 Rajković withSerbia at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Predrag Rajković[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1995-10-31)31 October 1995 (age 29) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Negotin,Serbia,FR Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al-Ittihad | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2009 | Hajduk Veljko | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2013 | Jagodina | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Jagodina | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Red Star Belgrade | 35 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 136 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Reims | 102 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Mallorca | 72 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Al-Ittihad | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Serbia U16 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Serbia U17 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Serbia U19 | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Serbia U20 | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Serbia U21 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013– | Serbia | 41 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:01, 15 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Predrag Rajković (Serbian Cyrillic:Предраг Рајковић,pronounced[prêdraːɡrǎːjkoʋitɕ]; born 31 October 1995) is a Serbian professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forSaudi Pro League clubAl-Ittihad and theSerbia national team.[3]
Born inNegotin, he started training when he was 7 years old with his father Saša, who is also a former goalkeeper ofHajduk Veljko.[4][5] He was with his hometown club until 2009, when he moved toJagodina. For next 4 years, he played for youth teams ofJagodina, and was with first team since2011–12 season, and was licensed with jersey number 45.[6] Next season,Bondžulić changed his squad number to 11 again, so Rajković took 1. Although Bondžulić was the first choice, Rajković mainly was his reserve in front of competitors Petar Jokić andStevica Zdravković.[7] He made his professional debut forJagodina on 9 March 2013 in aSerbian SuperLiga match versusPartizan.[8][9] Until the end of2012–13 season, he made one more match againstSmederevo.[10] AfterBondžulić's departure,Anđelko Đuričić joined Jagodina. After first fixture and lose againstNapredak Kruševac,Mladen Dodić decided to give Rajković a chance, because of his merits in winning2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[11] But, after 2 appearances in new season, Rajković left toRed Star Belgrade.[12] Jagodina should receive 30 percent of his next transfer.[13]
He signed a four-year contract withRed Star Belgrade on 28 August 2013, and took the jersey number 95, according to year of his birth.[14] He acted as a backup toBoban Bajković, and fought for a place on the bench withMiloš Vesić. He made his official debut forRed Star in last fixture againstVojvodina.[15]
AfterBajković's andVesić's departures, Rajković stayed with a year youngerFilip Manojlović andMarko Trkulja who returned fromSpartak Subotica, where he was on loan. Club management decided to sign a more experienced goalkeeper, andDamir Kahriman joinedRed Star. But Kahriman couldn't play at the beginning of the season because of administrative problems, so Rajković started the season as a first choice. AfterMilijaš's departure,Mijailović's suspension,Luković's injury, andLazović's conflict with management, coachNenad Lalatović decided to give the captain's armband to Rajković.[16] He had 16 clean sheets in 28 league appearances, and was selected as the best goalkeeper in2014–15 season, chosen by other players.[17]
On 29 June 2015, Rajković signed a new three-year contract with Red Star, after days of speculation about his potential transfer away from the club.[18] After winning2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup inNew Zealand and the award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, many European clubs wanted Rajković, including FrenchLigue 1 clubLyon, Belgian sideClub Brugge and according to some reports Italian giantSerie A clubA.C. Milan. TheCrvena zvezda captain was also a top target forParis Saint Germain along withKevin Trapp, who signed for Les Parisiens at the end. Rajković was the best member in team during both matches againstKairat in thefirst qualifying round of theEuropa League. Rajković kept the team from suffering a deeper loss with some incredible saves. The coach ofKairat,Vladimír Weiss, said after the game that Rajković is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.[19] After great saves in first rounds of theSerbian SuperLiga, despite Zvezda's poor start, Turkish championGalatasaray declared interest in him.
Predrag Rajković was one of the contestants at2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw, which took place at theKonstantinovsky Palace inStrelna,Saint Petersburg on 25 July 2015.
