Viktor Popov
Bulgarian footballer
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Viktor Nikolaev Popov (Bulgarian: Виктор Николаев Попов; born 5 March 2000) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for First League club Arda Kardzhali and the Bulgaria national team.[2]
|
Popov in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Viktor Nikolaev Popov | ||
| Date of birth | 5 March 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Varna, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Arda Kardzhali | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2019 | Cherno More | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2025 | Cherno More | 180 | (2) |
| 2025–2026 | Korona Kielce | 8 | (0) |
| 2026 | Korona Kielce II | 1 | (0) |
| 2026– | Arda Kardzhali | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Bulgaria U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Bulgaria U21 | 18 | (0) |
| 2019– | Bulgaria | 24 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:08, 29 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:06, 11 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Born and raised in Varna, Popov joined Cherno More's academy in 2010. He made his senior debut in May 2019, aged 19. He signed for Korona Kielce in May 2025.
Popov has also represented Bulgaria at various youth levels and made his senior debut in November 2019.
Club career
Cherno More
Popov made his first team debut for Cherno More Varna in a 1–0 home win against Botev Plovdiv on 18 May 2019, playing full 90 minutes.[3] Ten days later he signed his first professional contract with the club.[4] On 10 July 2022, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 away win over Lokomotiv Sofia in the opening game of the 2022–23 season. Popov left the club after his contract expired at the end of 2024–25 season.
Korona Kielce
On 30 May 2025, Popov signed a two-year contract as a free agent with Polish club Korona Kielce.[5]
Arda Kardzhali
In June 2026, he returned to Bulgaria, putting pen to paper on a contract with Arda Kardzhali.[6]
International career
On 14 November 2019, he earned his first cap for Bulgaria, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Strahil Popov in the 0–1 home loss against Paraguay in a friendly match.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 11 April 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cherno More | 2018–19 | First League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | First League | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | First League | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | First League | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | First League | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | First League | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | First League | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 39 | 2 | ||
| Total | 180 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 197 | 3 | ||
| Korona Kielce | 2025–26 | Ekstraklasa | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Korona Kielce | 2025–26 | III liga, group IV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 189 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 208 | 3 | ||
- Includes Bulgarian Cup, Polish Cup
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League play-off
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 11 October 2025[8]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 0 | |
