Meritan Shabani (born 15 March 1999) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for HNL club HNK Gorica.

Meritan Shabani
Shabani with Bayern Munich in 2019
Personal information
Full name Meritan Shabani[1]
Date of birth (1999-03-15) 15 March 1999 (age 25)[2]
Place of birth Munich, Germany
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Grasshoppers
Number 37
Youth career
0000–2006 FC Phönix Schleißheim
2006–2018 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Bayern Munich II 31 (6)
2018–2019 Bayern Munich 2 (0)
2019–2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
2021VVV-Venlo (loan) 5 (0)
2022–2024 Grasshoppers 31 (3)
2024– Gorica 0 (0)
International career
2018 Germany U20 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 September 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:02, 14 September 2020 (UTC)

Club career

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Bayern Munich

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In the 2017–18 season, Shabani joined the squad of Bayern Munich II.[4] On 27 October 2017, he made his debut in the Regionalliga Bayern in a 1–1 home draw against FV Illertissen after coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute for Fabian Benko.[5]

On 28 April 2018, Shabani made his Bundesliga debut for the first team in a 4–1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt, starting the match before being substituted off in the 56th minute for Thiago.[6][7][8] On 9 May 2018, Shabani signed his first professional contract with Bayern, lasting two years until 30 June 2020.[9]

Shabani scored his first goal for the reserve team on 5 August 2018, scoring the second goal of the match in the 45th minute of the 2–0 home win against FV Illertissen.[10]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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On 8 August 2019, Shabani signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves reportedly paid a €1.5 million transfer fee.[11] He made his Wolves debut as a substitute on 25 September 2019 against Reading in the 2019–20 EFL Cup third round but was stretchered off injured after less than ten minutes being on the pitch.[12] On 27 September 2019, it was confirmed that Shabani had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, requiring surgery and lengthy rehabilitation, and was therefore likely to miss the rest of the 2019–20 season.[13]

Loan at VVV-Venlo

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On 1 February 2021, Shabani signed for Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo for the remainder of the season,[14] and a possible extension for the next season.[15]

Grasshoppers

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On 7 July 2022, Shabani signed a two-year contract with Swiss Super League club Grasshoppers, along with his Wolves teammate Renat Dadashov.[16] He made his debut on 24 July 2022, Grasshopper's first game of the season, coming on in the last minute of regular time.[17] He received his first starting lineup nomination on 13 August 2023, in a 2–2 away draw against FC Sion.[18] He did not have an easy start at his new club, being allowed to only start in one more game before the winter break. After the break, he began to start more regularly, being nominated four times in a row. He repaid this trust with his first goal on 18 March 2023, scoring the opener in a 1–2 away victory against FC Sion.[19]

On 7 October 2023, during a match against Yverdon-Sport, he suffered an injury to his cruciate ligament just nine minutes after coming on, effectively sidelining him for the remainder of the season.[20] Having played just five games in the 2023–24 season, he departed Grasshoppers following the end of his contract.[21]

HNK Gorica

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On 15 September 2024, he signed with HNK Gorica, in the Croatian Football League.[citation needed]

International career

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In November 2016, Shabani received a call-up from Germany national under-18 team for a training camp with two friendly matches against the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, remaining unused on the bench in both matches.[22] In 2018, Shabani played twice in the 2018–19 Under 20 Elite League for Germany U20s.[23]

Personal life

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Shabani was born in Munich, Bavaria, Germany to Kosovar parents from Shtime.[24][25]

Career statistics

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As of 15 September 2024[4][18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bayern Munich II 2017–18 Regionalliga Bayern 2 0 0 0 2 0
2018–19 26 6 0 0 1[a] 0 27 6
2019–20 3. Liga 3 0 0 0 3 0
Total 31 6 0 0 1 0 32 6
Bayern Munich 2017–18 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 1 0
2018–19 1 0 1 0 2 0
Total 2 0 1 0 3 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2019–20 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 0 0 1 0
2020–21 0 0 0 0 0 0 3[c] 0 3 0
2021–22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 4 0
VVV-Venlo (loan) 2020–21 Eredivisie 5 0 2 1 7 1
Grasshoppers 2022–23 Swiss Super League 26 3 3 0 29 3
2023–24 5 0 0 0 5 0
Total 31 3 3 0 34 3
Gorica 2024–25 HNL 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 72 9 6 1 1 0 3 0 87 11
  1. ^ Appearance in the 2018–19 Regionalliga promotion play-offs
  2. ^ Appearance in the EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy with Wolverhampton Wanderers U23

Honours

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Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich II

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Meritan Shabani: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Meritan Shabani: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Meritan Shabani » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Bayern München II – FV Illertissen 1:1 (Regionalliga Bayern 2017/2018, 18. Round)". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Bayern Munich – Eintracht Frankfurt: Formacionet startuese, talenti shqiptari starton te bavarezët" [Bayern Munich – Eintracht Frankfurt: Starting formations, Albanian talent starts with Bavarians] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 28 April 2018.
  7. ^ "'Rezervistët' e Bayernit mposhtin thellë Eintracht Frankfurtin, Shabani luan 56 minuta për Bavarezët" [The reservists of Bayern defeats Eintracht Frankfurt, Shabani plays 56 minutes for Bavarians] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 28 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Bayern München – Eintracht Frankfurt 4:1 (Bundesliga 2017/2018, 32. Round)". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Nachwuchsspieler Shabani unterschreibt Profivertrag" [Youth player Shabani signs professional contract]. FCBayern.com (in German). FC Bayern München AG. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Bayern München II – FV Illertissen 2:0 (Regionalliga Bayern 2018/2019, 5. Round)". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Wolves: Bayern Munich midfielder Shabani arrives at Molineux". BBC Sport. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Wolves 1–1 Reading (4–2 pens): Home side win dramatic penalty shootout". BBC Sport. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Wolves boss Nuno confirms Meritan Shabani ACL injury before Watford test". Express & Star. 27 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Shabani van 'Wolves' naar VVV" (in Dutch). VVV-Venlo. 1 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Shabani heads out on loan". Wolves. 1 February 2021.
  16. ^ "GC Zurich sign Shabani and Dadashov". www.gcz.ch. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  17. ^ "GC - LUG (24.07.2022)". www.gcz.ch. Grasshopper Club Zurich. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  18. ^ a b Meritan Shabani at Soccerway  
  19. ^ "SIEG IM WALLIS". www.gcz.ch (in German). Grasshopper Club Zurich. 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  20. ^ "End of season for Meritan Shabani". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  21. ^ "First Sessions in Crans-Montana". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Sechs FCB-Talente für DFB-Teams nominiert" [Six FCB talents nominated for DFB teams]. FCBayern.com (in German). FC Bayern München AG. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  23. ^ Meritan Shabani at DFB (also available in German)  
  24. ^ "Meritan Shabani vazhdon kontratën me Bayern Munich" [Meritan Shabani continues contract with Bayern Munich]. AlbInfo (in Albanian). 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018. I lindur më 15 mars të vitit 1999 në Munih nga prindër kosovarë nga qyteti i Shtimes
  25. ^ "E jashtëzakonshme: Super talenti kosovar në bankën rezervë sot tek Bayerni (Foto)" [Extraordinary: Kosovan super talent at reserve bench today at Bayern (Photo)]. Gazeta Blic (in Albanian). 18 March 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018. Talenti nga fshati Vojnoc i Komunës së Shtimes
  26. ^ a b c "Shabani Meritan: Laufbahn" [Shabani Meritan: Career]. kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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