.jpg) Lindelöf playing forSweden in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victor Jörgen Nilsson Lindelöf[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1994-07-17)17 July 1994 (age 31)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Västerås, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back[4] | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| IK Franke | |||||||||||||||||
| Västerås IK | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Västerås SK | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Benfica | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Västerås SK | 50 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Benfica B | 96 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2017 | Benfica | 48 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2025 | Manchester United | 194 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Aston Villa | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Sweden U17 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Sweden U19 | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Sweden U21 | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016– | Sweden | 73 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:31, 12 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:02, 19 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Victor Jörgen Nilsson Lindelöf (Swedish:[ˈvɪk.tɔrˈlɪn.dɛˌløːv]; born 17 July 1994) is a Swedish professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forPremier League clubAston Villa andcaptains theSweden national team.
Lindelöf began his career in Sweden atVästerås SK, making his debut in October 2009. In December 2011, he agreed to move toBenfica in Portugal, initially representing the club atyouth andB levels. After making his first-team debut in September 2013, he continued to appear for the club at B level, while also winning threePrimeira Liga titles. He joined Premier League sideManchester United in July 2017, winning an EFL Cup in 2023, and also an FA Cup in 2024. He departed the club at the end of the 2024–25 season.
Lindelöf has represented Sweden atunder-17,under-19,under-21, and senior levels. He was a part of the winning squad of the2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made his senior international debut in March 2016 and represented his country atUEFA Euro 2016, the2018 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2020.
Lindelöf played for numerousVästerås-based clubs in his youth such asIK Franke,[5]Västerås IK andVästerås SK.[6]
In October 2009, at the age of 15, Lindelöf made his first-team debut for Västerås SK, when the team beatBK Forward 3–0 in the last round of the2009 Division 1 Norra season.[7] In the following season, he helped his team advance a step higher in theSwedish league system, as they were promoted to thesecond highest league.[8] In 2011, he travelled to England to have a trial withStoke City, but they did not make an offer for him.[6]
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On 1 December 2011, Lindelöf agreed to join Portuguese clubBenfica in the summer of 2012,[9] and on 8 June 2015, the contract was extended until 2020.[10] In the 2012–13 season, he played for theyouth team and won thePortuguese under-19 championship.[11] On 19 October 2013, he debuted for the first-team in a 1–0Portuguese Cup win againstCD Cinfães, playing the full match. In the 2013–14 season, he scored 2 goals in 33 matches for thereserve team.[11]
In the2015–16 season, he returned to the first-team in a 1–0 win againstNacional in theTaça da Liga.[12] On 16 February 2016, he played the entire match for Benfica in a 1–0 home win againstZenit Saint Petersburg in the first leg ofUEFA Champions League'sround of 16.[13] Four days later, he scored his first goal for Benfica, in a 3–1Primeira Liga victory atPaços de Ferreira.[14] On 28 May 2017, he played in theTaça de Portugal final, which Benfica won overVitória de Guimarães (2–1).[15] By the time he was leaving Benfica he had won three Primeira Liga titles, two Taça de Portugal titles and one Taça da Liga title.[citation needed]
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On 10 June 2017,Manchester United announced that they had agreed a deal with Benfica to sign Lindelöf for a fee of €35 million (with a potential €10 million in add-ons),[16] pending the agreement of personal terms and the player passing a medical.[17] Due to a previous sell-on clause, €3 million of the transfer fee was given to former club Västerås SK, making them amongst the richest clubs in Sweden at the time.[18] Lindelöf passed his medical at theTrafford Training Centre on 14 June, with the Swede signing a four-year contract with the option of an extra year; Manchester United announced that the contract would begin on 1 July.[19][20]
He made his official debut for the club againstReal Madrid in the2017 UEFA Super Cup; however, it was more than two months before hisPremier League debut, brought on during added time againstLiverpool on 14 October.[21] He was limited to just 17 Premier League matches, starting 13 of them, due toJose Mourinho's preference of playing a defensive partnership ofChris Smalling andPhil Jones.[22]
In the 2018–19 season, Lindelöf became Mourinho's preferred centre-back and was playing more often than he did in the previous season. He played the full 90 minutes in the first match of the season on 11 August 2018 against Leicester City, which ended in a 2–1 home win.[23] He further went on to start in 11 out of 13 league matches before Jose Mourinho was sacked in December 2018 and replaced withOle Gunnar Solskjær.[22] Lindelöf scored his first goal for Manchester United on 29 January 2019, scoring their second goal in a 2–2 league draw at home toBurnley.[24]
In September 2019, Lindelöf signed a new contract until 2024, with the option of a further year.[25] On 1 December 2019, he played 90 minutes and scored his only goal in the season in a league match against Aston Villa that ended 2–2 draw.[26] He ended the season making 35 appearances and scoring one goal in the league, the third most in league appearances within the club that season coming behindHarry Maguire andDavid de Gea who both played all 38 matches, forming a defensive partnership with Maguire in the process.[27][28]
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On 20 December 2020, Lindelöf scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season in a 6–2 home win againstLeeds United.[29] He played the full 90 minutes on 2 February 2021 in Manchester United's Premier League record-equalling9–0 home win againstSouthampton.[30] On 26 May 2021, he played the full 120 minutes as Manchester United lost in the2021 UEFA Europa League final toVillarreal after a 10–11penalty shoot-out in which Lindelöf scored United's 10th penalty kick.[31]
Lindelöf spent the majority of the season serving as a backup toLisandro Martínez andRaphaël Varane, alongside Harry Maguire,[32] until the centre-back pairing both fell injured in a 2–2UEFA Europa League draw withSevilla in April.[33] Promoted to first-choice, he would play the full 120 minutes of Manchester United'sFA Cup semi-final victory againstBrighton & Hove Albion on 23 April, where he scored the winning penalty in the shootout which ended 7–6 in United's favour, securing a place in the final againstManchester City.[34] He also played theFA Cup-final against Manchester City on 3 June, which City won 2–1.[35] At the conclusion of the season, Lindelöf was the most accurate passer in the league, with a pass completion rate of 93.1%.[36]
