Viktor Claesson
FullnameViktor Johan Anton Claesson[1]
Birth date2 January 1992 (age 34)
Birth placeVärnamo, Sweden
Height1.83 m[1]
PositionLeft winger
CurrentclubVärnamo
Clubnumber7
Youthyears 1–2008
Youthclubs 1IFK Värnamo
Years 12008–2011
Clubs 1Värnamo
Caps 171
Goals 129
Years 22012–2016
Clubs 2IF Elfsborg
Caps 2134
Goals 232
Years 32017–2022
Clubs 3Krasnodar
Caps 3114
Goals 332
Years 42022–2026
Clubs 4Copenhagen
Caps 4123
Goals 431
Years 52026–
Clubs 5Värnamo
Caps 50
Goals 50
Nationalyears 12008
Nationalteam 1Sweden U17
Nationalcaps 12
Nationalgoals 10
Nationalyears 22009–2010
Nationalteam 2Sweden U19
Nationalcaps 29
Nationalgoals 23
Nationalyears 32011–2015
Nationalteam 3Sweden U21
Nationalcaps 320
Nationalgoals 31
Nationalyears 42012–2023
Nationalteam 4Sweden
Nationalcaps 474
Nationalgoals 415
Pcupdate20:04, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

Viktor Johan Anton Claesson (ˈvɪ̌kːtɔr ˈklɑ̌ːsɔn; born 2 January 1992) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Värnamo, which he captains. He is known for his passing and set piece abilities.[2][3]

A full international between 2012 and 2023, Claesson won 74 caps and scored 15 goals for the Sweden national team. He represented his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career

Early career

Claesson started his career with local club IFK Värnamo. After progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut in 2009 in a Division 1 Södra match. After a breakthrough campaign during the 2011 Superettan season, Claesson join IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football.

Krasnodar

On 25 January 2017, Claesson signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League team FC Krasnodar.[4] He scored on his debut on 16 February 2017 in a 1–0 Europa League Round of 32 win against Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe, 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 a Russian Cup game against FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast on 28 February 2017[6] and a goal against Celta de Vigo in the first leg of Europa League Round of 16 on 9 March 2017.[7]

Claesson missed all of the 2019–20 season with a serious knee injury.[8]

2020–21 season

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 over Arsenal Tula in the Russian Premier League.[8] On 18 September, he scored his first two goals since his return from injury in a 7–2 thrashing of Khimki.[9] Four days later, Claesson scored from the penalty spot in the club's first-leg play-off round match against PAOK for qualification to the group stage of the UEFA 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]

2021–22 season

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]

Copenhagen

On 30 March 2022, Claesson signed with Copenhagen 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]

International career

In May 2018, Claesson was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the 2018 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 a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Spain on 10 June 2019, Claesson suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing the cruciate knee ligaments, after a clash with Jordi Alba.[8]

He was named in Sweden's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, and appeared in all four games as Sweden was eliminated in the round of 16 by Ukraine.[17] He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win against Poland 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]

Career statistics

Club

[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[a]EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IFK Värnamo2009Division 1 Södra165———165
2010Division 1 Södra251110—202811
2011Superettan291310——3013
Total702920—207429
IF Elfsborg2012Allsvenskan275006[b]2—337
2013Allsvenskan233308[c]3—346
2014Allsvenskan265726[b]0—397
2015Allsvenskan2911536[b]1—4015
2016Allsvenskan29832——3210
Total134321872660017845
Krasnodar2016–17Russian Premier League131124[b]2–185
2017–18Russian Premier League3010004[b]2—3412
2018–19Russian Premier League2912419[b]2—4215
2019–20Russian Premier League000000—00
2020–21Russian Premier League246108[d]2—338
2021–22Russian Premier League18320——203
Total11432832580014743
Copenhagen2021–22Danish Superliga101———101
2022–23Danish Superliga3013738[e]1—4517
2023–24Danish Superliga2554011[e]210417
2024–25Danish Superliga2866111[f]1—458
2025–26Danish Superliga3065113[e]0—487
Total123312254341018940
Career total4411245015941830588157
  1. ^ Includes Svenska Cupen, Russian Cup, Danish Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

[20]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden201221
201320
201400
201500
201630
2017122
2018141
201943
202051
2021153
202282
202392
Total7415

[21]

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Claesson goal.
List of international goals scored by Viktor Claesson
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
123 January 2012Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, QatarQatar2–05–0Friendly[22]
228 March 2017Estádio do Marítimo, Funchal, PortugalPortugal1–23–2Friendly[23]
32–2
410 September 2018Friends Arena, Solna, SwedenTurkey2–02–32018–19 UEFA Nations League B[24]
523 March 2019Friends Arena, Solna, SwedenRomania2–02–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying[25]
626 March 2019Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, NorwayNorway1–23–3UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying[26]
77 June 2019Friends Arena, Solna, SwedenMalta2–03–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying[27]
817 November 2020Stade de France, Saint-Denis, FranceFrance1–02–42020–21 UEFA Nations League A[28]
925 March 2021Friends Arena, Solna, SwedenGeorgia1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification[29]
1023 June 2021Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, RussiaPoland3–23–2UEFA Euro 2020[30]
112 September 2021Friends Arena, Solna, SwedenSpain2–12–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification[31]
1224 September 2022Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, SerbiaSerbia1–01–42022–23 UEFA Nations League B[32]
1319 November 2022Stadion, Malmö, Malmö, SwedenAlgeria2–02–0Friendly[33]
149 September 2023Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, EstoniaEstonia5–05–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying[34]
1519 November 2023Friends Arena, Solna, SwedenEstonia1–02–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying[35]

Honours

Elfsborg

Copenhagen

Sweden

Individual

References

  1. ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Viktor Claesson". Svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Elfsborg.se". Elfsborg.se. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Краснодар укрепил рядыВиктором Клаэссоном" (in Russian). fckrasnodar.ru. FC Krasnodar. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Krasnodar-Fenerbahce game report". UEFA. 16 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Ural-Krasnodar game report" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Celta-Krasnodar game report". UEFA. 9 March 2017.
  8. ^ ""It's like learning to walk again." Viktor Claesson returns after a year on the sidelines". Premier Liga. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Krasnodar thrash Khimki in a goal frenzy". Dugout. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.[dead link]
  10. ^ "Krasnodar 2–1 PAOK: Cabella edges hosts in front". UEFA. 22 September 2020.
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  29. ^ "Sverige – Georgien – Matchfakta – Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll.se. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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  37. ^ "Mediano Superliga: Tillykke til FC København". Mediano. 25 May 2025.
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