Rasmus Winther Højlund (; born 4 February 2003) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and the Denmark national team. Højlund graduated from

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 ...

's youth academy, making his first-team debut for the club aged 17 in October 2020. After scoring five goals in 32 appearances for Copenhagen, he joined Austrian club

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

in January 2022. Later that year, he was signed by

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

for €17 million, before moving to Manchester United in 2023 for an initial fee of £64 million. Højlund played youth international football for Denmark from under-16 to under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in September 2022.

Club career

Early career

Højlund was born in

and grew up in

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm proper ...

, Capital Region. He played youth football for and Brøndby, before joining

's youth system. He made his professional debut for F.C. Copenhagen at the age of 17 on 25 October 2020. In December 2020, he extended his contract with FCK until 31 December 2023. After the 2021 summer break, he was promoted to the first team squad. During the 2021–22 season, he made his debut in European competitions, contributing five goals in the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

across qualification rounds and the tournament proper. He scored his first two goals for FCK on 29 July 2021, when he was substituted at half-time in a match against FC Tarpedo-BelAZ Zhodino in the Conference League.

Sturm Graz

In January 2022, Højlund joined

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

club

for a reported fee of €1.8 million. He scored 12 goals in 21 games across all competitions during the remainder of the 2021–22 season and the start of the 2022–23 season.

Atalanta

On 27 August 2022, Højlund signed with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

in a deal worth a reported €17 million. He scored his first goal for Atalanta on 5 September in a 2–0 away win over

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. Initially confined to a substitute role at the beginning of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, he carved out a place for himself in the squad due to the poor form and injuries of usual starter, Duván Zapata. In January 2023, he went on to deliver several convincing performances, notably scoring four goals in four consecutive games.

Manchester United

On 29 July,

side

agreed a deal to sign Højlund from Atalanta for an initial £64 million fee plus £8 million in performance related add-ons, with the player agreeing a five-year deal with the option of an extra year. He was then announced officially as a United player on 5 August 2023, subject to international clearance.

2023–24: Debut season and adaptation

Højlund made his debut on 3 September, replacing

Anthony Martial Anthony Jordan Martial (; born 5 December 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays for Super League Greece club AEK Athens. After playing youth football for Les Ulis, Martial began his professional career at Lyon, before transferri ...

in the 67th minute of a Premier League match against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, which ended in a 3–1 defeat. On 20 September, Højlund scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 away defeat against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in the opening match of the 2023–24 Champions League. In United's second Champions League fixture against

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, he scored twice as United lost 3–2, and was named man of the match despite the defeat. On 8 November, Højlund scored twice on his return to

Parken Parken, currently known as Parken - Connected by 3 for sponsorship reasons, and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from ...

in a 4–3 defeat to his former club

. He became the youngest player to score twice in an away Champions League match for Manchester United. On 26 December, Højlund scored his first Premier League goal, the winner in a 3–2 home victory over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. The goal came in his fifteenth appearance for the club, as United fought from 2–0 down to win. On 4 February 2024, his 21st birthday, Højlund scored the opener in Manchester United's 3–0 victory over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. A week later on 11 February, Højlund opened the scoring again, this time against Aston Villa in a 2–1 away victory, becoming the second youngest player to ever score in five successive Premier League appearances, behind only

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

. On 18 February, he scored both of United's goals in a 2–1 victory over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

, the first of which came just 37 seconds into the match. This made him the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League games ahead of Joe Willock's previous record. After his performances in February, Højlund won the

Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 1 ...

, becoming the first Danish player in Premier League history to win the award. On 21 April, in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

semi-final against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

, Højlund scored the winning kick of the penalty shootout to send Manchester United to the 2024 FA Cup final after a 3–3 draw after extra time in a match that notably saw United throw away a 3–0 lead. In the final on 25 May, Højlund won his first trophy with the club as he featured as a late substitute for

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, on Loan (association football), lo ...

, helping secure a 2–1 victory over local rivals

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. After scoring in the final two fixtures against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

, Højlund ended his first season at Manchester United with ten Premier League goals. He also scored five goals from six Champions League appearances as well as one goal in the FA Cup.

2024–25: Struggles and goal-drought

Ahead of the 2024–25 season in which he wore number 11, Højlund was assigned the squad number 9, taking the shirt from the recently departed

. On 3 October 2024, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–3 draw with

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. On 19 October, Højlund scored his first league goal of the season in a 2–1 home victory against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, ending Manchester United's winless run of five games in the process. On 12 December 2024, Højlund scored a brace off the bench to give United a 2–1 comeback victory away to Victoria Plzen. This made him one of three United players to have scored nine goals in Europe at 21 years of age or below, the others being

and

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

. During the season, Højlund came under fire from pundits and fans for his lacklustre performances; he experienced a streak of 16 Premier League matches without scoring, with his last league goal coming on 7 December 2024 in a 2–3 home defeat to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. Former United player

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...

said he "always riesto fight efendersand make contact". On 16 March 2025, Højlund ended his 21-game goalless streak, netting the opening goal in a 3–0 win away over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

International career

In September 2022, Højlund played his first international matches for

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

, debuting against the former opponent on 1 September. On 23 March 2023, he made his first international start, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

during the

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...

, his first goals for his country. He ended the qualification phase as Denmark's top-scorer with seven goals. Højlund was selected for Denmark's UEFA Euro 2024 squad, debuting in their opening fixture against Slovenia.

Personal life

His younger twin brothers, Emil and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

, are both footballers with Emil currently playing for 2. Bundesliga side

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

and Oscar for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Denmark score listed first, score column indicates score after each Højlund goal.''

Honours

Copenhagen *

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

: 2021–22 Manchester United *

: 2023–24 *

runner-up: 2024–25 Individual *Danish Talent of the Year: 2023 *

: February 2024

References

External links

Profile
at the Manchester United website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Höjlund, Rasmus 2003 births Living people Danish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Boldklubben af 1893 players Brøndby IF players F.C. Copenhagen players Holbæk B&I players SK Sturm Graz players Atalanta BC players Manchester United F.C. players Danish Superliga players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Serie A players Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in Austria Danish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Footballers from Copenhagen Sportspeople from Hørsholm Municipality 21st-century Danish sportsmen Premier League players