Bassel Zakaria Jradi (, ; born 6 July 1993) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

. Born in Denmark, he plays for the Lebanon national team. Jradi began his senior career at

B.93 Boldklubben af 1893, commonly referred to as B.93, is a football club based in Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second level of the Danish football league system, after achieving promotion in the ...

in Denmark, later playing for AB and briefly for

Nordsjælland North Zealand, also North Sealand (), refers to the northeastern part of the Danish island of Zealand. The Danish tourist authorities have recently introduced the term Danish Riviera to cover the area in view of its increasing importance for to ...

. In 2014, he moved to Norway with

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

, had a loan spell at

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

, and enjoyed a standout 2017 season, earning a nomination for "People’s Favourite Player" at the . He joined

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

in Croatia in 2018, scoring in key matches including the Eternal derby, before leaving in 2021. Jradi then helped Cypriot club

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

win the 2021–22 Cypriot league title, played for

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club () is a professional football club based in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Known as Bangkok University Football Club until 2009, the club was relegated from the 2010 Thai Premier League only four years afte ...

in Thailand in 2023, and returned to Cyprus in 2025 to join AEL Limassol. Internationally, Jradi represented Denmark at all youth levels from U16 to U21 before switching allegiance to Lebanon in 2015. He participated in the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and 2023 AFC Asian Cups, scoring in the latter.

Club career

B.93

Jradi began his youth career at Skjold aged five. He moved to

aged seven, and made his senior debut in the

Danish 2nd Division The 2nd Division () is a professional association football league for men and the third division in Denmark. It is organised by the Divisionsforeningen on behalf of the Danish Football Association (Danish FA; DBU) as part of the nation-wide Da ...

on 30 April 2011 in the 2010–11 season, in a 4–2 home defeat to LFA. Jradi became the first player born after B.93's 100-year anniversary (19 May 1993) to debut for their first team. In the following match, he scored a brace and assisted once in a 4–2 win against

Avarta Boldklubben Avarta is a Danish professional football club currently competing in the 3rd division, which ranks as the fourth-highest league in the country. Avarta's home ground is Tømrermester Jim Jensens Park in Rødovre, Copenhagen ...

. Jradi started the 2011–12 season by scoring in his first two matches, against

Hvidovre Hvidovre is the main town in Hvidovre Municipality, Denmark. The town, a suburb of Copenhagen, is about 10 km southwest of the capital's center. It is the 2nd biggest suburb of Copenhagen, only beaten by Frederiksberg. History Hvidovre has ...

(2–1 defeat) and

Skjold Birkerød Skjold may refer to: Places *Skjold, Bergen, a neighborhood in Bergen municipality in Vestland county, Norway *Skjold, Rogaland, a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway *Skjold (municipality), a former municipality in Rogal ...

(2–1 win). In the second-to-last game of the season, he was sent off in a 2–1 defeat against

Svebølle Svebølle is a railway town, with a population of 2,288 (1 January 2025), Jradi played 33 games and scored eight goals for B.93.

AB

Having gone on trial for Danish club OB and English club Blackburn Rovers in 2011, Jradi moved to

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

side AB in summer 2012. He scored eight goals and made three assists, making him the club's top scorer of the season.

Nordsjælland

At the end of the 2012–13 season, Jradi signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with

Superliga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

side

. He didn't feature much for the side, only playing four league games and a match in the

UEFA Europa League play-offs The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, ...

Strømsgodset and loan to Lillestrøm

In July 2014, Jradi was purchased by

, and signed a contract which lasted until the end of 2017. In January 2016, he signed for

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

on loan until the end of the year, scoring four league goals in 26 games. Thanks to his performances during the

2017 Eliteserien The 2017 Eliteserien was the 73rd completed season of top-tier football in Norway. The season began on 1 April 2017 and ended on 26 November 2017, not including play-off matches. This was first season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen. ...

season with Strømsgodset, scoring 10 goals and assisting seven, Jradi was nominated for the "''Folkets favorittspiller''" (People's favourite player) award at the ; he then made it to the final shortlist of four people.

Hajduk Split

2018–19 season

On 11 August 2018, Jradi joined

Croatian First League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

club

on a two-year deal. His first goal for the club came on 10 May 2019, in a 2–0 home win over

Slaven Slaven may refer to: * Slaven (given name) * Slaven (surname) Slaven is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernie Slaven (born 1960), Scottish-born Irish football player * Mick Slaven (born 1961), Scottish musician See also * ...

. He scored once again in the following matchday, played four days later, against

Rudeš Rudeš is a neighbourhood of Zagreb, Croatia, within the Trešnjevka – sjever district. The area covered by the local city council Rudeš has a population of 9,725 (2011). In Rudeš, there is also an elementary school called "Elementary school ...

in a 4–1 away win. Jradi ended the 2018–19 season with two goals in 25 appearances, helping his side finish fourth in the league.

2019–20 season

On 18 July 2019, Jradi scored his first Europa League qualifier goal in the home game against

Gżira United Gżira () is a town in the Eastern Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 11,699 as of January 2019. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese, and the town is named ...

of Malta. However, his side lost on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

and were knocked out of the qualifiers. In the Eternal derby against

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

in the league, on 31 August 2019, Jradi scored the lone goal in the 56th minute, before being sent off after receiving two yellow cards during the match. Thanks to his performance in the game, Jradi was nominated Man of the Match and helped his side reach the top of the table for the first time in 1,399 days. After the game, the player stated: "This was a crazy game with crazy fans. Incredible. Red cards, goals, everything was crazy". On 29 June 2020, Hajduk Split extended Jradi's contract, which was due to expire in July, for an additional year. On 25 July 2020, Jradi scored from outside the box and assisted a goal against

Inter Zaprešić Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Fi ...

in a 4–1 away win on the last matchday of the season. Jradi ended the season with three league goals in 32 games.

