Viktor Claesson

Club career Early career Claesson started his career with local club IFK Värnamo. After progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut in 2009 in a Division 1 Södra match. After a breakthrough campaign during the 2011 Superettan season, Claesson join IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football.

Krasnodar On 25 January 2017, Claesson signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League team FC Krasnodar. He scored on his debut on 16 February 2017 in a 1–0 Europa League Round of 32 win against Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe, scoring a header on his first touch in any competitive Krasnodar game in the 4th minute. He was selected by UEFA as "Man of the Match". He continued his form with two goals in a Russian Cup game against FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast on 28 February 2017 and a goal against Celta de Vigo in the first leg of Europa League Round of 16 on 9 March 2017.

Claesson missed all of the 2019–20 season with a serious knee injury. Four days later, Claesson scored from the penalty spot in the club's first-leg play-off round match against PAOK for qualification to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Krasnodar would win the second leg against PAOK by the same scoreline and secure progression to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

2021–22 season On 3 March 2022 Krasnodar announced that his contract was suspended and he would not train with the team, but the contract was not terminated and remained valid. On 5 March 2022, his contract was terminated and he was released from the club.

Copenhagen On 30 March 2022, Claesson signed with Copenhagen in Denmark until the end of the season. On 3 April, he scored the winning goal in his debut match for the club after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute.

On 16 June 2022, Claesson signed an extension with Copenhagen until 2026.

Värnamo In January 2026, it was announced that Claesson will return to his childhood club IFK Värnamo when his contract with Copenhagen expires at the end of June. He started and scored in his first match with Värnamo when he returned, in a 2-3 defeat against Ljungskile.

International career In May 2018, Claesson was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was one of Sweden's main men for the duration of the tournament, in which the Blågult reached the quarterfinals.

In a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Spain on 10 June 2019, Claesson suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing the cruciate knee ligaments, after a clash with Jordi Alba.

He was named in Sweden's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, and appeared in all four games as Sweden was eliminated in the round of 16 by Ukraine. He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win against Poland in the group stage.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Claesson goal.

Honours Elfsborg Allsvenskan: 2012 Svenska Cupen: 2013–14

Copenhagen Danish Superliga: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25 Danish Cup: 2022–23 2024–25

Sweden King's Cup: 2013

Individual Allsvenskan top assist provider: 2015 Swedish Midfielder of the Year: 2018 Stor Grabb: 2018 Russian Premier League Left Winger of the Season: 2018–19