Alexander Isak (Swedish pronunciation: [alɛkˈsǎnːdɛr ˈîːsak]; born 21 September 1999) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the Sweden national team.
Born and raised in Stockholm, Isak began his professional career with boyhood club AIK in 2016. He then went on to represent Borussia Dortmund and Willem II before signing with Real Sociedad in 2019. In 2022, Isak joined Newcastle United for a club-record fee. In 2025, he signed for Liverpool for £125 million, breaking both the club and British transfer fee records.
A full Swedish international since 2017, Isak has won over 50 caps for his national team, and represented the side at UEFA Euro 2020 and 2026 FIFA World Cup. He is the youngest-ever goalscorer for both AIK and the Sweden national team.
Isak has been frequently described by media sources throughout 2025 as one of the best strikers in the world.
Alexander Isak was born on 21 September 1999 in Stockholm, the capital and most populous city of Sweden. He is of Eritrean descent from the Tigrinya ethnic group. He was raised in Solna, in central Stockholm County, by his parents. The youngest of six siblings, he started playing for the youth team of one of the largest clubs in the Allsvenskan, AIK. Isak has supported AIK since he was six years old.
Isak made his first-team debut for AIK on 28 February 2016, appearing as a substitute in the 75th minute of the Swedish Cup away match against fourth-tier side Tenhults. At age 16, Isak scored a goal in the 6–0 victory. On 7 April, AIK head coach Andreas Alm included Isak in the starting line-up of the Allsvenskan away fixture against Östersunds, alongside fellow young striker Carlos Strandberg, and scored the second goal in a 2–0 win, thus becoming the youngest scorer for AIK in Allsvenskan history at the age of 16 years and 199 days.
On 25 April, Isak scored his first goal at AIK's home ground, Friends Arena, opening the score in a 2–1 victory against Elfsborg. On 3 May, Isak signed his first professional contract through the end of the 2018 season, having impressed in his first few games, and establishing himself as a first-team regular. Between matchdays 8 and 9, head coach Alm was sacked, but Isak was confirmed in the line-up by new manager Rikard Norling.
On 21 September, Isak's 17th birthday, he scored two critical goals in AIK's 3–0 derby win over arch-rivals Djurgårdens. He was later described by teammate Chinedu Obasi as "Sweden's new Zlatan Ibrahimović".
On 23 January 2017, Isak signed for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund on a long-term contract, lasting until the summer of 2022. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but reports suggested that it was set at €9 million, which would be the highest transfer fee ever paid for an Allsvenskan player at that time. Before signing with Dortmund, Isak reportedly turned down a move to Real Madrid. Isak made his first appearance for the club in a 3–0 cup win over Sportfreunde Lotte on 14 March 2017. Isak won his first medal with the club when Dortmund won the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal, only appearing once in the tournament, and not being in the squad for the final.
He scored his first competitive goal for Dortmund in a 2017–18 DFB-Pokal second round win against 1. FC Magdeburg on 24 October 2017, scoring the second goal in a 5–0 win.
After making no appearances in the 2018–19 Bundesliga season for Dortmund, Isak was loaned to Dutch Eredivisie club Willem II. On 28 February 2019, he scored the equaliser and the winning penalty against AZ in the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup, helping Willem II reach the Dutch cup final for the first time since 2005. On 30 March, he became the first player ever to score three penalties in an Eredivisie match, in a 3–2 win against Fortuna Sittard. On 14 April, Isak became the first foreign-born player in the Eredivisie to score 12 goals in his first 12 league games.
On 12 June 2019, Isak signed a five-year deal with Real Sociedad, joining the La Liga club on 1 July, in which he scored his first goal in his first game. He continued the pre-season strongly, scoring four goals in five games. Isak scored his first competitive goal for Real Sociedad in a 3–1 La Liga win against Espanyol on 22 September. On 6 February, he scored two goals and made an assist in the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Madrid. On 9 February, he scored the winning goal in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao.
On 3 April 2021, Isak won his first silverware with the club when he started and played in 89 minutes of the 2020 Copa del Rey Final in a 1–0 win against Athletic Bilbao, helping Real Sociedad win the 2019–20 Copa del Rey. He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 21 February 2021 in a 4–0 league win against Alavés, becoming the first Swedish player to score a La Liga hat-trick since Henry "Garvis" Carlsson did the same for Atletico Madrid in 1949. Isak scored 10 goals in all competitions the following season, where Real Sociedad ultimately finished 6th in La Liga.
On 26 August 2022, Isak signed for Premier League club Newcastle United on a six-year contract which initially ran until June 2028. On 31 August, he scored a goal on his debut and was named man of the match in a 2–1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield. Following a 1–1 draw with Bournemouth, where he scored a penalty, Isak was sidelined for 16 competitive matches due to a hamstring injury,. He returned to the squad to play the first half in the FA Cup third round tie to Sheffield Wednesday.
On 15 January 2023, he scored his first goal after the injury in the 89th minute in a 1–0 victory over Fulham. Isak scored his first brace for Newcastle on 17 March in a 2–1 away victory against Nottingham Forest, the second goal being a penalty in stoppage time to win the game. On 23 April, he scored another brace within two minutes in a 6–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Five days later, he dribbled past three Everton defenders to cross the ball, with a deflection off James Tarkowski, to Jacob Murphy who scored the last goal in a 4–1 away victory, which urged his manager Eddie Howe to discuss comparisons between him and Thierry Henry.
2023–25: Sustained success and departure
On 12 August 2023, Isak scored a brace in a 5–1 win over Aston Villa in Newcastle's first match of the 2023–24 season. On 27 September, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Manchester City in the EFL Cup, his club's first win against the latter in the last 11 meetings. On 25 November, Isak scored a goal in a 4–1 win over Chelsea, following his recovery from a groin injury. Three days later, he scored his first Champions League goal to grant his club a 1–0 away lead against Paris Saint-Germain, in a match which ended in a 1–1 draw following a controversial penalty scored by the Parisians in stoppage time. On 14 April 2024, Isak scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season as Newcastle beat Tottenham 4–0, equalling Zlatan Ibrahimovic's record for most goals by a Swede in a Premier League season. He then broke the record in a 5–1 win against Sheffield United on 28 April where he scored a brace at St James' Park. He finished his second season at the club as their top scorer with 21 league goals, only behind Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer in the league.
On 21 December 2024, Isak scored his first hat-trick for Newcastle in a 4–0 win at Ipswich Town, making him the first Swedish player to score a hat-trick in the league since Freddie Ljungberg for Arsenal in May 2003. Isak's opening goal, scored in 25.95 seconds from kick-off, was also the fastest away goal for Newcastle United in the Premier League. On 10 January 2025, Isak was voted the Premier League Player of the Month for December, after scoring eight goals and providing two assists throughout the month, as well as scoring in six consecutive games. This made him the first Swedish player since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in December 2016 to win the award, and the fourth Swede to win it. He was also handed the December Goal of the Month for a strike against Liverpool in a 3–3 draw. On 23 February, he scored his 50th Premier League goal, marking the occasion with a brace in Newcastle's 4–3 victory over Nottingham Forest. A month later, on 16 March, he netted a goal in a 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the EFL Cup final, securing his club's first domestic title since 1955.