Petko Hristov
Bulgarian footballer (born 1999)
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Petko Rosenov Hristov (Bulgarian: Петко Росенов Христов; born 1 March 1999) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie B club Spezia and the Bulgaria national team.[2]
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Hristov with Spezia in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Petko Rosenov Hristov | ||
| Date of birth | 1 March 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Spezia | ||
| Number | 55 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2013 | Levski Sofia | ||
| 2013–2016 | Slavia Sofia | ||
| 2017–2018 | Fiorentina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Slavia Sofia | 26 | (1) |
| 2017–2021 | Fiorentina | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Ternana (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | → Bisceglie (loan) | 25 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Pro Vercelli (loan) | 33 | (2) |
| 2021– | Spezia | 101 | (6) |
| 2023 | → Venezia (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2016 | Bulgaria U17 | 14 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Bulgaria U19 | 15 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | Bulgaria U21 | 18 | (0) |
| 2021– | Bulgaria | 22 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:00, 17 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17:12, 30 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Career
Slavia Sofia
Hristov started his career in Levski Sofia, before relocating to Slavia Sofia in 2013.[3] He made his senior debut for Slavia in a match of the Europa League against Polish club Zagłębie Lubin on 30 June 2016, coming on as a substitute for Georgi Yomov.[4] A month later he made his Bulgarian First League debut in the opening game of the season against CSKA Sofia.[5] He scored his first goal on 10 September in a 5–2 home win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv. On 1 October Petko was joined by his twin brother Andrea Hristov in the central defense for the very first time against Vereya in the starting line-up.[6]
On 3 April 2017, Hristov signed his first professional contract with the club until 31 July 2020.[7]
Fiorentina
On 17 July 2017, Fiorentina confirmed they had signed Hristov on a five-year contract after Firenze Viola, Fiorentina owner, himself liked the player after seeing him in action at the European Under-19 Championship.[8] On 20 August 2017, he was on the bench for the first time in the Serie A match against Inter Milan.[9] He made his unofficial debut for the club against Real Madrid on 24 August coming on as a substitute in added time for the Trofeo Bernabeu game.[10][11]
Ternana (loan)
On 16 August 2018, Hristov joined Serie C club Ternana on loan until 30 June 2019.[12] He scored his first goal for the club on 4 December 2018 in a league match against Rimini won by Ternana by 3:0.[13]
Bisceglie (loan)
On 9 August 2019, Hristov joined Serie C club Bisceglie on loan until 30 June 2020.[14]
Pro Vercelli (loan)
On 18 September 2020, Hristov joined Serie C club Pro Vercelli on loan until 30 June 2021.
Spezia
After his good performance for Pro Vercelli in Serie C, on 5 July 2021 Hristov moved to Serie A team Spezia, signing a contract until 2025.[15] He made his debut for the team on 13 August in a Coppa Italia match against Pordenone and completed his Serie A debut on 23 August in a match against Cagliari.[16]
Venezia (loan)
On 26 January 2023, Hristov was loaned to Venezia for the rest of the 2022–23 season.[17]
International career
Youth levels
Hristov was called up for the Bulgaria U19 team for the 2017 European Under-19 Championship qualification from 22 to 27 March 2017.[18] After a draw and 2 wins the team qualified for the knockout phase which was held in July 2017.[19] Petkov played in all 3 matches from the group stage when Bulgaria were eliminated.
On 5 September 2017, he made his debut for the Bulgaria U21 in a match against Luxembourg U21.[20]
Senior team
He made his debut for the Bulgaria national football team on 31 March 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland. His twin brother Andrea made his debut in the same game as well.[21]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of 30 September 2025[2]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Slavia Sofia | First League | 2016–17 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| Fiorentina | Serie A | 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ternana (loan) | Serie C | 2018–19 | 13 | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | – | – | 14 | 1 | ||
| Bisceglie (loan) | 2019–20 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 0 | |||
| Pro Vercelli (loan) | 2020–21 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 3[c] | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| Spezia | Serie A | 2021–22 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Serie B | 2023–24 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 3 | |||
| 2024–25 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 4[c] | 0 | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2025–26 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 85 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 96 | 6 | ||
| Venezia (loan) | Serie B | 2022–23 | 11 | 0 | – | – | 1[c] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 193 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 214 | 10 | ||
- Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C
- Appearances in Serie B – Promotion play-offs
International
- As of match played 30 March 2026[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2021 | 9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 0 | |
Style of play
Hristov was described from the Italian media as a physically strong defender with great air abilities and being able to read the game which has led him to be compared to legendary Brazilian defender Thiago Silva.[24]
Awards
Individual
- Bulgarian Youth Footballer of the Year (1): 2016 [25]