the following season'sChampions League campaign.[47]
2016–2020: Premier League runner-up and PFA Team of the Year
Ahead of thefollowing season, Eriksen signed a new long-term contract with Tottenham and starred once again for the club, scoring eight goals and assisting a further 15 as the club ended the league campaign as runners-up to champions Chelsea.[48] Eriksen's tally of assists was bettered only byManchester City'sKevin De Bruyne who set up 18 goals for the season.[49] Eriksen also recorded the joint-most assists in theFA Cup and later won the Tottenham Player of the Season award, claiming the award for the second time after previously winning it in his debut season with the club.[50][38]
Eriksen broke the record for the most goals scored by a Danish player in the Premier League when he scored his 33rd goal in a 3–2 win overWest Ham United on 23 September 2017, surpassing the record previously held byNicklas Bendtner.[51] On 9 December, he made his 200th appearance for Tottenham and marked the occasion by scoring in a 5–1 league win overStoke City.[52] The following month, he scored his 50th goal for the club when he scored after just 11 seconds in the 2–0 league win over Manchester United.[53] Eriksen's goal was the third-fastest goal ever scored in the Premier League, bettered only byAlan Shearer and former Spurs captainLedley King.[54]
On 17 March 2018, Eriksen scored twice in anFA Cup match against Swansea to send Spurs to the semi-final for the second season running.[55] On 1 April, Eriksen scored a 25-yard goal in the away match against Chelsea, helping Tottenham to their first win in 28 years atStamford Bridge in a match that finished 3–1.[56] Later that month, in the reverse fixture against Stoke, Eriksen scored twice to earn Tottenham a 2–1 win. Following the match, teammateHarry Kane, who was challenging for the season'sGolden Boot award, claimed to have made the last touch on the ball for the second goal. Tottenham appealed to the Premier League panel who agreed that the ball touched Kane's shoulder and awarded him the goal.[57][58] On 14 April, Eriksen was named in thePFA Team of the Year for the first time, alongside teammates Kane andJan Vertonghen.[59]
In the2018–19 season, Eriksen scored his first goal of the season in a Champions League away match againstInter Milan.[60] The match ended in a 2–1 loss for Tottenham, but in the home game against Inter, Eriksen scored again in the only goal of the game, giving Tottenham a 1–0 victory.[61] He scored his first Premier League goal of the season on 15 December 2018 in the home match againstBurnley, a late goal that earned Tottenham a 1–0 win.[62] On 31 March, during a 2–1 defeat toLiverpool, he became only the second player afterDavid Beckham to record 10+ assists in four successive Premier League seasons.[63] Three days later, on the occasion of his 200th Premier League appearance, he assistedSon Heung-min for the first ever goal at the newTottenham Hotspur Stadium before scoring a goal of his own in a 2–0 win overCrystal Palace.[64][65] On 23 April, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win overBrighton & Hove Albion.[66] Later on, Eriksen played in the2019 UEFA Champions League Final, which resulted a 2–0 defeat for Tottenham against Liverpool.[67]
On 28 January 2020, with his contract at Tottenham set to expire in six months, Eriksen signed a four-and-a-half-year deal withSerie A club Inter Milan that would earn him €10 million per season.[68] He made his club debut the following day, coming on as a second-half substitute forAlexis Sánchez in 2–1 home win overFiorentina in theCoppa Italia quarter-finals.[69] On 20 February, Eriksen scored his first goal for the club, netting the opener in a 2–0 away victory overLudogorets Razgrad in theEuropa League.[70] He scored his first Serie A goal on 1 July, in a 6–0 win againstBrescia.[71] On 21 August, Eriksen played in Inter's 3–2 loss againstSevilla in the2020 Europa League Final, becoming the first player to lose two consecutive finals in the two current major UEFA competitions;[nb 2] he had lost the 2019 Champions League Final with Tottenham the previous year.[72]
In December 2020,Giuseppe Marotta confirmed that Eriksen had been added to the transfer list for 2021; however, his teammateRomelu Lukaku had previously hinted that Eriksen's struggles at the Italian club were due to the language barrier.[73] On 26 January 2021, in the final minutes of Inter'sCoppa Italia quarter-final match against rivalsMilan, Eriksen was subbed on with the score at 1–1. In the seventh minute of stoppage time and with the game seemingly headed for extra time, he scored his first goal of the season from a direct free kick to win the match for Inter and send them through to the semi-finals.[74] Following the match, Inter managerAntonio Conte said that Eriksen would remain with the club, despite being linked with a winter departure.[75] On 1 May, he scored Inter's first goal in an important 2–0 away win overCrotone, bringing the club closer to their first league title since2009–10.[76] Inter were confirmed as league champions the following day, after closest challengersAtalanta failed to win their match againstSassuolo. It ended Juventus's nine-year grasp on the Serie A title.[77][78]
On 29 October 2021, it was announced that Eriksen was not permitted to play in the Serie A due to the presence of animplantable cardioverter-defibrillator he had implanted after suffering acardiac arrest during a game atUEFA Euro 2020.[79] Close to half a year after his cardiac arrest, Eriksen began individual training at the facilities of his youth academy teamOB inOdense in preparation for a possible comeback to football.[80] On 17 December 2021, Inter confirmed they had terminated their contract with Eriksen.[81][82]
