Wikipedia

Ante Budimir

Ante Budimir (Croatian pronunciation: [ǎːnte bûdimiːr];[3][4] born 22 July 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Osasuna. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he plays for the Croatia national team.

Ante Budimir
Budimir playing for FC St. Pauli in 2015
Personal information
Full name Ante Budimir[1]
Date of birth (1991-07-22) 22 July 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth Zenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 Osasuna
Number 17
Youth career
1998–2008[2] Radnik Velika Gorica
2008 LASK
2008–2009 Radnik Velika Gorica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 HNK Gorica 22 (6)
2011–2013 Inter Zaprešić 66 (18)
2013–2014 Lokomotiva Zagreb 30 (17)
2014–2016 FC St. Pauli 19 (0)
2015–2016 → Crotone (loan) 40 (16)
2016–2018 Sampdoria 11 (0)
2017–2018 → Crotone (loan) 22 (6)
2018–2019 Crotone 17 (3)
2019 → Mallorca (loan) 18 (5)
2019–2021 Mallorca 36 (13)
2020–2021 → Osasuna (loan) 30 (11)
2021– Osasuna 167 (71)
International career‡
2005 Croatia U15 1 (0)
2012 Croatia U21 2 (0)
2020– Croatia 38 (6)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Croatia
FIFA World Cup
Third place2022
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 7 June 2026

Club career

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FC St. Pauli

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In August 2014, Budimir joined German club FC St. Pauli of the 2. Bundesliga on a four-year deal until 2018.[5] St. Pauli had to pay a transfer fee believed to be around €900,000.[6] In an interview on Budimir's signing, former Croatian international Jurica Vranješ described him as "tall, strong in the air, and reliable in combinations" and compared his style to Dimitar Berbatov.[7] Budimir had a tough time at St. Pauli, scoring one goal in 20 appearances in the St. Pauli shirt.

Crotone and Sampdoria

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On 1 September 2015, Budimir was loaned out to Italian club Crotone for the remainder of the season.[8] He made his Crotone debut on 7 September 2015, in a 4–0 loss to Cagliari Calcio, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute for Pietro De Giorgio. In March 2016, Crotone exercised their €1 million buyout option on the player. Budimir ended the season as Crotone's top goalscorer with 16 goals in 40 Serie B appearances, as they were promoted as runners-up to Cagliari; this tally was fourth for goalscorers in the whole league season.[9]

In June 2016, ahead of Crotone's debut Serie A season, Sampdoria of the same league activated Budimir's release clause believed to be in the region of €1.8 million, and the player signed a deal ending in mid-2020.[10] A year later, he was sent back to Crotone on a one-year loan with obligation to buy.[11] The obligation was fulfilled by now relegated Crotone at the end of the season, and he remained in the club on a permanent contract.

Mallorca

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On 15 January 2019, Budimir moved on loan to Spanish club Mallorca.[12] He scored his first goal for the Balearic club on 3 February as a Panenka penalty kick in a 2–0 home win over AD Alcorcón, later being sent off.[13] On 27 June, after achieving promotion to La Liga – he scored the opening goal as they overturned a 2–0 first-leg deficit to defeat Deportivo de La Coruña 3–2 on aggregate in the play-off final – he signed a permanent deal for a €2.2 million fee.[14]

During the 2019–20 season Budimir scored 13 goals,[15] which also placed him as the 8th best 2019–20 La Liga top scorer.[citation needed]

Osasuna

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On 5 October 2020, following Mallorca's relegation from La Liga, Budimir was loaned to top tier side CA Osasuna for the 2020–21 season.[15] On 7 June 2021, Osasuna announced the signing of Budimir on a permanent deal until June 2025.[16] In the 2023–24 season, he became the top scorer for his club, as he also set a new personal best in La Liga by scoring 17 goals.[17]

On 16 January 2025, Budimir scored a brace in a 3–2 away win over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey, becoming the club's all-time leading foreign goalscorer with 60 goals, surpassing previous record of Jan Urban.[18] On 2 March, he scored a penalty in a 3–3 draw against Valencia, surpassing Sabino Andonegui [es]'s long-standing record of 57 La Liga goals for Osasuna.[19] He finished the 2024–25 season with 21 goals, setting a new personal best and eclipsing his previous season’s tally.[20] He concluded the 2025–26 season with 17 league goals, finishing third in the La Liga scoring charts behind only Kylian Mbappé and Vedat Muriqi.[21]

International career

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On 27 August 2020, during pre-season training, Budimir was called up by the Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalić for September Nations League clashes against Portugal and France.[22][23] He made his national team debut on 7 October in a friendly 2–1 victory over Switzerland, providing Mario Pašalić with an assist for the winning goal.[24] He scored his debut goal on 11 November in a friendly 3–3 draw with Turkey.[25][26]

Budimir was a member of Croatia's squad that finished third at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He appeared twice as a substitute – in the round of 16 against Japan[27] and the quarter-final against Brazil.[28]

On 21 November 2023, Budimir scored the only goal of Croatia's 1–0 win over Armenia to qualify the nation for the UEFA Euro 2024.[29]

