Milan Badelj was born on February 25, 1989 in Zagreb. He started playing football at a young age with Ponikve and in 2002 moved to NK Zagreb.
Three years later he joined Dinamo Zagreb playing a year in the second team. In 2007-08 he played for Lokomotiva on loan. In the meantime, Dinamo had sold Luka Modric to Tottenham and needed a replacement.
In 2008 Badelj came back and went on to play 187 games with 37 goals in five years winning the league four times, the national cup three and one Super Cup.
In the summer of 2012, he signed for Hamburger SV where he stayed for two seasons with 69 appearances and two goals. In 2014 he started his Italian career with Fiorentina. He stayed for four years with 140 appearances and six goals. When his contract expired, he told the club that he was not going to renew. A surprise move, since nobody in Florence thought he would leave.
In 2018 he signed for Lazio as a free agent. He stayed just one season. Too much competition in midfield for him to play regularly. Also, it was difficult to bench Lucas Leiva. He played 26 games with one goal and won a Coppa Italia.
In 2019 he was back in Florence on loan but, unlike his previous stint, he did not impress and at the end of the season he went back to Lazio.
In the summer transfer window, he was sold to Genoa. He is still there today. He has made 131 appearances, without counting the current season, with six goals. After a few years where he seemed out of his depth, at Genoa he found the right environment to continue playing as well as he had in his first Fiorentina years. On December 1 2024, he became the Croat with most appearances in Serie A.
Badelj has played for Croatia at every possible national level, from Under 16s to Under 21s up to the national team. He participated in Euro 2016 and in the World Cup of 2018 (3 appearances) when Croatia played the final and lost to France. He has 55 caps and 2 goals.
Badelj was a bit of a disappointment at Lazio. Perhaps a little too slow for the dynamic midfield made up of Leiva, Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2018-19 | 20 (1) | 16 | 1 | 3 (1) | - |
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