_by_Sandro_Halank%25E2%2580%2593466.jpg) Nastasić withSchalke 04 in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matija Nastasić[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-03-28)28 March 1993 (age 32)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Valjevo,Serbia,FR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Ula | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2008 | ZSK Valjevo | ||
| 2008–2010 | Partizan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Partizan | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | →Teleoptik (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Fiorentina | 26 | (2) |
| 2012–2014 | Manchester City | 34 | (0) |
| 2015–2021 | Schalke 04 | 122 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Fiorentina | 5 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Mallorca | 40 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | Leganés | 26 | (1) |
| 2025– | Al-Ula | 19 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | Serbia U17 | 9 | (2) |
| 2010–2011 | Serbia U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Serbia U21 | 6 | (1) |
| 2012–2022 | Serbia | 34 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:44, 11 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 March 2022 | |||
Matija Nastasić (Serbian Cyrillic:Матија Настасић; born 28 March 1993) is a Serbian professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forSaudi First Division League clubAl-Ula and theSerbia national football team.[3]
He began his career atPartizan, and after a loan toTeleoptik joined Italian side Fiorentina in 2011. After one season there he transferred toManchester City for €15 million and a swap withStefan Savić, winning thePremier League in 2014, despite injury problems. In 2015, he joined Schalke, where he remained for seven years, before returning to Fiorentina in 2021.
Nastasić made his senior international debut for Serbia in 2012, and has gone on to earn over 30caps.[4]
Matija Nastasić is a product ofPartizan youth academy. Unable to find space in the Partizan first team setup, he was sent out on loan to Serbian second division sideFK Teleoptik fromZemun. There, the young, left footed centre back made 21 appearances and caught the eye of Fiorentina sporting director at that time,Pantaleo Corvino, who signed him in a deal for €4 million.[5]
Nastasić spent some time in theFiorentina youth side but, due to a lack of quality centre backs in the squad and suspensions and injuries, he trained with the first team on many occasions. Fellow Serbian and Fiorentina managerSiniša Mihajlović handed him hisSerie A debut on 11 September 2011 in a 2–0 win againstBologna. He went on to make a further 25 appearances that season but one stood out more than any and it was during this performance that he announced himself to Italian and World football. It was a match betweenLa Viola andMilan at theStadio Artemio Franchi. Nastasić showed many of his qualities – tackling, comfort on the ball, tactical astuteness. It was these qualities that led to adeadline day transfer to English sideManchester City in a move worth €24.4 million,[6] excluding the value ofStefan Savić who was given to Fiorentina as part of the exchange.[7]
Nastasić signed a five-year contract with Manchester City, ending on 30 June 2017. He was part of an exchange deal withStefan Savić.[8] He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2012, starting in a Champions League away fixture againstReal Madrid at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium. He made hisPremier League debut on 29 September in a 2–1 win againstFulham.[9] He cemented his place in the starting XI and his great form won him the club's Player of the Month Award for November. Quickly becoming a fan favourite,[10] the youngster pushed 30-year-oldJoleon Lescott out of the starting lineup in centre-back position and was selected to start in the2013 FA Cup Final, a 1–0 defeat byWigan Athletic. In May 2013, he was named Manchester City's Young Player of the Season.[11]
Nastasić had a less successful season in2013–14, missing the majority of the campaign through injury.[12] He made 13 league appearances and Manchester City won thePremier Leaguetitle.[13]
On 13 January 2015, having not featured for City during the season, he was loaned to German clubSchalke 04 for its remainder.[14] He made his debut on 31 January, starting in a 1–0 home win overHannover 96.[15] Having not featured in the Champions League that season, he featured in both legs of Schalke's elimination by Real Madrid in the Last 16.
On 11 March 2015, Schalke 04 activated the transfer clause on his loan deal, believed to be €12 million, and Nastasić signed a four-year contract with the German club.[16][17]
On 8 August 2015, Nastasić marked hisseason debut by scoring his first goal for the club, in a 5–0 win atMSV Duisburg in the first round of theDFB-Pokal.[18]
In June 2018, along with goalkeeperRalf Fährmann, Nastasić sign a contract extension with Schalke to stay with the club until the summer of 2022.[19][20]
In August 2021, Nastasić signed for Fiorentina again following Schalke 04's relegation from theBundesliga as a replacement forGermán Pezzella, who moved toReal Betis Balompie the same week.[21]
On 1 September 2022, Nastasić signed a one-year contract withMallorca in Spain, with an option to extend.[22] On 26 April 2023, he scored his first goal for Mallorca againstAtlético Madrid, a header from a corner kick.
On 1 September 2023,free agent Nastasić returned to Mallorca again on a one-year deal.[23]
On 30 August 2024, Nastasić joined fellow Spanish top tier sideLeganés on a two-year contract.[24] Nastasić scored the only goal in 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on 18th of January 2025.[25]
On 21 August 2025, Nastasić joinedSaudi First Division League clubAl-Ula.[26]
Having represented Serbian youth football teams,[27] Nastasić made his debut for thesenior squad on 29 February 2012 in afriendly match againstCyprus.[28] He was named in Serbia's preliminary squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but did not appear in the 23-man final squad.[29] As of January 2025, he earned a total of 34 caps.(no goals)[30]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Teleoptik | 2009–10 | Serbian First League | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Serbian First League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||||
| Fiorentina | 2011–12 | Serie A | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||||
| Manchester City | 2012–13 | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
| Schalke 04 | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10[e] | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 122 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 0 | — | 157 | 2 | |||
| Fiorentina | 2021–22 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| Mallorca | 2022–23 | La Liga | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 26 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| Total | 40 | 3 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 3 | ||||
| Leganés | 2024–25 | La Liga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 263 | 7 | 37 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 331 | 8 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 2012 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 0 | |
Manchester City
Individual
