Mateo Kovačić (Croatian pronunciation: [matěo kǒʋatʃitɕ]; born 6 May 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Croatia national team.
Kovačić began his professional career with Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16, with whom he won two consecutive Prva HNL titles, before joining Inter Milan in 2013. In 2015, he moved to Real Madrid, where he won nine trophies, including three UEFA Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018. He subsequently joined Chelsea, where he won the UEFA Europa League, a fourth Champions League title, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, as well as being named Chelsea Player of the Year for the 2019–20 season. He joined Manchester City in the summer of 2023, and won the Premier League with them in his first season.
Born in Austria, Kovačić played for Croatia at multiple youth levels before making his debut for the senior national team in 2013. He has represented the nation at the 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2016, 2020 and 2024 UEFA European Championships. His side secured two World Cup medals in 2018 and 2022, as well as a silver medal coming in second in the 2023 UEFA Nations League final.
Kovačić began playing at an early age at the local LASK's academy. In 2007, when Kovačić was 13, he was spotted by scouts from several prominent European clubs, including Ajax, Inter Milan, Juventus and Bayern Munich, but his family opted to move to Zagreb instead, where he joined the academy of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.
In 2009, at the age of 15, Kovačić suffered a serious injury. His leg was broken and he could not even stand on it for the first four months after the injury. After a lengthy recovery, he finally returned to the team on 31 May 2010, appearing in the last match of the Croatian under-17 academy league, in a friendly 5–0 win against RNK Split under-17s.
Kovačić started training with the club's senior squad under manager, Vahid Halilhodžić, four months later, on 6 October 2010, but continued to appear for the club in academy league matches during October. Later that month, it was reported by the local sports daily, Sportske novosti, that Arsenal's chief scout, Steve Rowley, had arrived in Zagreb to watch him perform in under-17 matches against HNK Cibalia and NK Zagreb. Kovačić had his professional league debut in the 2010–11 Prva HNL away match against Hrvatski Dragovoljac on 20 November 2010, in which he scored Dinamo's fourth goal in their 6–0 win. This made him the youngest goalscorer in the history of the league, at the age of 16 years and 198 days, breaking the record set only a week earlier by Dino Špehar who had scored for NK Osijek at the age of 16 years and 278 days on 13 November 2010. In his first senior season with Dinamo Zagreb he appeared in seven matches, making a contribution in winning the league title.
In the 2011–12 season, Kovačić rapidly established himself as a first-team regular. He played mainly in the position of left midfielder in 4–2–3–1 system. Early in the season, he helped the team reach the group stage of the season's UEFA Champions League for the first time in 12 years. Being only 17 years old, he appeared in the starting line-up of Dinamo's first group match against Real Madrid. He finished his first European season with Dinamo by scoring a goal against Lyon in the last game of the group stage in Zagreb and thus became the second youngest ever scorer in the Champions League. In the domestic league, he was a regular starter, appearing in 25 league matches and scoring five goals in the process. During a league match against NK Lučko, he became the youngest player to captain Dinamo, when taking the captaincy from Leandro Cufré. It was another successful season for him in domestic competitions as he appeared in 32 domestic league and cup matches during that season, helping Dinamo to win their seventh consecutive league title. He also scored in the 2012 Croatian Cup final against Osijek at Stadion Maksimir. In December 2011, he was named Croatian Football Hope of the Year.
In the beginning of 2012–13 season, he suffered a metatarsal bone injury that caused him to miss several games on the club's qualifying road to another Champions League. He returned just in time to play in Dinamo's first 2012–13 Champions League game against Porto. Kovačić played in all six Dinamo Zagreb's matches in the 2012–13 Champions League group stage, against Porto, Paris Saint-Germain and Dynamo Kyiv. He continued to impress with his mature performances at a young age during the first half of the season. In October 2012, he was nominated for Golden Boy, an award given by sports journalists to a young player from Europe perceived to have been the most impressive during a season. During the season's winter break, Dinamo's board threw away the speculations about Kovačić leaving the club in the near future by saying they are building a new team around him and another rising star, Alen Halilović.
On 31 January 2013, Kovačić agreed to a transfer to Serie A club Inter Milan. The deal was worth €15 million in total, with €11 million paid immediately and €4 million if Inter were to qualify for the Champions League. He made his Inter Milan debut three days later on 3 February, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 2012–13 Serie A match against Siena. On 14 February, Kovačić made his European debut before the home crowd at San Siro in a 2012–13 UEFA Europa League match against CFR Cluj. He provided the winning assist for Rodrigo Palacio, who made it 2–0 for Inter, impressing the crowd with his performance, and was given standing ovations while being substituted off in the 89th minute.
Kovačić made his first domestic league start for Inter in the next round of Serie A in a 1–4 away loss against Fiorentina. In the round of 16 of the Europa League, Inter was drawn to play against Tottenham Hotspur. After a 3–0 loss in London, Inter needed a 4–0 win in Milan to proceed to the next round. The match ended in a 4–1 win for Inter after the match went into extra time, with Kovačić playing as a starter. He impressed with his composure and playmaking ability, once again receiving ovations by the fans. Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni hailed his performances on several occasions, describing him as a "star for the future".
On 30 March, Kovačić was a starter in his first Derby d'Italia against Juventus at San Siro. The derby ended in a 1–2 win for Juventus, with Kovačić starting the action that resulted in Rodrigo Palacio's 1–1 equaliser. Kovačić was a starter in Inter's next Serie A match, a 0–2 away win against Sampdoria, as well as in their surprising 3–4 loss to Atalanta at San Siro, where he provided an assist for Ricky Álvarez's goal. By the end of the second half of the season, he was a starter in all of the club's Serie A fixtures, as Inter finished in disappointing ninth place on the Serie A table. In May, he was given the "Gentleman Revelation of the Year" award, awarded by Inter fans.
Kovačić missed most of the pre-season training with the squad due to series of small injuries, and made his comeback just few days before the first official match of the new season, a Coppa Italia match against Cittadella at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. During the pre-season interviews, new Inter manager Walter Mazzarri hinted Kovačić would be given a new role on the pitch, a role similar to Marek Hamšík's in Napoli. During the first half of the season, Kovačić played regularly, although he struggled with adjusting to his new tactical role. Kovačić made his first assist of the season in the match against Livorno, when he delivered an assist for Yuto Nagatomo. Unlike the previous season under manager Andrea Stramaccioni, Kovačić was not a regular starter during the 2013–14 season. In 32 Serie A matches played, he started only 14, playing the entire 90 minutes on just eight occasions. He received the chance to restore his confidence towards the end of the season, as he was Mazzarri's first-choice in the midfield in Inter's last six matches.