Nikola Jovanović

Nikola Jovanović (Cyrillic: Никола Joвaнoвић; born 18 September 1952) is a retired Montenegrin footballer. Representing Yugoslavia during his career, he is known for being second player from outside the British Isles to join Manchester United. The first player was Carlo Sartori. He is now a sports director of FK Budućnost Podgorica.

Club career Jovanović was one of the most successful players of, then Yugoslav, giant Red Star, Belgrade, Serbia where he played as a defender and had an impressive overall record of 359 matches and 50 goals for the Red Star team. He then made history when he became the first Yugoslav footballer to play for leading English league side Manchester United, where he made 21 Football League appearances in the early 1980s after being signed by manager Dave Sexton. In addition, he was the first non-British Isles player to be signed by the club — Italian-born Carlo Sartori, who played for United during the 1960s and 1970s, moved to Manchester as a child and came through the club's youth system. Before signing for Manchester United he turned down an offer from Bayern Munich and decided in favour of the English side.

Personal life Born in Cetinje, present day Montenegro, he resides with his family in Mengeš, Slovenia. He took up the latter role in summer 2013.