# Aleksandar Trajkovski

Aleksandar Trajkovski (Macedonian: Александар Трајковски; born 5 September 1992) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays for Hajduk Split and the North Macedonia national team. Mainly a forward, he can also play as a winger or an attacking midfielder.

## Club career

Trajkovski began his career with FK Cementarnica 55. In May 2010, he joined Chelsea in a trial, scoring the winning goal against Botafogo at the U-19 Copa Amsterdam tournament which guaranteed Chelsea a place in the semi-finals.
After a few years with Cementarnica Skopje, he signed for Inter Zaprešić in the summer of 2010. Good performances in the second half of the season attracted the interest of Dinamo Zagreb, but Trajkovski said that he was not interested in a possible move. At the end of the season, R.S.C. Anderlecht was interested in buying Trajkovski, but their offer of a €500,000 transfer fee was rejected. He joined the Belgian club Zulte Waregem for the new 2011–12 season after their offer of €1.1m was accepted by Inter Zaprešić.
In the summer of 2015, he moved to Italian Serie A club Palermo, signing a five-year contract. In the same year, he was named "Macedonian footballer of the year". Following Palermo's exclusion from the Serie B, he was released together with all other players in July 2019.
On 7 August 2019, Trajkovski agreed to a four-year contract with La Liga newcomers RCD Mallorca. After two seasons at Mallorca, Trajkovski was loaned out to Danish Superliga club AaB on 31 August 2021, for the rest of the season.
On 30 January 2022, Trajkovski joined Saudi club Al-Fayha on an 18-month contract. On 19 May 2022, he won the 2022 King Cup Final with Al-Fayha against Al Hilal.

## International career

On 22 May 2012, the Macedonia U21 national team defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in a friendly match, with the sole goal scored by Trajkovski.
Trajkovski debuted for the Macedonian senior squad on 10 August 2011 in a 1–0 away friendly victory against Azerbaijan. He scored his first goal on 14 August 2013 in a 2–0 home friendly victory against Bulgaria. Trajkovski scored a hat-trick on 12 November 2015 in a 4–1 victory over Montenegro at the Philip II Stadium in Skopje.
Trajkovski was selected for the UEFA Euro 2020 as North Macedonia gained its first major tournament. On 24 March 2022, he scored a last-minute long-range goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff semi-finals to beat Italy 1–0 at his former club ground in Palermo, eliminating Italy from the FIFA World Cup for a second consecutive time.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 23 May 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Cementarnica 55 | 2009–10 | 2. MFL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 2 |
| Inter Zaprešić | 2010–11 | 1. HNL | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 4 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2011–12 | Belgian Pro League | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 24 | 4 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2012–13 | Belgian Pro League | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2013–14 | Belgian Pro League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2014–15 | Belgian Pro League | 27 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 6 |
| Zulte Waregem | Total | Total | 65 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 96 | 13 |
| Mechelen (loan) | 2013–14 | Belgian Pro League | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | 23 | 3 |
| Palermo | 2015–16 | Serie A | 32 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 4 |
| Palermo | 2016–17 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 |
| Palermo | 2017–18 | Serie B | 27 | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 33 | 7 |
| Palermo | 2018–19 | Serie B | 34 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 8 |
| Palermo | Total | Total | 104 | 16 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 113 | 20 |
| Mallorca | 2019–20 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 |
| Mallorca | 2020–21 | Segunda División | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 |
| Mallorca | Total | Total | 23 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 28 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 234 | 31 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 5 | 286 | 43 |
* 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in Belgian Pro League Playoffs
* ↑ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance(s) in Serie B Playoffs

### International

    As of match played 20 October 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| North Macedonia | 2011 | 4 | 0 |
| North Macedonia | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| North Macedonia | 2013 | 9 | 2 |
| North Macedonia | 2014 | 6 | 1 |
| North Macedonia | 2015 | 8 | 4 |
| North Macedonia | 2016 | 3 | 1 |
| North Macedonia | 2017 | 8 | 3 |
| North Macedonia | 2018 | 8 | 4 |
| North Macedonia | 2019 | 7 | 0 |
| North Macedonia | 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| North Macedonia | 2021 | 14 | 4 |
| North Macedonia | 2022 | 7 | 1 |
| North Macedonia | 2023 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 86 | 21 |
    Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Trajkovski goal.
List of international goals scored by Aleksandar Trajkovski :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 14 August 2013 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Bulgaria | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 September 2013 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Wales | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 9 October 2014 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
| 4 | 27 March 2015 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Belarus | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
| 5 | 12 November 2015 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Montenegro | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 12 November 2015 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Montenegro | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 12 November 2015 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Montenegro | 4–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 2 June 2016 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | Iran | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 9 | 5 September 2017 | Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia | Albania | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 6 October 2017 | Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy | Italy | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 9 October 2017 | Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 27 March 2018 | Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey | Azerbaijan | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 13 | 13 October 2018 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
| 14 | 13 October 2018 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
| 15 | 19 November 2018 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Gibraltar | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
| 16 | 25 March 2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | Romania | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 17 | 28 March 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 28 March 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Liechtenstein | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 11 November 2021 | Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia | Armenia | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 20 | 24 March 2022 | Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Italy | Italy | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 21 | 17 October 2023 | Stadion Blagoj Istatov, Strumica, North Macedonia | Armenia | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |

## Honours

Al-Fayha
* King Cup: 2021–22