.jpg) Krstović in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2000-04-05)5 April 2000 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Golubovci,Montenegro,FR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Atalanta | ||
| Number | 90 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2017 | Zeta | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Zeta | 92 | (37) |
| 2019–2021 | Red Star Belgrade | 21 | (2) |
| 2020 | →Grafičar Beograd (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 2021–2023 | DAC Dunajská Streda | 56 | (29) |
| 2023–2025 | Lecce | 72 | (18) |
| 2025– | Atalanta | 10 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2017 | Montenegro U17 | 9 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Montenegro U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2017–2022 | Montenegro U21 | 27 | (7) |
| 2022– | Montenegro | 33 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:36, 9 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2025 | |||
Nikola Krstović (Montenegrin Cyrillic:Никола Крстовић; born 5 April 2000) is a Montenegrin professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forSerie A clubAtalanta and theMontenegro national team.
On 23 April 2016, Krstović made his competitive debut forZeta, being assigned the number 13 jersey. He came on as a second-half substitute for Filip Kukuličić in their 1–1 league draw away againstIskra Danilovgrad, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a1. CFL game at the age of 16 years and 18 days old.[1] Until the end of the2015–16 Montenegrin First League, Krstović would go on to play in three more fixtures (all as a substitute) as the club hovered around the middle of the table.
On 5 November 2016, Krstović made his first appearance of the 2016–17 season, entering the field during the second half of a 1–0 home league win overBokelj. He scored his first senior goals in March of the following year, netting a brace in a 3–0 away victory overJedinstvo Bijelo Polje,[2] making him the first player born in the 2000s to find the back of the net in the top flight of Montenegrin football.[3] In his first full season at Zeta, Krstović played in 19 games (all in the league) and bagged seven goals.[4]
On 29 June 2017, Krstović appeared as a starter for Zeta wearing the number 9 shirt in a 1–0 away loss toŽeljezničar Sarajevo in the first leg of the2017–18 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. He later scored an equalizer in the return tie a week later at home (the game ended in a 2–2 draw).[5] In October of the same year, Krstović netted his first seniorhat-trick and led his team to a 4–2 home win overKom.[6] He tallied 15 goals in 39 matches across all competitions throughout the season.
On 25 February 2019, Krstović signed with Serbian clubRed Star Belgrade until the summer of 2023 with an option for another year.[7] He remained on loan at Zeta until the end of the season, becoming theMontenegrin First League top scorer with 17 goals.[8]
On 5 September 2021,DAC has announced the signing of Krstović on a four-year contract. DAC's sporting director Jan Van Daele claimed that DAC had scouted Krstović since his youth years in Montenegro. He was given the jersey number 45. Krstović claimed gladness and honour following the contract signing.[9] In2022–23 Fortuna Liga season, Krstović became the league's top scorer, scoring 18 goals in 27 appearances, up from 4 goals in 11 matches in theprevious season.[10]
On 17 August 2023, Krstović signed forSerie A clubLecce.[11] Ten days later, on 27 August, he scored a goal on his debut againstFiorentina, securing a 2–2 draw.[12] Krstović also scored the opening goal at theStadio Via del mare asGiallorossi beatSalernitana 2–0 and a goal in a draw againstMonza (1–1), thus becoming the first Lecce player to score in his first three games with the club.[citation needed]
On 20 August 2025, Krstović moved toAtalanta and received squad number 90.[13]
Krstović was capped for Montenegro at all youth levels from under-17 through to under-21. He made his debuts for thenational under-21 team at theValeriy Lobanovskyi Memorial Tournament in June 2017, appearing in both of his side's matches whilst scoring a brace in a 3–2 victory overSlovenia U21 in the third-place game.[14] Later that year, Krstović netted a goal in aUEFA Under-21 Championship 2019 qualifier away toBulgaria, as Montenegro suffered a 3–1 loss.[15] On 28 March 2022, he made his senior debut in a home friendly match againstGreece.[16][failed verification] Krstović scored his first international goal in his fourth appearance on 24 March 2023, to giveMontenegro a 1–0 win away atBulgaria in a2024 European Championship qualifying match.[17][better source needed]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Zeta | 2015–16 | 1. CFL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 7 | |||
| 2017–18 | 36 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 15 | ||
| 2018–19 | 33 | 17 | 4 | 2 | — | 37 | 19 | |||
| Total | 92 | 37 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 41 | ||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2019–20 | Serbian SuperLiga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| Total | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 3 | ||
| Grafičar Beograd (loan) | 2019–20 | Serbian First League | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | |
| DAC 1904 | 2021–22 | Slovak Super Liga | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 9 | |
| 2022–23 | 27 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 6[c] | 5 | 35 | 26 | ||
| 2023–24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Total | 56 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 66 | 37 | ||
| Lecce | 2023–24 | Serie A | 35 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 7 | |
| 2024–25 | 37 | 11 | 1 | 1 | — | 38 | 12 | |||
| 2025–26 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 72 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 20 | ||
| Atalanta | 2025–26 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| Career total | 258 | 88 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 6 | 288 | 103 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montenegro | 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | |
| Total | 33 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 2023 | Huvepharma Arena,Razgrad, Bulgaria |  Bulgaria | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2 | 7 September 2023 | Darius and Girėnas Stadium,Kaunas, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 1–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 3 | 21 March 2024 | Mardan Sports Complex,Aksu, Turkey |  Belarus | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 19 November 2024 | Gradski stadion,Nikšić, Montenegro |  Turkey | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B |
| 5 | 2–1 | |||||
| 6 | 3–1 | |||||
| 7 | 14 November 2025 | Europa Sports Park, Gibraltar |  Gibraltar | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 18 November 2025 | Podgorica City Stadium,Podgorica, Montenegro |  Croatia | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Red Star Belgrade
Individual
