Adem Ljajić

Adem Ljajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Адем Љајић, Serbian pronunciation: [ǎːdɛm ʎǎːjitɕ]; born 29 September 1991) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Torino and the Serbia national team.

Ljajić began his career with FK Jošanica, and later Partizan, with whom he made his debut in the Serbian SuperLiga and UEFA Champions League. In January 2010 he was set to join England's Manchester United, but they withdrew their option to sign him in December 2009. Instead, he joined Fiorentina for a reported fee of around €8 million in January 2010. In August 2013, after three years in Florence, Ljajić joined Roma for a fee of €11 million, signing a four-year contract.

Partizan

Born in Novi Pazar, in the Serbian region of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Ljajić joined Partizan at age 14 in 2005, signing from Serbian lower tier club FK Jošanica. Ljajić was the first player to wear the number 22 for Partizan after Saša Ilić transferred out to Galatasaray in 2005. He made an appearance for Partizan in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League on 29 July 2008, entering the match as a second-half substitute. He made a second substitute appearance in the second leg and another substitute appearance in the second leg of the third qualifying round. He scored his first competitive goal for Partizan on 23 November 2008 in a league match against OFK Beograd.

In October 2008, Manchester United had given Ljajić a trial, although no information was given about the length of the trial initially. On 2 January 2009, Manchester United announced the signings of both Ljajić and his Partizan teammate, Zoran Tošić. Tošić would join the club immediately, while Ljajić would remain at Partizan for the remainder of 2009, joining United in January 2010.

Despite being unable to officially join the club until January 2010, Ljajić made regular trips to Manchester throughout 2009 to train with the United first team, and so that the club's coaches could monitor his progress. However, United decided not to take up their option to sign Ljajić due to issues surrounding the club's application for a work permit. Following the collapse of the transfer, Partizan manager Goran Stevanović claimed that the situation had put Ljajić into "psychological shock", but that the player was "handling the situation well". Partizan Director of Football Ivan Tomić stated, "I think that they will regret this decision in future."

Fiorentina

Ljajić playing for Fiorentina

On 13 January 2010, Italian club Fiorentina announced the signing of Ljajić. After passing a medical, Ljajić signed a five-year contract, with Partizan receiving a reported fee of €8 million for the player. Ljajić made his debut in Fiorentina's 2–2 draw away to Cagliari on 31 January 2010, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Manuel Pasqual. However, his first half-season at the club under head coach Cesare Prandelli was spent settling into the new surroundings.

The arrival of Ljajić's compatriot Siniša Mihajlović as head coach saw increased first-team opportunities for Ljajić. He scored his first Viola goal from the penalty spot against Lazio on 18 September 2010, which Fiorentina lost 1–2.

On 2 May 2012, Ljajić was substituted in a match against Novara. His reaction to this substitution was to sarcastically applaud the manager Delio Rossi, who grabbed and attempted to punch Ljajić. Fiorentina announced after the match that Rossi had been dismissed as manager, and they would take proportionate measures against Ljajić. Ljajić's teammate Valon Behrami, who was on the bench at the time of the incident, said no one, including him, had heard Ljajić insult Rossi, which disproved the manager's claims that Ljajić insulted his family. Behrami added Rossi should be ashamed for his actions, as well as lying to the media.

Ljajić scored a brace as La Viola beat Internazionale 4–1 on 17 February 2013.

Roma

With the departure of Érik Lamela to Tottenham Hotspur for around €30 million in August 2013, Ljajić was sought by Roma as a replacement. The signing was completed on 28 August 2013 for a fee of €11 million, potentially rising to €15 million depending on the club's success, with Ljajić signing a four-year contract. He scored his first goal for Roma against Verona on his debut. He scored again in the Derby della Capitale, which Roma won 2–0.

Loan to Internazionale

On 31 August 2015, Ljajić signed for Internazionale on a season-long loan, for €1.75 million, with an option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season, for €11 million. On 1 December 2015, he scored his first goal for Inter in a 2–1 away loss to Napoli.

Torino

After Inter did not exercise their buy option, Ljajić was sold to Torino on 18 July 2016 for €8.5 million plus €500,000 in potential bonuses.

Ljajić made his international debut for the Serbia under-21 squad in a European Championship qualification match against Hungary on 7 September 2008. On 26 October 2010, it was announced by Serbia coach Vladimir Petrović that Ljajić would receive his first senior call-up against Bulgaria in a friendly match on 17 November 2010.

Ljajić had been already part of the Serbian under-17 and under-19 teams since 2007.

Ljajić was removed from his country's squad by coach Siniša Mihajlović after refusing to sing the national anthem in a 2–0 friendly loss against Spain on 28 May 2012 due to personal reasons. Ljajić previously signed a code of conduct established by Mihajlović that includes, among other things, to sing the Serbian national anthem, "Bože pravde" ("God of Justice"). Mihajlović said:

"It was said that the players who agrees with the text of the agreement shall sign it, but those who do not agree can go home. Ljajić has failed to comply with the agreement was signed and this is why he had to leave the team. My decision should serve as a clear example at the first step to any kind of indiscipline and disrespect. I am sad about Ljajić, he is a player on whom I counted. We talked, but he did not want to explain to me why he did not sing the national anthem, but said that he could not for religious reasons. Therefore, he is removed from the team. It is not directed personally against him, had any of the players who would do the same, I would acted identically. There are some things over which I can not move, and one of them was the not singing of the national anthem."

Ljajić confirmed Mihajlović's statement, also claiming that he loves Serbia and that he has a will to play for its national team, but added that he must respect himself, inferring that he was not going to play under Mihajlović any longer.

On 17 February 2014, the new head coach of Serbian national team, Ljubinko Drulović, made a statement and said that he would not be requiring from players to sing the national anthem but to give their all for their country on the field and therefore confirmed that Ljajić will make a return to the national team in a match against Republic of Ireland which will be played on 5 March. Ljajić scored his first goal on 7 June 2015 in a 4–1 friendly win against Azerbaijan.

Club

International

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 June 2015	NV Arena, Sankt Pölten, Austria	Azerbaijan	2–1	4–1	Friendly
2	4 September 2015	Karađorđe Stadium, Novi Sad, Serbia	Armenia	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
3	8 October 2015	Elbasan Arena, Elbasan, Albania	Albania	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Club

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2008–09
• Serbian Cup: 2008–09