On 11 November 2023, Lindelöf scored his first goal for Manchester United since December 2020 in a 1–0 win overLuton Town at Old Trafford.[37] In December 2023, Manchester United announced they triggered their option to extend Victor Lindelof's contract by a year, until July 2025.[38]
On 2 March 2025, Lindelöf missed a penalty in a fifth roundFA Cup penalty shootout againstFulham. Lindelof's kick was too central, allowing Fulham to knock Manchester United out of the competition.[39]
In May 2025, Manchester United announced that Lindelöf would be leaving once his contract expired at the end of the2024–25 season.[40]
On 1 September 2025, Lindelöf joinedAston Villa on a free transfer.[41] On 13 September 2025, he made his Aston Villa debut as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 away draw atEverton, playing in midfield.[42] After an injury toPau Torres, withTyrone Mings already unavailable through injury, Lindelöf started his first league game for Villa on 14 December 2025, a 3–2 victory away atWest Ham United, in which he assistedMorgan Rogers' winning goal.[43]
Lindelöf made his debut for theunder-21 team on 14 October 2014, in the second leg of thequalification play-offs againstFrance.[citation needed]
Although Lindelöf was not named in the final squad for theUEFA European Under-21 Championship, on 15 June 2015 he replaced defenderEmil Krafth who was ruled out of the tournament after a back injury.[44] He made his debut in the tournament in the first game againstItaly. On 30 June 2015 he successfully converted Sweden's fifth and last penalty againstPortugal in a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory inthe final to become European under-21 champion.[45] He was named in theTeam of the Tournament.[46]
Lindelöf received his first call up to the seniorSweden squad in March 2016 for friendlies againstTurkey andCzech Republic.[47] He debuted for the country in a 2–1 away loss to Turkey on 24 March 2016.[48]
He was selected in Sweden's squad forUEFA Euro 2016 in France, where he started all three of theirgroup games, although Sweden failed to progress to the round of 16. Lindelöf was also selected in Sweden's 35-man provisional squad for the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,[49] but was prevented from participating in the tournament by his club Benfica, who believed that the involvement of their players in the Olympics would harm their chances for the following season.[50]
Lindelöf scored his first international goal for Sweden in a 3–0 win overBulgaria in a2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier atFriends Arena in Stockholm on 10 October 2016.[51]
In May 2018, he was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for theFIFA World Cup in Russia.[52] Lindelöf missed the first game againstSouth Korea due to illness, but was a regular starter in defense alongside fellow centre-backAndreas Granqvist for the remainder of the tournament.[53] Lindelöf and Sweden were eliminated in thequarter final againstEngland.[54]
In March 2019, Lindelöf was called up for Sweden'sUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Romania and Norway. However, he chose to withdraw from the squad, citing personal reasons, namely the birth of his first child. He was replaced byAnton Tinnerholm.[55]
He represented Sweden atUEFA Euro 2020, and appeared in all four games as Sweden reached theround of 16 before being eliminated byUkraine.[56]
On 11 August 2021, Lindelöf was named asAndreas Granqvist's successor as captain by Sweden coachJanne Andersson following Granqvist's retirement after the tournament.[57]
Following his move to Manchester United in 2017, Lindelöf announced his engagement to his long-time girlfriend Maja Nilsson.[58] They got married at the end of May 2018, in Sweden.[59] In March 2019, their first son was born.[60] Their second son was born in October 2021.[61]
While in his home city in August 2020, Lindelöf witnessed the robbery of a 90-year-old woman by a man on a bike; Lindelöf chased the thief on foot and managed to catch him, holding him until the police arrived. The police later thanked Lindelöf for his "quick and wise intervention".[62]
In January 2022, while Lindelöf was playing the full 90 minutes againstBrentford in a 3–1 win, hisManchester home was broken into by intruders whilst he was on the pitch. His wife and two children were at home but hid and were left unharmed.[63]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Västerås SK | 2009[64] | Division 1 Norra | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2010[64] | Division 1 Norra | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||||
| 2011[64] | Superettan | 27 | 0 | 1[65] | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||||
| 2012[64] | Division 1 Norra | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
| Benfica B | 2012–13[66] | Segunda Liga | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14[66] | Segunda Liga | 33 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||||
| 2014–15[66] | Segunda Liga | 41 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 41 | 2 | |||||
| 2015–16[66] | LigaPro | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 96 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 4 | ||
| Benfica | 2013–14[66] | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[66] | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[66] | Primeira Liga | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | |
| 2016–17[66] | Primeira Liga | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| Total | 48 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 | 2 | ||
| Manchester United | 2017–18[67] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 2018–19[68] | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20[69] | Premier League | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4[f] | 0 | — | 47 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[70] | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[g] | 0 | — | 45 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[71] | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[72] | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7[f] | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[73] | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25[74] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[f] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| Total | 194 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 284 | 4 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2025–26[75] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[f] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
| Career total | 400 | 10 | 31 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 68 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 524 | 10 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | |||
| 2016 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 73 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 October 2016 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Bulgaria | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 20 November 2018 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Russia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B |
| 3 | 5 September 2019 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands | 3–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Västerås SK
Benfica[77]
Manchester United
Sweden U21
Individual
Sweden squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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