Oliver Sarkic
Montenegrin footballer
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Oliver Sarkic (Montenegrin: Оливер Шаркић, romanized: Oliver Šarkić; born 23 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Belgian Challenger Pro League club Olympic Charleroi. Born in England, he represented Montenegro at youth level. He came through the academies of Anderlecht and Benfica. He has also played for Fafe, Leeds United, Barakaldo, Burton Albion, Mansfield Town, Blackpool, Pakhtakor Tashkent, Dečić and Budućnost.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oliver Sarkic[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Grimsby, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Olympic Charleroi | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2014 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2014–2015 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Benfica B | 44 | (5) |
| 2017 | → Fafe (loan) | 18 | (2) |
| 2017 | → Leeds United (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Leeds United | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Barakaldo (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Burton Albion | 28 | (3) |
| 2020–2022 | Blackpool | 5 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Mansfield Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2022 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 9 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | Dečić | 51 | (13) |
| 2024–2025 | Budućnost | 22 | (2) |
| 2025– | Olympic Charleroi | 12 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Montenegro U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Montenegro U19 | 9 | (4) |
| 2016–2017 | Montenegro U21 | 10 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 1 September 2017 | |||
Club career
Early career
On 1 September 2014, Sarkic joined Portuguese champions Benfica from Belgian club Anderlecht, being assigned to their youth team.[3] He debuted professionally for Benfica B in a 3–2 win over Porto B in Segunda Liga, on 11 January 2015.[4] On 14 February 2015, he scored twice in a 4–1 home win against Oliveirense.[5]
In January 2017, Sarkic joined AD Fafe on loan until the end of the season, during his loan stint he made 19 league appearances, scoring twice.[6] In July 2017, he had a trial for then Premier League side Swansea City, featuring in two U23 friendlies against Glentoran and Cliftonville.[7]
Leeds United
On 8 September 2017, Sarkic joined English side Leeds United on a loan deal until 31 December 2017, being assigned to their under-23 team.[8][9] He signed a permanent deal with Leeds United on 11 January 2018, with the contract running until 2020 and the club option of a further year.[10]
On 1 September 2018, Sarkic joined Spanish Segunda División B club Barakaldo CF on a season-long loan.[11]
Burton Albion
On 27 July 2019, Sarkic joined EFL League One side Burton Albion on trial from Leeds, starting in their pre-season friendly against Chesterfield[12] On 1 August, he joined Albion on a permanent deal for an undisclosed figure.[13] He scored his first goal for Burton in an EFL Cup tie against Bournemouth on 25 September 2019.[14]
Blackpool
Sarkic signed a two-year deal with Blackpool on 9 July 2020.[15] On 1 February 2021, Sarkic joined League Two side Mansfield Town on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[16]
He was released by the club, in a mutual agreement, on 26 January 2022.[17]
On 3 February 2022, Sarkic joined Uzbekistan Super League side Pakhtakor until the end of the year.[18]
Personal life
Sarkic was born in England, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.[19] His father, Bojan Šarkić,[20] is a Montenegrin diplomat who was ambassador to the United Kingdom at the time of birth. His mother, Natalie Šarkić-Todd, is British and works at a European media network.[21][22] Bojan become ambassador of Belgium later where Oliver and his twin brother, Matija were raised. Both brothers attended the British School of Brussels[23] and played together at Anderlecht.[21][24] On 15 June 2024, Sarkic's brother Matija died in Budva shortly after returning from the Montenegro national team camp, aged 26.[25]
Career statistics
- As of match played 23 May 2022
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica B | 2014–15[26] | LigaPro | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
| 2015–16[26] | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17[26] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 44 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | = | 0 | 0 | 44 | 5 | ||
| Fafe (loan) | 2016–17[26] | LigaPro | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| Leeds United (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leeds United | 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Barakaldo (loan) | 2018–19[26] | Segunda División B | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| Burton Albion | 2019–20[27] | League One | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 3[a] | 0 | 37 | 5 | |
| Blackpool | 2020–21[28] | League One | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2[a] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Mansfield Town (loan) | 2020–21[28] | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Pakhtakor | 2022 | Uzbekistan Super League | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 4[b] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 14 | 4 | |
| Career total | 120 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 138 | 17 | ||
- Appearances in the Football League Trophy
- Appearances and goal in the AFC Champions League
- Appearance in the Uzbekistan Super Cup