On 31 January 2022, Eriksen signed for Premier League clubBrentford on a six-month contract.[83][84][85] On 26 February 2022, his first appearance was as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat toNewcastle United - he replacedMathias Jensen, who came on in Eriksen's place in the game in which he suffered a cardiac arrest.[86] He recorded his first assist since his cardiac arrest in a 2–0 win overBurnley on 12 March.[87] He scored his first goal back in the Premier League in a 4–1 away win againstWest London rivals Chelsea on 2 April, helping the Bees secure their first victory over Chelsea since 1939.[88] Between the date of Eriksen's Brentford debut and the end of the season, onlyKevin De Bruyne andMartin Ødegaard created more chances in the Premier League.[89][90]
On 15 July 2022,Manchester United announced they had reached an agreement to sign Eriksen on a three-year deal.[91][92] On 28 July, it was confirmed that he would wear the number 14 shirt.[93] On 7 August, Eriksen made his debut in a 2–1 home loss againstBrighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.[94] He provided his first assist in a 3–1 home league victory overrivalsArsenal, setting upMarcus Rashford's second goal.[95] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away league victory overFulham.[96] Despite missing the final due to an ankle injury, Eriksen was a key part of United's2022–23 EFL Cup winning side,[97] having scored his first home goal for the club in a 2–0 fourth round win overBurnley atOld Trafford.[98]
In late May 2025, it was announced that Eriksen would depart the club upon the expiration of his contract at the conclusion of the2024–25 season.[99] His last match with United was on 25 May againstAston Villa; Eriksen scored a penalty to help United win 2–0 on the last weekend of the Premier League season.[100]
On 10 September 2025, Eriksen joinedBundesliga sideVfL Wolfsburg on a two-year contract, with the option of a further year's extension.[101][102] He made his debut for Wolfsburg in a 1–0 loss toBorussia Dortmund on 21 September,[103] and later scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 victory overSt. Pauli on 14 January 2026.[104]
Eriksen was called up to theDenmark national under-17 football team in July 2007,[105] and impressed in his debut for the team on 31 July.[106] In 2008, he scored eight goals in 16 games for the U-17s,[107] and was namedDanish U-17 Talent of the Year by theDanish FA.[108] He was also one of four nominees for the 2008 Danish Talent of the Year award,[109] which was won byMathias Jørgensen.[108] He played 27 games for the under-17 team until February 2009. He played a total of eight games for theDenmark U-18 andDenmark U-19 teams during 2009. Eriksen was also called up for the Danish U-21 squad to the European championship in Denmark in 2011, the Danish team only participated in the group stage and Eriksen scored a goal against Belarus.
Eriksen received his first senior Denmark call-up in February 2010,[110] making his debut in Denmark's friendly match againstAustria in March,[16] to become Denmark's fourth youngest full international, being the youngest debutant sinceMichael Laudrup.[111]
On 28 May 2010, Denmark coachMorten Olsen announced that Eriksen would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[112] He was the youngest player participating in the tournament.[113][114] At the World Cup, Eriksen played two matches, against theNetherlands andJapan, but Denmark were unable to progress beyond the group stage.[115][116]
On 9 February 2011, in a 2–1 friendly loss at home againstEngland, Eriksen was namedman of the match, and was praised for his performance by a number of prominent footballing figures, includingChelsea starFrank Lampard,[117] Man Utd starRio Ferdinand (on Twitter),[118] manager Morten Olsen and several media experts in Denmark and England.[119] On 4 June 2011, Eriksen scored his first national team goal to give Denmark a 2–0 lead overIceland in theirUEFA Euro 2012 qualifier. In doing so, he became the youngest Danish player ever to score a goal in European qualification, being nine days younger than Michael Laudrup when he scored his first goal in 1983.[120]
In the build-up to the2018 FIFA World Cup, Denmark were drawn inUEFA Group E alongside the likes ofPoland andRomania. Eriksen played a key-role during the nation's qualification campaign during which time he scored eight goals to earn Denmark a play-off against theRepublic of Ireland.[121] The first leg of the play-off ended in a 0–0 home draw before Eriksen netted ahat-trick inDublin'sAviva Stadium in a 5–1 win to earn Denmark a spot at the World Cup.[122] Eriksen's treble took his tally to 11 goals for the qualification campaign, bettered only by Poland'sRobert Lewandowski (16) andPortugal'sCristiano Ronaldo (15) in Europe, and earned the praise of national team managerÅge Hareide who stated that Eriksen was one of the top 10 players in the world.[123]
In Denmark's opening match at the tournament, Eriksen assistedYussuf Poulsen for the only goal in a 1–0 win overPeru before scoring his first goal for the tournament in the 1–1 draw withAustralia the following week.[124] Denmark ultimately progressed from theirgroup after which they were drawn withCroatia in theRound of 16. There they were defeated after apenalty shoot-out, with Eriksen being one of three players to have his spot-kick saved by Croatia goalkeeperDanijel Subašić.[125]
