Strahinja Pavlović

Strahinja Pavlović (; born 24 May 2001) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club AC Milan and the Serbia national team.

Club career

Partizan

2015–2018: Youth years

Born in Šabac, Pavlović started out at local club Savacium. He officially joined the youth system of Partizan in the summer of 2015. In September 2018, Pavlović signed his first professional contract with the club, agreeing to a three-year deal. He was promoted to the first team by manager Zoran Mirković ahead of winter preparations for the second half of the season.

2018–19: First-team breakthrough

On 23 February 2019, Pavlović made his competitive senior debut for the club in a 3–0 home league win over Proleter Novi Sad, playing the full 90 minutes and receiving a yellow card in the process. A week later, on 2 March of the same year, Pavlović played his first Eternal derby, and at the time of the match his age was 17 years and 282 days. As in the match of the previous round, Pavlović received a yellow card in that meeting as well. He quickly established himself in the team's starting lineup, collecting 15 official appearances and helping Partizan win the 2018–19 Serbian Cup.

2019–20: New contract and first goal

At the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Pavlović confirmed himself as a first-team regular, forming a central defensive partnership with the experienced Bojan Ostojić. He was reportedly close to signing with Italian club Lazio near the end of the summer transfer window. However, the negotiations failed and Pavlović signed a new five-year contract with Partizan. He scored his first career goal in a controversial 2–1 home league loss to Voždovac on 6 October.

Monaco

2019–20: Transfer and Partizan loan

On 18 December 2019, it was officially announced that Partizan and Monaco had agreed terms for the transfer of Pavlović over the forthcoming winter transfer window. Pavlović would remain on loan with Partizan until June 2020.

2020–21: Loan to Cercle Brugge

Pavlović's debut for Monaco came on 20 December 2020, as he came on as a late-match substitute in a 1–0 away victory over Dijon. On 21 January 2021, he joined Cercle Brugge on loan until the end of the season, having seen limited game time at Monaco due to being the fifth-choice centre-back in Niko Kovač's team.

2021–22: Loan to Basel

After making 11 appearances for Monaco in all competitions in the first half of the 2021–22 season, on 16 February 2022 Pavlović was loaned to Basel in Switzerland until the end of the season. Pavlović joined Basel's first team for their 2021–22 season under head coach Patrick Rahmen. He played his domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park on 19 February 2022 as Basel won 3–0 against Lausanne-Sport. During his short loan period with the club, Pavlović played a total of 11 games for Basel without scoring a goal. 10 of these games were in the Nationalliga A and the other was a friendly game.

Red Bull Salzburg

On 1 July 2022, Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg completed the transfer of Strahinja Pavlović from Monaco for €7.00m. Pavlović made his debut on 15 July in the first round of the 2022–23 Austrian Cup, playing all 90 minutes in a 0–3 win against Fuegen.

AC Milan

On 31 July 2024, Pavlović joined Serie A club AC Milan for an estimated €18 million fee, on a contract until 30 June 2028. He chose 31 as his jersey number, which had once belonged to former Milan defender Jaap Stam, to whom he immediately drew comparisons due to similarities in physique and appearance. Pavlović made his debut on 24 August 2024 in the Rossoneri's 2–1 loss against Parma. He scored his first goal for the club on 31 August in a 2–2 draw against Lazio.

International career

Youth career

Pavlović was capped for Serbia at under-17 and under-19 levels. He made his national under-21 team debut on 6 September 2019, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away loss against Russia in their 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier.

Senior career

On 3 September 2020, Pavlović debuted for the Serbian senior squad in a 2020–21 UEFA Nations League match against Russia.

In November 2022, Pavlović was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He played in all three group stage matches, against Brazil, Cameroon, and Switzerland. He scored a header goal in a group stage match against Cameroon, on assist from Dušan Tadić. Serbia finished fourth in the group.

Pavlović was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, playing in all three group stage matches until finished fourth in the group.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Partizan
* Serbian Cup: 2018–19

Red Bull Salzburg
* Austrian Bundesliga: 2022–23

AC Milan
* Supercoppa Italiana: 2024–25

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlovic, Strahinja
2001 births
Living people
Footballers from Šabac
Serbian men's footballers
Serbia men's international footballers
Serbia men's under-21 international footballers
Serbia men's youth international footballers
Men's association football central defenders
FK Partizan players
FK Teleoptik players
AS Monaco FC players
Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players
FC Basel players
FC Red Bull Salzburg players
AC Milan players
Serbian SuperLiga players
Ligue 1 players
Belgian Pro League players
Swiss Super League players
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
Serie A players
Serbian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
Expatriate men's footballers in Austria
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
2022 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2024 players