Personal life

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Budimir's family comes from the village of Ozimica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he was born in Zenica as it was the nearest town with an adequate hospital. Fleeing the war, the family moved to Croatia when Budimir was 6 months old.[2]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 23 May 2026[30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Inter Zaprešić 2010–11 Prva HNL 11300——113
2011–12 24610——256
2012–13 31910——329
Total 66182000006818
Lokomotiva Zagreb 2013–14 Prva HNL 271200——2712
2014–15 3500——35
Total 30170000003017
FC St. Pauli 2014–15 2. Bundesliga 19011——201
FC St. Pauli II 2014–15 Regionalliga Nord 21———21
Crotone (loan) 2015–16 Serie B 401611——4117
Sampdoria 2016–17 Serie A 11031——141
Crotone (loan) 2017–18 Serie A 22621——247
Crotone 2018–19 Serie B 17310——183
Mallorca (loan) 2018–19 Segunda División 18500—2[b]1206
Mallorca 2019–20 La Liga 351310——3613
2020–21 Segunda División 10———10
Total 36131000003713
Osasuna (loan) 2020–21 La Liga 301121——3212
Osasuna 2021–22 La Liga 28821——309
2022–23 La Liga 31860——378
2023–24 La Liga 3317202[c]11[d]03818
2024–25 La Liga 382143——4224
2025–26 La Liga 371732——4019
Total 16771176211018778
Career total 45816130112131493174

International

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As of match played 7 June 2026[31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia 202041
202140
202290
202321
202491
202573
202630
Total386
Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Budimir goal.[31]
List of international goals scored by Ante Budimir
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 November 2020 Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey 3  Turkey 1–1 3–3 Friendly
2 21 November 2023 Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia 19  Armenia 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualification
3 8 June 2024 Estádio Nacional, Oeiras, Portugal 21  Portugal 2–1 2–1 Friendly
4 20 March 2025 Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia 29  France 1–0 2–0 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
5 6 June 2025 Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal 31  Gibraltar 2–0 7–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 9 June 2025 Opus Arena, Osijek, Croatia 32  Czech Republic 4–1 5–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

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Osasuna

Croatia

References

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  1. ↑ "UEFA Nations League 2025: Booking List before League phase Matchday 5" (PDF). UEFA. 6 November 2024. p. 1. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 Ante Budimir: "La gent dels Balcans sabem que el camí per triomfar en el futbol és llarg" at ara.cat
  3. ↑ "Àntūn". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Ánte
  4. ↑ "búditi". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Bȕdimīr
  5. ↑ "Ante Budimir wechselt zum FC St. Pauli" [Ante Budimir transfers to FC St. Pauli] (in German). FC St. Pauli. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Nöthe und Budimir sind St. Paulis Sturmduo der Hoffnung" [Nöthe and Budimir are St. Pauli's striker duo of hope]. Hamburger Abendblatt (in German). 19 August 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Kroaten-Star Vranjes lobt Paulis Neuen: "Budimir ist ein Typ wie Berbatov"" [Croatia-Star Vranjes praises Pauli's new arrival]. Bild (in German). 5 August 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Leihe: Budimir wandert nach Kalabrien aus". kicker (in German). 1 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Morozzo, Angelo (8 December 2019). "Ex Crotone, Budimir show: doppietta al Camp Nou" [Ex Crotone, Budimir show: brace at the Camp Nou] (in Italian). Calabria Sport 24. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "Sampdoria snap up Budimir". Football Italia. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Budimir Torna Al Crotone Al Titolo Temporaneo Con Obbligo di Riscatto" (in Italian). U.C. Sampdoria. 5 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "UFFICIALE: Crotone, Budimir va in prestito al Maiorca" (in Italian). Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  13. ↑ Bryce, Monro (6 February 2019). "Mallorca seventh after 2-0 win". Majorca Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "El Mallorca 'ficha' a Budimir" [Mallorca 'sign' Budimir]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 June 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  15. 1 2 "Osasuna logra la cesión de Budimir" [Osasuna get the loan of Budimir] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  16. ↑ "Osasuna ficha a Budimir, con el que firma una vinculación hasta 2025" [Osasuna signs Budimir until 2025]. CA Osasuna. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  17. ↑ Sharma, Abhinav (27 May 2024). "La Liga top scorers 2023-24: Jude Bellingham, Robert Lewandowski & players with the most goals in Spain this season". Goal.com.
  18. ↑ "Ante Budimir makes history at CA Osasuna". La Liga. 25 January 2025.
  19. ↑ "Forward Ante Budimir makes club history as Osasuna draws 3-3 against Valencia". CA Osasuna. 3 March 2025.
  20. ↑ "La Liga top scorers 2024-25: Kylian Mbappe wins the Pichichi trophy". Goal.com. 26 May 2025.
  21. ↑ Wright, Joe (24 May 2026). "La Liga top goal scorers 2025/26: Golden Boot rankings in Spain as Mbappe wins Pichichi". Yahoo! Sports.
  22. ↑ "Budimir to replace Modrić and Rakitić". 27 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić to miss Croatia's opening UEFA Nations League matches". croatiaweek. 27 August 2020.
  24. ↑ Olivari, Davorin (7 October 2020). "Hrvatska bez pola prve momčadi srušila Švicarsku! Zablistao 'Dalićev eksperiment', na kraju ušao i Modrić". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 21 October 2020.
  25. ↑ "Ante Budimir: Mogao sam zabiti još koji gol". Večernji list (in Croatian). 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  26. ↑ Hina (11 November 2020). "Budimir: Svjestan sam da je bio VAR, gola ne bi bilo". Glas Istre (in Croatian). Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Croatia beat Japan on penalties to reach quarter-finals". BBC News Pidgin (in Nigerian Pidgin). 5 December 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  28. ↑ "Croatia eliminates five-time champion Brazil in penalty kicks". The Washington Post. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "Budimir seals Croatia qualification for Euro 2024". Reuters. 22 November 2023.
  30. ↑ Ante Budimir at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  31. 1 2 "Ante Budimir profile". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  32. ↑ "Crónica | El Real Madrid tiñe la Copa de blanco tras una vibrante final (2–1)" [Report | Real Madrid dyes the Cup white after a thrilling final (2–1)]. Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 6 May 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  33. ↑ Smyth, Rob (17 December 2022). "Croatia 2–1 Morocco: World Cup 2022 third-place playoff – as it happened". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
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