Eljif Elmas
Macedonian footballer (born 1999)
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Eljif Elmas (Macedonian: Ељиф Елмас; born 24 September 1999) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Napoli, on loan from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, and the North Macedonia national team. A versatile footballer, he can be deployed as a central midfielder, right midfielder, winger or forward.
|
Elmas playing for Napoli in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 September 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Skopje, Macedonia | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Napoli (on loan from RB Leipzig) | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2013 | FK Vardar | ||
| 2013–2015 | Rabotnički | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Rabotnički | 44 | (7) |
| 2017–2019 | Fenerbahçe | 34 | (4) |
| 2019–2024 | Napoli | 143 | (14) |
| 2024– | RB Leipzig | 16 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Torino (loan) | 13 | (4) |
| 2025– | → Napoli (loan) | 26 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Macedonia U17 | 2 | (0) | |
| 2015–2018 | Macedonia U19 | 13 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Macedonia U21 | 9 | (1) |
| 2017– | North Macedonia | 75 | (13) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:47, 14 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:37, 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
Elmas started his career at FK Rabotnički in his native Macedonia. After a stand-out season in which he scored six league goals and led Rabotnički to a third-place finish in the Macedonian First Football League in 2016–17, he joined Turkish giants Fenerbahçe on a deal until 2022, with Fenerbahçe paying the former €300,000 for his services.[1] The attacking midfielder went on to score four goals in over 40 appearances for the Yellow Canaries in all competitions before moving to Italy in July 2019.[1]
Napoli
On 24 July 2019, Serie A club Napoli announced the signing of Elmas from Fenerbahçe.[2] The deal was worth a reported €16 million, which could rise to €19 million in total with bonuses – including a €1.5 million sell-on fee clause.[1] He was disciplined by his new club after speaking to reporters while away on international duty in November 2019 for breaching a club media blackout.[3]
Elmas scored his first Napoli goal on 3 February 2020 in a 4–2 victory against Sampdoria, helping the club securing its third win in a row in all competitions.[4] On 19 December 2021, he scored the winning goal for Napoli in a narrow away victory against AC Milan, taking over second place in Serie A.[5] Elmas went on to win the Scudetto with Napoli in 2023, the club's third title, and the first claimed outside of the Diego Maradona era.[6]
RB Leipzig
On 27 December 2023, Bundesliga club RB Leipzig announced that Elmas would join the club on 1 January 2024, upon the opening of the winter transfer window, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.[7] The transfer fee paid by the Germans was reported as €23 million by German sports magazine Kicker.[8]
Loan to Torino
On 30 January 2025, Elmas returned to Italy, joining Torino on loan with an option to buy.[9]
Loan to Napoli
On 1 September 2025, Elmas returned to Napoli, this time on loan till the end of the 2025–26 season, with an option to buy for €16 million.[10]
International career
Elmas was born in Macedonia (now North Macedonia) to a family of Turkish descent.[11][12][13] In July 2017, it was reported that then-coach of the Turkey national football team, Fatih Terim, had tried to call him up, but Elmas decided to represent his birth country.[14]
Elmas was also included in the Macedonia U21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland, being the youngest footballer in the 23-man squad.[15] On 11 June 2017, at the age of 17, Elmas debuted for the Macedonian senior squad in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Spain as a half-time substitute for Ostoja Stjepanović.[16]
On 31 March 2021, Elmas scored the winning goal for North Macedonia in a 2–1 away victory against Germany during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[17] The same year in November 2021, Elmas scored a brace in a 3–1 victory against Iceland, helping the team secure a runners-up spot in Group J, leading North Macedonia to a World Cup play-off.[18]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 14 March 2026[19]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rabotnički | 2015–16 | Macedonian First League | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | Macedonian First League | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 35 | 7 | ||
| Total | 44 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 46 | 8 | |||
| Fenerbahçe | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9[b] | 0 | — | 40 | 4 | ||
| Total | 34 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 47 | 4 | |||
| Napoli | 2019–20 | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 33 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 37 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8[b] | 4 | — | 46 | 7 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 10[c] | 0 | — | 47 | 6 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| Total | 143 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 189 | 19 | ||
| RB Leipzig | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 14 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| Torino (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Napoli (loan) | 2025–26 | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| Career total | 275 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 56 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 353 | 36 | ||
- Includes Turkish Cup, Coppa Italia, DFB-Pokal
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance(s) in Supercoppa Italiana
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia[a] | |||
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 15 | 5 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 13 | |
- North Macedonia was known as Macedonia until 2019
- As of match played 18 November 2025
- Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elmas goal.[20]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 2019 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 9 |  Latvia | 2–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2 | 3–1 | ||||||
| 3 | 10 October 2019 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 15 |  Slovenia | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 4 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 5 | 28 March 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 24 |  Liechtenstein | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 31 March 2021 | MSV-Arena, Duisburg, Germany | 25 |  Germany | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 1 June 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 26 | Slovenia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 14 November 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 37 |  Iceland | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 3–1 | ||||||
| 10 | 23 March 2023 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 47 |  Malta | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualification |
| 11 | 16 June 2023 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 49 |  Ukraine | 2–0 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualification |
| 12 | 12 September 2023 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 52 | Malta | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualification |
| 13 | 10 October 2024 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia | 63 | Latvia | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C |
