# 2023–24 PFC CSKA Sofia season

The 2023–24 season is CSKA Sofia's 75th season in the Parva Liga (the top flight of Bulgarian football) and their eighth consecutive participation after their administrative relegation in the third division due to mounting financial troubles. In addition to the domestic league, CSKA Sofia participates in this season's edition of the Bulgarian Cup and UEFA Europa Conference League. This article shows player statistics and all matches (official and friendly) that the club will play during the 2023–24 season.

## Players
### Squad information

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Gustavo Busatto | 32 | 2019 | 186 | 0 | 2024 | Free | |
| 2 | DF | Jurgen Mattheij | 30 | 2020 | 121 | 11 | 2024 | Free | |
| 3 | DF | Sainey Sanyang | 20 | 2023 | 21 | 0 | 2028 | €100,000 | |
| 4 | DF | Menno Koch | 28 | 2021 (Winter) | 81 | 6 | 2024 | €500,000 | |
| 5 | DF | Bradley de Nooijer | 25 | 2022 | 32 | 2 | 2024 | €200,000 | |
| 6 | DF | Hristiyan Petrov | 21 | 2020 | 69 | 1 | 2026 | Youth system | |
| 7 | MF | Olaus Skarsem | 24 | 2024 (Winter) | 17 | 3 | 2027 | €500,000 | |
| 8 | MF | Stanislav Shopov | 21 | 2022 | 70 | 4 | 2025 | Free | |
| 9 | FW | Fernando Karanga | 32 | 2024 (Winter) | 53 | 36 | 2024 | Free | |
| 10 | MF | Jonathan Lindseth | 27 | 2022 | 77 | 11 | 2026 | €500,000 | Lindseth played previously with number 7 this season. |
| 11 | FW | Matthias Phaëton | 23 | 2023 | 39 | 6 | 2026 | €2,000,000 | |
| 12 | GK | Marin Orlinov | 28 | 2023 | 0 | 0 | 2024 | Free | |
| 13 | DF | Brayan Córdoba | 23 | 2023 | 28 | 0 | 2027 | €1,180,000 | |
| 14 | FW | Tobias Heintz | 24 | 2023 (Winter) | 57 | 9 | 2026 | €600,000 | |
| 15 | DF | Thibaut Vion | 29 | 2020 | 135 | 4 | 2025 | Free | |
| 16 | MF | Georgi Chorbadzhiyski | 18 | 2023 | 7 | 0 | 2028 | Youth system | |
| 17 | DF | Emanuel Šakić | 32 | 2023 | 26 | 0 | 2025 | Free | |
| 19 | DF | Ivan Turitsov | 23 | 2018 | 174 | 7 | 2024 | Youth system | |
| 20 | DF | Martin Stoychev | 19 | 2024 (Winter) | 5 | 0 | 2027 | Undisclosed | |
| 21 | MF | Amos Youga | 30 | 2020 | 147 | 6 | 2026 | Free | |
| 22 | MF | Enes Mahmutović | 26 | 2022 (Winter) | 44 | 1 | 2024 | Free | |
| 23 | MF | Ilian Antonov | 18 | 2022 | 5 | 0 | 2027 | Youth system | |
| 24 | MF | Petko Panayotov | 17 | 2021 | 2 | 0 | 2027 | Youth system | |
| 25 | GK | Dimitar Evtimov | 27 | 2020 | 31 | 0 | 2025 | Free | |
| 26 | MF | Marcelino Carreazo | 23 | 2022 | 62 | 6 | 2025 | €100,000 | |
| 27 | MF | Lazar Tufegdžić | 26 | 2022 | 38 | 5 | 2025 | €300,000 | |
| 28 | DF | Nasko Tsekov | 17 | 2021 | 1 | 0 | 2027 | Youth system | |
| 30 | FW | Danilo Asprilla | 34 | 2023 | 30 | 5 | 2025 | €180,000 | |
* Last updated: 31 May 2024
* Source: Players transfer and Wikipedia players' articles
* Ordered by squad number.

