Carlos Strandberg

Sergio Carlos Strandberg (born 14 April 1996) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Qingdao Hainiu.

Club career

Born to a Swedish father and a mother who is Portuguese with Mozambican heritage, Strandberg grew up in Backa, Gothenburg, where he joined the local lower league side Backa IF as a six-year-old. In 2005 the club merged with Hisingstads IS to form Hisingsbacka FC which is where Strandberg stayed and eventually got to make his first team debut in the seventh tier of Swedish football at age 15.

In 2012, he signed a youth contract with Gothenburg based Allsvenskan club BK Häcken. There he became the top goalscorer of the U17 league and was moved up to the U19 team at the end of the year. In 2013, he continued scoring goals for the U19 and U21 teams which in the summer resulted in Häcken signing him to a 4.5-year professional contract.

CSKA Moscow In the summer of 2014, he was subject for a move to German side Borussia Dortmund but the player failed the medical, so the transfer did not materialize. However, in the following transfer window, he joined Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow on a 5-year contract, 2 February 2015.

On 21 August 2015, Strandberg joined Ural on loan till the end of 2015.

On 31 March 2016, Strandberg moved to AIK Fotboll on a loan deal until mid-July. After scoring seven goals in ten games Strandberg caught negative attention by grabbing teammate Daniel Sundgren by the throat after a 3–2 win against Falkenberg causing a two-game suspension.

Club Brugge On 5 January 2017, he moved to Belgium to Club Brugge, signing a contract that would run until 2021. Twelve days later, he was sent on loan to Westerlo until the end of the 2016–17 season.

Malmö FF On 9 August 2017, Club Brugge agreed a fee in the excess of €1 million with Swedish champions Malmö FF for Strandberg who was set for a medical the same day ahead of a permanent move with a contract until 2021. Later that afternoon Strandberg was unveiled as a Malmö FF player. Strandberg scored a goal in the game against IFK Norrköping that won Malmö FF the 2017 Allsvenskan title.

Al-Hazem On 30 August 2019, Al-Hazem signed Strandberg for one season from Malmö FF.

Loan to Abha On 18 October 2020, Abha signed Strandberg for one season from Al-Hazem.

Al-Sailiya Strandberg played for Qatari side Al-Sailiya in the 2022–23 season, where he helped the club win the Qatari Stars Cup by scoring a goal in their thrilling 5–4 victory over Al-Wakrah in the final.

Hatayspor On 5 July 2023, he signed with Hatayspor. In the 2023–24 season, he emerged as the joint-top scorer for his club with eight goals along with Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, including a crucial goal on the final matchday in a 2–0 win over Rizespor, securing his club's survival in the top tier.

Qingdao Hainiu On 3 February 2026, Strandberg transferred to Chinese Super League club Qingdao Hainiu.

International career In September 2013, Strandberg was selected to the Sweden men's national under-17 football team that would compete in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. As his mother is Portuguese with Mozambican roots, he could potentially represent one of those countries at international level, should he be selected.

Career statistics Club

Honours Malmö FF Allsvenskan: 2017

Al-Sailiya SC Qatari Stars Cup: 2021–22

Sweden U17 FIFA U-17 World Cup Third place: 2013

Individual Sweden U21 joint-top scorer: 13 goals (shared with Ola Toivonen)