 Claesson playing forSweden in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Viktor Johan Anton Claesson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-01-02)2 January 1992 (age 34) | ||
| Place of birth | Värnamo, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Left winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Copenhagen | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2008 | IFK Värnamo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2011 | IFK Värnamo | 71 | (29) |
| 2012–2016 | IF Elfsborg | 134 | (32) |
| 2017–2022 | Krasnodar | 114 | (32) |
| 2022– | Copenhagen | 111 | (28) |
| International career | |||
| 2008 | Sweden U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Sweden U19 | 9 | (3) |
| 2011–2015 | Sweden U21 | 20 | (1) |
| 2012–2023 | Sweden | 74 | (15) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:02, 8 February 2026 (UTC) | |||
Viktor Johan Anton Claesson (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈvɪ̌kːtɔrˈklɑ̌ːsɔn]; born 2 January 1992) is a Swedish professionalfootballer who plays as aleft winger forDanish Superliga clubCopenhagen, which hecaptains. He is known for his passing and set piece abilities.[2][3]
A full international between 2012 and 2023, Claesson won 74caps and scored 15 goals for theSweden national team. He represented his country at the2018 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2020.
Claesson started his career with local clubIFK Värnamo. After progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut in 2009 in aDivision 1 Södra match. After a breakthrough campaign during the2011 Superettan season, Claesson joinIF Elfsborg in theAllsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football.
On 25 January 2017, Claesson signed a 3.5-year contract withRussian Premier League teamFC Krasnodar.[4] He scored on his debut on 16 February 2017 in a 1–0Europa League Round of 32 win against TurkishSüper Lig sideFenerbahçe, scoring a header on his first touch in any competitive Krasnodar game in the 4th minute. He was selected by UEFA as "Man of the Match".[5] He continued his form with two goals in aRussian Cup game againstFC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast on 28 February 2017[6] and a goal againstCelta de Vigo in the first leg ofEuropa League Round of 16 on 9 March 2017.[7]
Claesson missed all of the2019–20 season with a serious knee injury.[8]
Out of action for over 14 months, Claesson returned from injury on 18 August 2020, playing the last 15 minutes of Krasnodar's 2–0 home win overArsenal Tula in theRussian Premier League.[8] On 18 September, he scored his first two goals since his return from injury in a 7–2 thrashing ofKhimki.[9] Four days later, Claesson scored from the penalty spot in the club's first-legplay-off round match againstPAOK for qualification to the group stage of theUEFA Champions League.[10] Krasnodar would win the second leg against PAOK by the same scoreline and secure progression to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.[11]
On 3 March 2022 Krasnodar announced that his contract was suspended and he would not train with the team, but the contract was not terminated and remained valid.[12] On 5 March 2022, his contract was terminated and he was released from the club.[13]
On 30 March 2022, Claesson signed withCopenhagen in Denmark until the end of the season.[14] On 3 April, he scored the winning goal in his debut match for the club after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute.
On 16 June 2022, Claesson signed an extension with Copenhagen until 2026.[15]
In May 2018, Claesson was named inSweden's 23-man squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[16] He was one of Sweden's main men for the duration of the tournament, in which the Blågult reached the quarterfinals.
In aUEFA Euro 2020 qualifier againstSpain on 10 June 2019, Claesson suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing the cruciate knee ligaments, after a clash withJordi Alba.[8]
He was named in Sweden'sUEFA Euro 2020 squad, and appeared in all four games as Sweden was eliminated in theround of 16 byUkraine.[17] He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win againstPoland in the group stage.[17] On 19 November 2023, Claesson registered one goal and one assist against Estonia in their 2–0 win in their European Qualifiers game.
In October 2025, he announced his retirement from the national team. He was capped 74 times and scored 15 goals.[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| IFK Värnamo | 2009 | Division 1 Södra | 16 | 5 | — | — | — | 16 | 5 | |||
| 2010 | Division 1 Södra | 25 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 28 | 11 | ||
| 2011 | Superettan | 29 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 13 | |||
| Total | 70 | 29 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 74 | 29 | |||
| IF Elfsborg | 2012 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6[b] | 2 | — | 33 | 7 | |
| 2013 | Allsvenskan | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8[c] | 3 | — | 34 | 6 | ||
| 2014 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | ||
| 2015 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 6[b] | 1 | — | 40 | 15 | ||
| 2016 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 32 | 10 | |||
| Total | 134 | 32 | 18 | 7 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 178 | 45 | ||
| Krasnodar | 2016–17 | Russian Premier League | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4[b] | 2 | – | 18 | 5 | |
| 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 30 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 2 | — | 34 | 12 | ||
| 2018–19 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 9[b] | 2 | — | 42 | 15 | ||
| 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8[d] | 2 | — | 33 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | |||
| Total | 114 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 147 | 43 | ||
| Copenhagen | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Danish Superliga | 30 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 8[e] | 1 | — | 45 | 17 | ||
| 2023–24 | Danish Superliga | 25 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 11[e] | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 7 | |
| 2024–25 | Danish Superliga | 28 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 11[f] | 1 | — | 45 | 8 | ||
| 2025–26 | Danish Superliga | 18 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13[e] | 0 | — | 34 | 4 | ||
| Total | 111 | 28 | 20 | 5 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 175 | 37 | ||
| Career total | 429 | 121 | 48 | 15 | 94 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 574 | 154 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2012 | 2 | 1 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 15 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 2 | |
| Total | 74 | 15 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 January 2012 | Khalifa International Stadium,Doha, Qatar |  Qatar | 2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | [22] |
| 2 | 28 March 2017 | Estádio do Marítimo,Funchal, Portugal |  Portugal | 1–2 | 3–2 | Friendly | [23] |
| 3 | 2–2 | ||||||
| 4 | 10 September 2018 | Friends Arena,Solna, Sweden |  Turkey | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B | [24] |
| 5 | 23 March 2019 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Romania | 2–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | [25] |
| 6 | 26 March 2019 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–2 | 3–3 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | [26] |
| 7 | 7 June 2019 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Malta | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | [27] |
| 8 | 17 November 2020 | Stade de France,Saint-Denis, France |  France | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A | [28] |
| 9 | 25 March 2021 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Georgia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [29] |
| 10 | 23 June 2021 | Krestovsky Stadium,Saint Petersburg, Russia |  Poland | 3–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2020 | [30] |
| 11 | 2 September 2021 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Spain | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [31] |
| 12 | 24 September 2022 | Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia |  Serbia | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B | [32] |
| 13 | 19 November 2022 | Stadion, Malmö,Malmö, Sweden |  Algeria | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [33] |
| 14 | 9 September 2023 | Lilleküla Stadium,Tallinn, Estonia |  Estonia | 5–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [34] |
| 15 | 19 November 2023 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden | Estonia | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [35] |
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