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 12 | GK | Marin Orlinov | 28 | EU | Litex Lovech | Free transfer | Summer | | Free | dsport.bg |
| 24 | FW | Mark-Emilio Papazov | 19 | EU | Hebar | Loan return | Summer | | Free | |
| 3 | DF | Sainey Sanyang | 20 | Non-EU | Hawks | Transfer | Summer | 2026 | €100,000 | cska.bg |
| 11 | FW | Matthias Phaëton | 23 | EU | Grenoble | Transfer | Summer | 2026 | €2,000,000 | cska.bg |
| 29 | FW | Michael Estrada | 27 | Non-EU | Toluca | Loan | Summer | 2024 | Free | cska.bg |
| 13 | DF | Brayan Córdoba | 23 | Non-EU | América de Cali | Transfer | Summer | 2026 | €1,180,000 | cska.bg |
| 30 | FW | Danilo Asprilla | 34 | Non-EU | Beitar Jerusalem | Transfer | Summer | 2025 | €180,000 | cska.bg |
| 17 | DF | Emanuel Šakić | 32 | EU | Kifisia | Transfer | Summer | 2025 | Free | cska.bg |
| 7 | MF | Olaus Skarsem | 25 | EU | Rosenborg BK | Transfer | Winter | 2027 | €500,000 | cska.bg |
| 9 | FW | Fernando Karanga | 32 | EU | Jinan Xingzhou | Transfer | Winter | 2027 | Free | cska.bg |
| 20 | DF | Martin Stoychev | 20 | EU | Septemvri Sofia | Transfer | Winter | 2027 | Undisclosed | cska.bg |

### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 3 | DF | Geferson | 29 | EU | Paysandu | Released | Summer | Free | dsport.bg |
| 10 | FW | Maurício Garcez | 26 | Non-EU | Brusque | Loan return | Summer | Free | topsport.bg |
| 13 | DF | Galin Minkov | 25 | EU | Lokomotiv Sofia | Transfer | Summer | Free | dsport.bg |
| 20 | FW | Radoslav Zhivkov | 24 | EU | Sportist Svoge | Transfer | Summer | Free | trud.bg |
| 30 | FW | Daouda Bamba | 28 | EU | Ümraniyespor | Released | Summer | Free | topsport.bg |
| — | MF | Georgi Yomov | 25 | EU | Released | Released | Summer | Free | |
| — | FW | Martin Smolenski | 20 | EU | Botev Vratsa | Transfer | Summer | Free | topsport.bg |
| — | FW | Kaloyan Krastev | 24 | EU | Lokomotiv Sofia | Transfer | Summer | Free | cska.bg |
| — | FW | Ivan Mitrev | 24 | EU | Retired | Released | Summer | Free | kotasport.com |
| 31 | GK | Iliya Shalamanov-Trenkov | 20 | EU | Port Melbourne SC | Released | Summer | Free | topsport.bg |
| 18 | MF | Simeon Aleksandrov | 19 | EU | Pirin | Loan | Summer | Free | cska.bg |
| 30 | DF | Aleksandar Buchkov | 19 | EU | Pirin | Loan | Summer | Free | cska.bg |
| 12 | GK | Aleks Bozhev | 17 | EU | Litex Lovech | Loan | Summer | Free | cska.bg |
| — | FW | Pavel Zhabov | 19 | EU | Litex Lovech | Loan | Summer | Free | cska.bg |
| — | DF | Rosen Marinov | 18 | EU | Litex Lovech | Loan | Summer | Free | cska.bg |
| 17 | FW | Bismark Charles | 22 | Non-EU | Pirin | Loan | Summer | Free | topsport.bg |
| 28 | FW | Brayan Moreno | 24 | Non-EU | Neftçi Baku | Released | Winter | Free | cska.bg |
| 16 | DF | Asen Donchev | 22 | EU | Pirin | Loan | Winter | Free | cska.bg |
| 10 | MF | Zhirayr Shaghoyan | 22 | Non-EU | Ararat-Armenia | Loan return | Winter | Free | cska.bg |
| — | MF | Simeon Aleksandrov | 20 | EU | Septemvri Sofia | Loan | Winter | Free | topsport.bg |
| — | DF | Aleksandar Buchkov | 20 | EU | Litex Lovech | Loan | Winter | Free | |
| — | FW | Bismark Charles | 22 | Non-EU | Željezničar Sarajevo | Loan | Winter | Free | dsport.bg |
| 9 | FW | Duckens Nazon | 29 | EU | Kayserispor | Transfer | Winter | Undisclosed | cska.bg |
| 24 | FW | Mark-Emilio Papazov | 20 | EU | Hebar | Loan | Winter | Free | cska.bg |
| 29 | FW | Michael Estrada | 27 | Non-EU | LDU Quito | Loan return | Winter | Free | dsport.bg |
| — | FW | Pavel Zhabov | 19 | EU | Chernomorets Burgas | Loan | Winter | Free | topsport.bg |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### Mid-season
## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Parva Liga | 16 July 2023 | 25 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | Third place | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 56 | 29 | +27 | 055.56 |
| Bulgarian Cup | 1 November 2023 | 1 May 2024 | First round | Semi-final | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 060.00 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 27 July 2023 | 3 August 2023 | Second qualifying round | Second qualifying round | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 43 | 23 | 7 | 13 | 61 | 38 | +23 | 053.49 |
Last updated: 31 May 2024 Source: Competitions