On 9 September 2018, Eriksen scored twice in a 2–0 win overWales to lead Denmark to victory in the nation's inaugural2018–19 UEFA Nations League B match.[126] On 14 October 2020, Eriksen played his 100th match for Denmark, in which he scored a penalty in a 1–0 away win againstEngland in the2020–21 UEFA Nations League.[127]
Eriksen was included in Denmark's squad for the delayedUEFA Euro 2020 on 25 May 2021.[128] On 12 June, while playing in Denmark'sopening group stage match againstFinland atParken Stadium inCopenhagen, Eriksen collapsed in the 42nd minute as he was about to receive a throw-in. Eriksen's teammate and captainSimon Kjær was credited for his response[129] after placing him into therecovery position.[130] Urgent medical assistance arrived immediately, andcardiopulmonary resuscitation anddefibrillation were performed on the field before Eriksen was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and the match was suspended.[131][132] Around an hour after the incident,UEFA andDanish Football Association (DBU) officials confirmed from theRigshospitalet Hospital that Eriksen had been stabilized and was awake.[133][134][135] The match continued later that evening, resulting in a 1–0 victory for Finland,[136] with Eriksen chosen by UEFA as the man of the match.[137] Denmark managerKasper Hjulmand and team doctor Morten Boesen both later expressed regret at the match's continuation,[138] although Eriksen's teammateMartin Braithwaite said that the decision to do so was the "least bad one".[139] The decision to continue the match was also criticised byPeter Schmeichel, father of Denmark's keeperKasper, who said that UEFA had threatened the team with a 3–0 loss if they refused to finish the match later on that day or the following day at noon, leaving the players with "no choice" but to continue.[140] The BBC was also heavily criticised for continuing to stream the incident recording 6,417 complaints.[141]
The next day, Boesen confirmed Eriksen had suffered acardiac arrest.[132][131] The incident itself drew comparisons toFabrice Muamba andAbdelhak Nouri, two professional footballers who also collapsed during play in similar circumstances. Muamba was forced to retire, and Nouri suffered permanent brain damage.[142][143][144] On 15 June, Eriksen posted a picture of himself in the hospital on his social media along with a brief statement, stating that he was "fine under the circumstances".[145] The following day, it was announced that he would be fitted with animplantable cardioverter-defibrillator device, a decision described by Boesen as "necessary due to rhythm disturbances" following his cardiac arrest.[146] The operation jeopardised his contract with Inter Milan due to Serie A rules, which did not allow players wearing ICD devices to play. His contract was terminated later that year.[79][81] On 18 June, the DBU declared that Eriksen had undergone a successful operation and was discharged from Rigshospitalet. After his discharge, he visited his Danish teammates inHelsingør before returning home to his family.[147] The Danish team later dedicated their 4–1 win overRussia in their final group match to Eriksen; the result allowed them to advance to the round of 16.[148] They later went on to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, where they were eliminated following a 2–1 extra-time loss to England at Wembley Stadium, on 7 July.[149]
Eriksen returned to international football on 26 March 2022, coming on at half-time in a 4–2 loss against the Netherlands, scoring two minutes into his return.[150] He was included in thesquad for the2022 FIFA World Cup,[151] playing in every minute of Denmark's campaign as they finished bottom ofGroup D.[152]
Eriksen was included in thesquad forUEFA Euro 2024.[153] He scored in Denmark's openingGroup C match againstSlovenia that ended in a 1–1 draw.[154] In the last group stage encounter againstSerbia, he featured in his 133rd international match, becoming the most-capped Danish player ahead of his teammateSimon Kjær.[155]
In August2025, after Eriksen's departure from Manchester United, Danish national team coachBrian Riemer excluded Eriksen from the national team's squad for the2026 World Cup qualification matches in September.[156] Riemer stated weeks prior that he would exclude Eriksen if the midfielder was not signed with a club.[157][158] On 30September, after having signed with German clubWolfsburg, Eriksen returned to the national team squad list ahead of two World Cup qualification matches in October.[159]
Possessing significant vision, passing range,crossing accuracy,set-piece delivery, creativity, technical skills, movement, and an ability to read the game, as well as good balance and co-ordination, Eriksen is highly regarded by pundits for his ability to orchestrate attacking moves for his team with his distribution, create or exploit spaces with his runs, and provideassists to his teammates; his range of skills make him an effectiveplaymaker and creator of chances. In addition to his talent, he is also known for his work-rate and intelligence on the pitch.[10][160][161][162][163][164] He is also known for his eye for goal from midfield, and for his ability to strike the ball with power and accuracy with either foot, despite being naturally right-footed, in particular from distance;[162][163][164] moreover, he has also established himself as afree kick specialist.[5][165][166]
^Jensen, Mathias Bybjerg (14 January 2026)."Dansk duo strålede i Wolfsburg-triumf" [Danish duo shine in Wolfsburg triumph].Bold (in Danish). Retrieved14 January 2026.
^Hansen, Jens Fall; Nielsen, Morten Løvig (25 August 2025)."Christian Eriksen vraget til det danske landshold" [Christian Eriksen rejected for the Danish national team] (in Danish). DR. Retrieved30 August 2025.
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