Viktor Nikolaev Popov (; born 5 March 2000) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n 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

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

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

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce (, Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish professional football club based in Kielce, competing in Ekstraklasa in the 2025–26 season. From 2002 to ...

and the Bulgaria national team. Born and raised in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

, Popov joined Cherno More's academy in 2010. He made his senior debut in May 2019, aged 19. He signed for Korona Kielce in May 2025. Popov has also represented Bulgaria at various youth levels and made his senior debut in November 2019.

Career

Cherno More

Popov made his first team debut for

Cherno More Varna Cherno More () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on 3 March 1913, as an association football branch ...

in a 1–0 home win against

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev AD, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv (, ), or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional Association football, football club based in Plovdiv. It competes in the First Professiona ...

on 18 May 2019, playing full 90 minutes. Ten days later he signed his first professional contract with the club. On 10 July 2022, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 away win over

Lokomotiv Sofia FC Lokomotiv Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refounded in 2015, following ...

in the opening game of the 2022–23 season. Popov left the club after his contract expired at the end of 2024–25 season.

Korona Kielce

On 30 May 2025, Popov signed a 2-year contract as a free agent with polish club

International career

On 14 November 2019, he earned his first cap for

, coming on as a late second half substitute for Strahil Popov in the 0–1 home loss against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* Living people 2000 births Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's youth international footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers PFC Cherno More Varna players Korona Kielce players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Varna, Bulgaria 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen {{Bulgaria-footy-defender-stub