Lindon Selahi (born 26 February 1999) 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 a

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 ...

for

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

club

Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-wh ...

. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Albania national team.

Early life

Selahi was born in

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

, Belgium to an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

family from North Macedonia. He started playing football at the age of 4 with local clubs.

Club career

Youth career

Selahi started his football career in local clubs, he joined

UR Namur Union Namur, formerly known as Union Royale Namur, is a Belgian football club based in Namur, capital of Namur Province. The team currently play in the National Division 1, the third tier of Belgian football. They are often nicknamed ''Les Merl ...

which played in the second division at this time, he regularly played with older boys and was captain of his teams. He was noticed by

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

staff and joined the club in 2011. He left the Walloon club to join

RSC Anderlecht Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Div ...

, then he joined

again in 2016. During his youth career at Standard Liège and Anderlecht, Selahi has played with many players of the talented 99-born generation, many of them became professional football players in and outside Belgium.

Standard Liège

In June 2016, Selahi signed his first professional contract with

. Selahi made his professional debut for Standard Liège in a 3-1

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

win over

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

on 10 May 2018.

Twente

On 6 June 2019, Selahi signed a two-year contract with an option of further one with the Dutch club

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

. He made his official debut in a league game against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

and scored his first Eredivisie goal on 25 October 2019 against

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch professional football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1925, the club ...

Loan to Willem II Tilburg

On 15 January 2021, Selahi moved to Dutch club

Willem II Tilburg Willem II Tilburg (), commonly known simply as Willem II, is a Dutch football club (association football), football club based in Tilburg, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch footb ...

, on loan until the end of the season.

HNK Rijeka

On 24 July 2021, Selahi signed a three-year contract with Croatian club

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...

, he arrived as a free agent.

Widzew Łódź

On 1 July 2025, Selahi joined Polish club

on a three-year deal, with an option for a fourth year, where he was reunited with his former Rijeka manager

Željko Sopić Željko Sopić (born 26 July 1974) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Widzew Łódź. Club career Sopić started his professional career with NK Zagreb in 1994 and spent f ...

. Selahi was brought in as a key addition to support the club’s strategic restructuring aimed at building a team capable of competing at the European level, under the leadership of new owner Robert Dobrzycki, CEO of Panattoni.

International career

Selahi was born in Belgium, his family is of Albanian descent from

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, his grandparents left

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

in the late 1950s then moved to Belgium in the 1960s. Selahi's family still lives in Belgium today but is attached to the Albanian homeland, all of them speak perfect Albanian. Selahi was a youth international footballer for Belgium. He had the choice between several national teams: Kosovo, Albania, Belgium and North Macedonia but he chose to represent Albania and obtained an Albanian passport in 2018. Selahi also represented the Albania U17s in a pair of friendly tournaments in 2015. He made his debut with the Albania U21 national team against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. In October 2019, he was called by the senior Albania national team. He made his debut on 14 October 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. He substituted Keidi Bare in the 89th minute.

Personal life

Selahi is the cousin of fellow professional footballer Ardon Jashari, who plays as a

for

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

side

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

, and represents the Switzerland national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Standard Liège *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: 2017–18 Rijeka *

Croatian Football 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 ...

: 2024–25 *

Croatian Football Cup The Croatian Football Cup (), is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the HNL championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS ...

: 2024–25

References

External links

* *
Fox Sports Profile

Standard Profile

Career stats
- Voetbal International {{DEFAULTSORT:Selahi, Lindon 1999 births Living people Footballers from Namur (city) Belgian people of Albanian descent Belgian people of Macedonian descent Men's association football midfielders Albanian men's footballers Albania men's youth international footballers Albania men's international footballers Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Standard Liège players FC Twente players Willem II Tilburg players HNK Rijeka players Widzew Łódź players Belgian Pro League players Eredivisie players Croatian Football League players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Albanian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Poland 21st-century Belgian sportsmen 21st-century Albanian sportsmen