Martin Georgiev
Bulgarian footballer (born 2005)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martin Pavlov Georgiev (Bulgarian: Мартин Павлов Георгиев; born 24 September 2005) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Super League Greece club AEK Athens and the Bulgaria national team. He was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation" list for 2022.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Pavlov Georgiev | ||
| Date of birth | 24 September 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AEK Athens | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2021 | Slavia Sofia | ||
| 2022–2023 | → Barcelona Juvenil (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | Slavia Sofia II | 17 | (0) |
| 2021–2025 | Slavia Sofia | 85 | (3) |
| 2026– | AEK Athens | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Bulgaria U17 | 11 | (2) |
| 2021–2023 | Bulgaria U19 | 15 | (2) |
| 2022– | Bulgaria U21 | 14 | (0) |
| 2025– | Bulgaria | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||
Club career
Born in Sofia, Georgiev started his career at the local club Slavia. He made his professional debut for the team on 11 November 2021 in a league match against CSKA Sofia.[3] One week later, he played his second league match against Ludogorets, but was sent off with a straight red after a heavy foul.[4] In May 2022, it was reported that Barcelona were interested in signing Martin.[5] On June 1, Slavia's owner, Ventseslav Stefanov, announced that the deal was almost completed and Martin would sign with Barcelona for 2 years, however, the final agreement between the two clubs ended up being a one year loan deal with Barcelona's Juvenil A team.[6]
On 15 July 2022, Georgiev joined Barcelona Juvenil A on loan with an option to buy.[7] In September of the same year, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2005 worldwide.[8] On 4 July 2023, Slavia announced his return to the team from Barça following the completion of his loan.[9]
International career
Georgiev represented Bulgaria U17 at the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship where the team finished last in the group stage.[10] On 14 October 2025, he earned his first cap for the senior national team, playing the full 90 minutes and conceding a last-minute penalty in the 0–4 away loss against Spain in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.[11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 9 February 2026.[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Slavia Sofia | 2021–22 | First League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[b] | 0 | 27 | 2 | |||
| 2024–25 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[b] | 0 | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2025–26 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 72 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 91 | 4 | ||
| AEK Athens | 2025–26 | Super League Greece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 73 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 92 | 4 | ||
- Appearances in Parva Liga Championship group
- Appearances in Parva Liga Relegation group
