Yaqoob Butt

Yaqoob Ijaz Butt (born 9 September 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Denmark, he represented Pakistan at the international level.

Club career Butt started his career at Stenløse, and subsequently played at the lower divisions of Denmark. In 2014, Butt was approached by Thai League 1 club Roi Et PB United in a 5 million Thai baht deal, though the move seemingly failed to materialise.

International career Butt hunted for national team call up, first approaching the Pakistan Football Federation in 2007 at the age of 18. While he was eventually not called up due to being too young and incomplete documentation being another reason, he came into radar again in 2010, when Pakistan International XI, a team made up of European based players of Pakistani origin played against Woking FC. Butt was subsequently called by the Pakistan national team coach Graham Roberts for the 2010 Asian Games, but incomplete documents prevented his participation.

In 2013, he received his first international cap in a friendly against Nepal, ending in a 1–0 victory for Pakistan, as a replacement for the injured international defender Atif Bashir under the coach Zaviša Milosavljević. He then played in a two-match tour against Maldives in the same month, making an impact as a substitute in the last 15 minutes in the game, where his corner led to Pakistan scoring a last-minute equalizer. Butt returned after almost 5 years away in a friendly against Palestine in 2018. He last played in 2019 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification against Cambodia, as Pakistan failed to advance to the next round.

Personal life His brother, Yousuf Butt, is also a footballer and has played alongside him for Pakistan. Butt also went to school with Hassan Bashir in Denmark, who eventually played alongside him in the national team.

Career statistics

International