Valentin Antov
Bulgarian footballer (born 2000)
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Valentin Ivaylov Antov (Bulgarian: Валентин Ивайлов Антов; born 9 November 2000) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Serie B club Monza and the Bulgaria national team.
|
Antov with CSKA Sofia in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Valentin Ivaylov Antov | ||
| Date of birth | 9 November 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Monza | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2017 | CSKA Sofia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | CSKA Sofia II | 5 | (0) |
| 2015–2022 | CSKA Sofia | 60 | (3) |
| 2021 | → Bologna (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Monza (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2022– | Monza | 9 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | → Cremonese (loan) | 62 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013–2015 | Bulgaria U16 | 9 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Bulgaria U17 | 12 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Bulgaria U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Bulgaria U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Bulgaria U21 | 14 | (0) |
| 2019– | Bulgaria | 33 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:07, 4 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:12, 23 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
A youth product of CSKA Sofia, Antov became the youngest player ever to represent the club when he made his debut in 2015 at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 10 days. He moved on loan to Serie A side Bologna in the second half of the 2020–21 season, and to Serie B side Monza in the summer of 2021.
Antov has represented Bulgaria at every international level, debuting for the senior team in March 2019 at the age of 18.
Club career
CSKA Sofia
On 19 August 2015, Antov made his first team debut in a Bulgarian Cup match against Sofia 2010, becoming CSKA's youngest ever debutant at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 10 days, while also becoming the youngest ever captain for the club after taking the captain's armband for the last 25 minutes of the match.[2]
Antov made his First League debut on 14 April 2018, in a league match against Vereya.[3] He began to establish himself in the CSKA first team during the 2018–19 season, playing 26 matches in all competitions.[citation needed] On 12 July 2018, Antov made his debut in the Europa League playing 90 minutes in the first match of the first qualifying round against Latvian club Riga.[4]
Italy
On 1 February 2021, Antov was loaned to Serie A club Bologna until the end of the season with an option for a permanent transfer.[5]
Monza
On 27 August 2021, Antov was sent on a one-year loan to Serie B side Monza, with a conditional obligation for purchase.[6] He made his league debut the same year on 21 September, starting in a 2–1 loss to Pisa.[7] Following Monza's Serie A promotion on 29 May 2022, Antov's obligation for purchase clause was triggered.[8]
Loan to Cremonese
On 31 August 2023, Antov joined Cremonese on loan.[9] After having played 35 games in the 2023–24 Serie B season, Antov's loan was renewed for a further season on 13 July 2024.[10]
International career
On 25 March 2019, Antov debuted for the Bulgarian senior squad as an 80th-minute substitute for Georgi Kostadinov in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo.[11] On 23 September 2022, he scored his first international goal in a 5–1 victory against Gibraltar during the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.[12]
Personal life
Antov is a nephew of former footballer Anatoli Nankov.[13]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 14 March 2025[14]
| Club | Season | Division | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| CSKA Sofia II | 2016–17 | Second League | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| CSKA Sofia | 2015–16 | Third League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | First League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | First League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | First League | 17 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | First League | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10[b] | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | First League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 3 | ||
| Bologna (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Monza (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie B | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Monza | 2022–23 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Cremonese (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie B | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 2024–25 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |||
| Total | 57 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 2 | ||
| Career Total | 141 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 185 | 5 | ||
- Includes Bulgarian Cup, Coppa Italia
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Bulgarian Supercup
- Appearance in play-offs
International
- As of match played 23 March 2025[15]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 33 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Antov goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 September 2022 | Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad, Bulgaria |  Gibraltar |
1–0 | 5–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
| 2 | 23 March 2025 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland |  Republic of Ireland |
1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Nations League relegation playoff |
Honours
CSKA Sofia
Individual
- Bulgarian Youth Footballer of the Year: 2018
- Bulgarian First League Best Defender of the Year: 2020