2020–21 season

On 29 August 2020, in matchday 3 of the league, Jradi provided his first assist of the season against

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo (), often referred to as Slaven Belupo, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Koprivnica in the north of Croatia. They play their home matches at Gradski stadion in Koprivnica. They play in ...

, in a 2–2 draw. In February 2021, Jradi refused to renew his contract with Hajduk Split, wanting to move to another team on a free transfer the following summer transfer window. The management sent him to train with the reserves for the rest of the season as a form of "punishment". According to the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation (, HNS) is the national governing body of football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible f ...

, however, he couldn't play official games as "a player older than 21 who has already played at least five games during the season for the first team cannot play for the B team". On 21 May, Jradi and Hajduk Split agreed to terminate the contract on mutual consent; he scored seven goals in 81 games in all competitions in his three-year stay.

Apollon Limassol

On 22 June 2021, Jradi joined

side

. He scored on his club debut on 22 July, in a 3–1 defeat to

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualification. Jradi also scored in the away game against Žilina one week later, with the match ending 2–2. On 23 August, he scored in the first matchday of the 2021–22 league season, helping Apollon win 4–2 against

Ethnikos Achna Ethnikos Achna Football Club (), commonly known as Ethnikos Achna, or simply Ethnikos, is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional Association football, football club based in the village of Dasaki Achnas. Founded in 1968, the club currently plays in the ...

. In May 2022, Jradi was shortlisted in the 2021–22 PASP Football Awards as one of 11 nominees in the

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

position. With three goals in 22 league games, he helped Apollon win the league title for the first time in 15 seasons.

Bangkok United

On 27 July 2023,

Thai League 1 The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

side

announced the signing of Jradi; he was assigned the number 10 kit. Jradi played 49 games and scored 12 goals in all competitions throughout in two seasons with Bangkok United.

AEL Limassol

On 15 June 2025, Jradi returned to the Cypriot First Division, signing for

International career

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark to Lebanese parents, Jradi is eligible to play for both Denmark and Lebanon internationally.

Denmark

After impressing during his season with AB in 2012–13, Jradi represented Denmark internationally at under-20 and under-21 levels. He played for Denmark at all youth levels (from the under-16s to the under-21s) between 2008 and 2013, playing a combined 23 games and scoring twice.

Lebanon

Eligible to represent Lebanon through his descent, Jradi made his debut for their senior team on 26 August 2015; he scored the temporary 2–1 goal in a friendly against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, which eventually finished in a 3–2 defeat. After the match, regarding his national team choice between Lebanon and Denmark, he stated: "both countries mean a lot to me. It's a big decision". Although in January 2018 Jradi had stated that he aimed to play for Denmark, in November of the same year he was called up for

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

for the friendly matches against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In December 2018, he was called up for the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...

squad. After playing the whole 90 minutes in the first group stage game against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, Jradi fell into a disagreement with coach

Miodrag Radulović Miodrag Radulović (; born 23 October 1967) is a Montenegrin professional football manager and former player who is the coach of the Lebanon national team. Club career Born in Titograd, Montenegro, his football career began in 1980 at Budućno ...

and was subsequently ruled out of the national team for the rest of the tournament. On 5 September 2019, the

Lebanese Football Association The Lebanese Football Association (LFA; ; ) is the governing body of association football in Lebanon. Formed in 1933, it is a member of both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, AFC. It is also one of the founding members of the West Asian ...

(LFA) announced Jradi's indefinite exclusion from the national team, alongside teammate

Joan Oumari Joan Noureddine Oumari (, ; born 19 August 1988) is a former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. After playing for eight seasons in Germany, between the Berlin-Liga, fifth and 2. Bundesliga, second divisio ...

, for refusing a call-up for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. After issuing an apology explaining his reasons for refusing the call-up, the LFA lifted the exclusions and Jradi was reintegrated to the national team on 19 September. In December 2023, Jradi was included in the Lebanese squad for the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

. He scored in the final game of the group stage, against

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

; Lebanon eventually lost 2–1 and was knocked out of the competition.

Style of play

Usually deployed as an

, Jradi can also play on both

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

, as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, or as a

false nine In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jradi goal.''

Honours

Strømsgodset *

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Apollon Limassol *

: 2021–22 *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Bangkok United *

Thailand Champions Cup The Thailand Champions Cup (continuing Kor Royal Cup, a different competition from the Thai Super Cup) is a single-game competition between the winners of previous Thai League 1 and Thai FA Cup, organised by the Football Association of Thailand. ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup (), known officially as The Football Association of Thailand Cup, is a football cup competition in Thailand. Thai FA Cup is an annual knockout association football competition in men's domestic football. It was held between 1974 a ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

Profile
at

FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish association football, football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the to ...

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at

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, that competes in the Croatian First Football League, Cro ...

Profile
at

Apollon Limassol FC Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has Association football, football, Apollon Limassol B.C., basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cyp ...