Aleksandr Golovin (footballer)

Russian footballer (born 1996) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Головин, IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr sʲɪrˈgʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ gəlɐˈvʲin]; born 30 May 1996) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and captains the Russia national team.

Full name Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin
Date of birth (1996-05-30) 30 May 1996 (age 29)
Place of birth Kaltan, Russia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Aleksandr Golovin
Personal information
Full name Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin
Date of birth (1996-05-30) 30 May 1996 (age 29)
Place of birth Kaltan, Russia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Positions
Team information
Current team
Monaco
Number 10
Youth career
2001–2009 DYuSSh Kaltan
2009–2011 Metallurg Novokuznetsk
2012–2014 CSKA Moscow
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 CSKA Moscow 81 (9)
2018– Monaco 204 (36)
International career
2013 Russia U17 16 (1)
2014 Russia U18 4 (2)
2014–2015 Russia U19 11 (2)
2015 Russia U21 3 (0)
2015– Russia 52 (9)
Medal record
Representing  Russia
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner2013 Slovakia
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runner-up2015 Greece
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 April 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026
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Golovin began his professional career at CSKA Moscow in 2014, where he played in four Russian Premier League seasons, winning the league title in his second season, before moving to Monaco in 2018, for a club record fee of €30 million, becoming the first Russian to play for the club.

Golovin made his senior international debut for Russia in 2015 and was part of their squads at the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Golovin was born to a mining family in the small mining town of Kaltan in Southern Siberia, Russia. His father was friends with Aleksandr Plyasunov, a coach at the local youth sports school. When Golovin was six years old, he started playing football under Plyasunov, before moving on to the school of FC Novokuznetsk (then called Metallurg-Zapsib) and the Olympic reserve school in Leninsk-Kuznetsky. After playing for Metallurg, he was invited to play for the squad of the Siberian team. It was during this time that Golovin attracted the attention of scouts and was invited to play for PFC CSKA Moscow.[2][3]

Club career

CSKA Moscow

Golovin debuted playing for PFC CSKA Moscow on 24 September 2014 against FC Khimik Dzerzhinsk in the 1/16 round of the Russian Cup. He made the starting lineup and was subbed out in the 88th minute of the game.[4]

Golovin made his Russian Football Premier League debut for PFC CSKA Moscow on 14 March 2015 in a game against FC Mordovia Saransk as a sub in the 72nd minute of the game.[5] He made his UEFA Champions League debut against Sparta Prague on 5 August 2015, subbing in for Alan Dzagoev.[6] He scored his first goal for CSKA on 9 April 2016 against FC Mordovia Saransk.[7]

In the summer of 2017, Arsenal offered between £8 and £10 million for Golovin, but CSKA declined the transfer.[8]

On 2 December 2016, Golovin extended his contract with CSKA Moscow until the end of the 2020–21 season.[9]

Monaco

On 27 July 2018, Golovin signed a five-year contract with AS Monaco for an undisclosed, but record-transfer fee, from CSKA Moscow.[10][11] Golovin made his competitive debut for Monaco in a 1–1 Ligue 1 home draw against Nîmes on 21 September 2018, coming on as a substitute during the 72nd minute.[12] He made his first start in Ligue 1 on 25 September, in a 0–1 home defeat against Angers. He scored his first Ligue 1 goal on 2 February 2019, in a 2–1 home win over Toulouse.

On 24 September 2019, Golovin scored two goals and provided an assist for Wissam Ben Yedder in Monaco's 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Nice.[13] On 6 January 2021, in an away match against Lorient and with the score at 1–1, Golovin, who had just recovered from an injury, was brought on as a substitute and scored after less than a minute.[14] Two weeks later, as a substitute once again, he delivered two assists, each from a corner kick, to help his team come from behind and defeat Marseille.[15]

On 7 February 2021, Golovin scored his first hat-trick for Monaco in a 4–3 away victory against Nîmes. In doing so, he became the first player from Russia to record a hat-trick in Ligue 1.[16]

On 28 December 2022, Golovin gave an assist in a 3–2 away victory against Auxerre.[17] On 11 February 2023, he scored the opening goal in a 3–1 home win against Paris Saint-Germain, his fifth goal of the season.[18] On 19 February 2023, he scored his sixth goal of the season against Stade Brestois.[19] On 4 October 2024, he extended his contract with the club until 2029.[20]

International career

Golovin playing for Russia at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Golovin won the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship with Russia national under-17 team, with which he also participated in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Later, Golovin went on to represent the Russia national under-19 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where Russia came in second place. Golovin made his debut for the Russia national team on 7 June 2015 in a friendly game against Belarus at the Arena Khimki, replacing captain Roman Shirokov in the 61st minute and scoring Russia's second goal of a 4–2 victory 16 minutes later.

On 11 May 2018, he was included in Russia's extended 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.[21] On 3 June 2018, he was included in the finalized World Cup squad.[22] On 14 June 2018, he played a crucial role in Russia's 5–0 victory over Saudi Arabia making two assists and scoring the final goal, a free-kick in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.[23]

On 11 May 2021, he was included in the preliminary extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.[24] On 2 June 2021, he was included in the final squad.[25] He played every minute in all 3 of Russia's group stage games as Russia was eliminated after losing to Belgium and Denmark and beating Finland.[26][27][28]

On 7 September 2025, he scored the first goal of a 4–1 victory against Qatar in a friendly match.[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 April 2026[30]
More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
CSKA Moscow 2014–15 Russian Premier League 703000100
2015–16 Russian Premier League 171422[c]0233
2016–17 Russian Premier League 303006[c]01[d]0373
2017–18 Russian Premier League 2751015[e]2437
Total 819822321011313
Monaco 2018–19 Ligue 1 30310113[c]000354
2019–20 Ligue 1 2533020303
2020–21 Ligue 1 21551266
2021–22 Ligue 1 2732011[f]1404
2022–23 Ligue 1 3481010[g]0458
2023–24 Ligue 1 25620276
2024–25 Ligue 1 193009[c]01[h]0293
2025–26 Ligue 1 235307[c]0335
Total 20436171314011026539
Career total 28545253316332037852
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  1. Appearance in Russian Super Cup
  2. Ten appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
  3. Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 31 March 2026[31]
More information National team, Year ...
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Russia 201511
201671
201770
2018101
201982
2021120
202311
202410
202532
202621
Total529
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Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first.
More information No., Date ...
List of international goals scored by Aleksandr Golovin
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 June 2015Arena Khimki, Khimki, Russia Belarus2–24–2Friendly
2.26 March 2016Otkritie Arena, Moscow, Russia Lithuania2–03–0Friendly
3.14 June 2018Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia Saudi Arabia5–05–02018 FIFA World Cup
4.10 October 2019Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia Scotland4–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
5.13 October 2019GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus Cyprus4–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
6.20 November 2023Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia Cuba2–08–0Friendly
7.7 September 2025Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar Qatar1–04–1Friendly
8.12 November 2025Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia Peru1–01–1Friendly
9.27 March 2026Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia Nicaragua3–13–1Friendly
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Honours

CSKA Moscow

Monaco

Russia U17

Russia U19

Individual

  • The Athletic Ligue 1 Team of the Season: 2023–24[32]

References

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