Petar Musa

Petar Musa (; born 4 March 1998) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club FC Dallas and the Croatia national team.

Club career Early career Born in Zagreb, Musa started playing football in the Hrvatski Dragovoljac youth system, before joining NK Zagreb in 2007. He made his first team debut on 1 March 2016 in the Prva HNL in a 3–0 away loss to Slaven Belupo. In the league season, Musa scored Slavia's goal in the 1–1 draw to rivals Sparta Prague in the Prague derby, the winning goal in a 1–0 away victory over 1. FK Příbram, netted a brace in the 4–0 home victory over FK Jablonec. However, he fell into a scoring drought and was loaned for the remainder of the season to German Bundesliga side 1. FC Union Berlin on 1 February 2021, at the last day of the 2020–21 winter transfer window. The loan fee paid to Slavia Prague was reported as €200,000 by sports magazine Kicker. but he added no more goals in 14 games for the rest of the season. He scored 12 goals and provided four assists, helping his side to a 12th place finish, as Boavista triggered Musa's buyout clause of €3.5 million.

Benfica

On 20 May 2022, Musa signed a five-year contract with Benfica of the same league, for a fee of €5 million, plus half of Ricardo Mangas' economic rights and Ilija Vukotić being sent to Boavista in part-exchange for €500,000 of half of his economic rights bringing the net cost of the transaction to €4.5 million.

He made his debut for the club on 23 August, replacing Gonçalo Ramos in the 52nd minute in the 3–0 home win over Dynamo Kyiv in the second leg of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League play-off round, helping his side qualify to the tournament. Four days later, Musa made his league debut, against his former side Boavista, providing an assist and managed to win a penalty for his side after being fouled inside the box, which was subsequently converted by João Mário in a 3–0 win. He scored his first goal on 8 October, closing a 4–2 home win over Rio Ave. On 15 October, Musa scored the opener in a 1–1 draw to Liga 3 side Caldas in the third round of the Taça de Portugal, which Benfica went on to win 6–4 in a penalty shoot-out, after extra-time. On 2 November, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 6–1 away win against Maccabi Haifa in their last 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage match, to ensure Benfica's qualification to the round of sixteen, as group winners. Over the course of the season, Musa remained a back up to first choice Gonçalo Ramos, as he only made substitute appearances, finishing the season with 11 goals in all competitions as he helped Benfica to win their first Primeira Liga title since 2019.

Musa started the 2023–24 season, on 9 August, closing the 2–0 victory over Porto in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, winning his second trophy with Benfica.

FC Dallas On 1 February 2024, Musa moved to Major League Soccer side FC Dallas, where he signed a four-year contract, with an option for a further year, as a Designated Player. The American club paid a club-record $9.7 million transfer fee, which could rise to $13 million with add-ons.

Musa made his debut for the club on 2 March against CF Montreal in the 2024 MLS season. During stoppage time at the half, Musa scored his first goal for FC Dallas after a VAR check, with an assist from Bernard Kamungo, in the 1-2 loss. On 19 June 2024, Musa recorded his first career hat trick in the 5-3 win against Minnesota United FC.

International career Musa began his international career with under-18 level in 2015, for a total of three caps. On 14 November 2019, Musa won his first cap for the under-21 side in a 3–1 victory in Lithuania for the 2021 European Championship qualification campaign. In March 2021, Musa took part in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, helping Croatia to a quarter-final finish, after losing 2–1 to Spain in extra-time.

He was called up to the senior side by manager Zlatko Dalić on 16 May 2022, for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against Austria, France and Denmark. He made his senior international debut on 25 March 2023, replacing Marko Livaja in the 53rd minute of a 1–1 draw over Wales in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.

On 18 May 2026, Musa was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On 17 June, he scored his first World Cup goal in their group opener against England to tie the game 2–2 in an eventual 4–2 defeat.

Personal life His father Željko is a Bosnian Croat hailing from Široki Brijeg.

Career statistics Club

International

Croatia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Musa goal. Czech Cup: 2020–21

Benfica

Primeira Liga: 2022–23

Croatia UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2022–23

Individual MLS All-Star: 2024, 2026 Czech First League Top Scorer: 2019–20 Czech First League Forward of the Year: 2019–20