### Parva Liga
#### Regular stage
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 15 | +63 | 75 | Qualification for the Championship group |
| 2 | CSKA Sofia | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 50 | 19 | +31 | 63 | Qualification for the Championship group |
| 3 | Cherno More | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 62 | Qualification for the Championship group |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 50 | 34 | +16 | 55 | Qualification for the Championship group |
| 5 | Levski Sofia | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 45 | 26 | +19 | 54 | Qualification for the Championship group |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 21 April 2024. Source: See results

##### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 10 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |

##### Results
#### Championship round
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ludogorets Razgrad (C) | 35 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 87 | 24 | +63 | 82 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Cherno More | 35 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 56 | 26 | +30 | 75 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | CSKA Sofia | 35 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 56 | 27 | +29 | 67 | Qualification for the Conference League play-off |
| 4 | Levski Sofia | 35 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 64 | |
| 5 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 35 | 17 | 7 | 11 | 53 | 44 | +9 | 58 | |
| 6 | Krumovgrad | 35 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 49 | |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 May 2024. Source: See results

##### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Ground | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | L | D | L | L |
| Position | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

##### Results
#### European play-off final
### UEFA Europa Conference League
#### Second qualifying round
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 31 May 2024
| No. | Pos | Player | Parva Liga | Parva Liga | Bulgarian Cup | Bulgarian Cup | Conference League | Conference League | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Gustavo Busatto | 33 | -25 | 4 | -3 | 2 | -6 | 39 | -34 |
| 2 | DF | Jurgen Mattheij | 5+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Sainey Sanyang | 11+5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Menno Koch | 6+12 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Bradley de Nooijer | 1+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Hristiyan Petrov | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | Olaus Skarsem | 12+3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | Stanislav Shopov | 7+20 | 3 | 1+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| 9 | FW | Fernando Karanga | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 |
| 10 | MF | Jonathan Lindseth | 33+2 | 9 | 4+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 10 |
| 11 | FW | Matthias Phaëton | 27+6 | 5 | 3+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 6 |
| 12 | GK | Marin Orlinov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Brayan Córdoba | 19+3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Tobias Heintz | 29+4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 6 |
| 15 | DF | Thibaut Vion | 28+5 | 2 | 3+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 39 | 2 |
| 16 | MF | Georgi Chorbadzhiyski | 1+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Emanuel Šakić | 10+12 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Ivan Turitsov | 19+5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Martin Stoychev | 2+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Amos Youga | 28 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| 22 | DF | Enes Mahmutović | 16+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Ilian Antonov | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Petko Panayotov | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Dimitar Evtimov | 3+1 | -4 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -4 |