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On 29 August 2015, Rajković signed a five-year contract withMaccabi Tel Aviv. The transfer fee was €3 million.[20] On 30 August, Rajković made hisIsraeli Premier League debut in a 1–0 victory overHapoel Be'er Sheva during the second league match of the season.[21] Rajković made 43 appearances in all competitions, includingIsraeli Premier League,State Cup,Toto Cup in which he did not play andUEFA Champions League. He noted 21 clean sheets at total until the end of 2015–16 season.[22] Rajković also continued playing as the first choicegoalkeeper in the2016–17 Israeli Premier League season. During the first half-season, he also made 14 appearances in theUEFA Europa League, which the club ended at third place in group stage. Rajković made an assist toViðar Örn Kjartansson in theState Cup match againstHapoel Bnei Lod played on 7 January 2017, saving a shot from the opponent's previous attack.[23] In May same year, Rajković was elected for the club's player of the season in an inner club event.[24] On 14 December 2017, Rajković won theToto Cup trophy with Maccabi, beatingHapoel Be'er Sheva infinal match of the competition.[25]
On 23 July 2019, Rajković signed a four-year contract withStade de Reims. The transfer fee was €3 million. Rajkovic was brought in for the outgoingEdouard Mendy, who was on his way toStade Rennais after a summer of heavy speculation on his future.Mendy had been hugely impressive in his first season inLigue 1, keeping 14clean sheets bettered only byLyon'sAnthony Lopes andNice'sWalter Benitez. In his first season in theChampagne region, Rajković will have youth academy productNicolas Lemaitre as a backup. Rajković made his debut on 10 August 2019 in a 2–0 away win againstMarseille.[26]
On 22 July 2022, Rajković signed forLa Liga clubMallorca on a four-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Reims was of €4.5 million, with a sell-on clause included in the deal as well.[27]
On 5 August 2024, Rajković was transferred toSaudi Pro League clubAl-Ittihad.[28]
Rajković was a member of the Serbia U-16 andSerbia U-17 national teams.[29]Radovan Ćurčić, coach ofSerbia U-21, called him for a friendly match againstIsrael, played on 6 February 2013.[30] Rajković was one of the most deserving players for winning the2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, when he saved goal many times with great interventions and stopped penalties.[31]
In 2014, Rajković represented the Serbian youth team that lost againstPortugal in the semi-final after penalties.[32] In the quarter-final, Rajković saved two penalties and missed one in a penalty shootout against the United States. AfterMaksimović's goal, Serbia advanced to the next round.[33] In the final, Rajković was one of the most important men on the field, keeping the result with incredible saves, being awarded the best goalkeeper in the competition.[34]
In 2013, Rajković received his first call-up for theSerbian senior squad under coachSiniša Mihajlović.[35] He debuted the same year on 7 August in afriendly match againstColombia.[36]
Rajković was selected in Serbia's squad for the2018[37] and2022 FIFA World Cups,[38] but did not make any appearance in both tournaments.
Rajković was selected in Serbia's squad for theUEFA Euro 2024. He played in all three group stage matches, againstEngland,Slovenia andDenmark.[39]Serbia finished fourth in the group.
On 8 August 2018, Rajković married his Serbian girlfriend Ana Cakić. Predrag picked his teammate from the Serbia national team,Saša Zdjelar, for his best man on the wedding. They have two sons and a daughter together.[40]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jagodina | 2011–12 | Serbian SuperLiga | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2013–14 | Serbian SuperLiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2015–16 | Israeli Premier League | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14[d] | 0 | — | 57 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 14[d] | 0 | — | 56 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[d] | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | |||
| Total | 136 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 42 | 0 | — | 202 | 0 | |||
| Reims | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 107 | 0 | |||
| Mallorca | 2022–23 | La Liga | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 72 | 0 | |||||
| Al-Ittihad | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 374 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 451 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 0 | |
Jagodina
Red Star Belgrade
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Al-Ittihad
Serbia
Individual
Serbia squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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