| 26 | MF | Marcelino Carreazo | 30 | 3 | 3+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| 27 | MF | Lazar Tufegdžić | 0+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 28 | DF | Nasko Tsekov | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | Danilo Asprilla | 2+22 | 3 | 3+2 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 30 | 5 |
| Players who appeared for CSKA Sofia that left during the season: |||||||||||
| 9 | FW | Duckens Nazon | 16+2 | 7 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 7 |
| 10 | MF | Zhirayr Shaghoyan | 5+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Asen Donchev | 2+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | Mark-Emilio Papazov | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Brayan Moreno | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Michael Estrada | 9+8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 19 | 4 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | Parva Liga | Bulgarian Cup | Conference League | Total |
| 1 | MF | | 7/10 | Jonathan Lindseth | 9 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | FW | | 9 | Duckens Nazon | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | FW | | 11 | Matthias Phaëton | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | MF | | 14 | Tobias Heintz | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | FW | | 9 | Fernando Karanga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | FW | | 30 | Danilo Asprilla | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | FW | | 29 | Michael Estrada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | MF | | 7 | Olaus Skarsem | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | | 8 | Stanislav Shopov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | | 26 | Marcelino Carreazo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | DF | | 6 | Hristiyan Petrov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | DF | | 15 | Thibaut Vion | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | | 21 | Amos Youga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | DF | | 2 | Jurgen Mattheij | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | | 27 | Lazar Tufegdžić | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | | Own goal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 56 | 5 | 0 | 61 |
As of 31 May 2024

### Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players listed below made at least one appearance for CSKA first squad during the season.
| N | P | Name | Parva Liga | Parva Liga | Bulgarian Cup | Bulgarian Cup | Conference League | Conference League | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Gustavo Busatto | 5 | 1 | 1 | | | | 6 | | 1 |
| 2 | DF | Jurgen Mattheij | 3 | | 1 | | | | 4 | | |
| 3 | DF | Sainey Sanyang | 4 | | 2 | | | | 6 | | |
| 5 | DF | Bradley de Nooijer | 2 | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 6 | DF | Hristiyan Petrov | 3 | | | | | | 3 | | |
| 7 | MF | Olaus Skarsem | 2 | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 8 | MF | Stanislav Shopov | 4 | | | | 2 | | 6 | | |
| 9 | FW | Fernando Karanga | 4 | 2 | | | | | 4 | | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Duckens Nazon | 2 | | 1 | | 1 | | 4 | | |
| 10 | MF | Jonathan Lindseth | 4 | | 1 | | | | 5 | | |
| 10 | MF | Zhirayr Shaghoyan | 1 | | | | 1 | | 2 | | |
| 11 | FW | Matthias Phaëton | 7 | | | | 2 | | 9 | | |
| 13 | DF | Brayan Córdoba | 4 | | 1 | 1 | | | 5 | | 1 |
| 14 | MF | Tobias Heintz | 3 | | 1 | | | | 4 | | |
| 15 | DF | Thibaut Vion | 8 | | | | 1 | | 9 | | |
| 16 | MF | Georgi Chorbadzhiyski | 1 | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 17 | DF | Emanuel Šakić | 4 | | | | | | 4 | | |
| 19 | DF | Ivan Turitsov | 4 | | | | 1 | | 5 | | |
| 21 | MF | Amos Youga | 8 | 1 | 3 | | | | 11 | | 1 |
| 22 | DF | Enes Mahmutović | 4 | | | | 2 | | 6 | | |
| 23 | MF | Ilian Antonov | 1 | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 25 | GK | Dimitar Evtimov | | | 1 | | | | 1 | | |
| 26 | MF | Marcelino Carreazo | 6 | | 2 | | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | |
| 29 | FW | Michael Estrada | 2 | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 30 | FW | Danilo Asprilla | 4 | | | | | | 4 | | |
| Manager | | Nestor El Maestro | 2 | | | | | | 2 | | |
Last updated: 31 May 2024 Source: Competitive matches Only competitive matches = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.