# Albion Rrahmani

Albion Rrahmani (born 31 August 2000) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Kosovo national team.
Rrahmani started his senior career in Kosovo at Minatori, Bashkimi Koretin, Malisheva, and Ballkani. With the latter side, he won three domestic trophies and became the top scorer of the national league in the 2022–23 season. Soon after, he moved to Romanian team Rapid București for an initial €600,000 fee, which made him the most expensive player ever signed from the Kosovo Superleague. In 2024, he transferred to Sparta Prague for €5 million.
Internationally, Rrahmani earned his first cap for the Kosovo senior team in a 0–2 UEFA Euro qualifier loss to Romania in September 2023.

## Club career
### Early career / Ballkani

Rrahmani's youth career began at local club Llapi. At the age of 18, he paused his active career for half a year. On 8 September 2019, Rrahmani returned from career break and joined with Kosovo Second League club Minatori, and during his first season as a senior, he contributed by scoring 16 goals in the first half of the season.
On 24 January 2020, Rrahmani joined Kosovo Second League side Bashkimi Koretin. His debut with Bashkimi Koretin came on 29 February in a 1–1 away draw against Rahoveci. Eight days after debut, Rrahmani scored his first (four) goals for Bashkimi Koretin in his second appearance for the club in a 10–0 home win over Galaksia in Kosovo Second League, the match which was the last for the club due to Football Federation of Kosovo's executive council stopped the all competitions (including even Kosovo Second League) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 25 August 2020, Rrahmani joined Kosovo First League side Malisheva. and during his first season, he contributed by scoring 16 goals, which ensured the club promotion in the Kosovo Superleague for the first time in the history of the club, and for his contribution he received the nickname Lewandowski i Malishevës (Lewandowski of Malisheva).
On 23 June 2021, Rrahmani signed a three-year contract with Kosovo Superleague club Ballkani.

### Rapid București

On 6 August 2023, Ballkani announced the move of Rrahmani to Romanian club Rapid București. The following day, Rapid București confirmed that he signed a three-year deal and received the squad number 9. The initial €600,000 transfer fee (which raised to €1.35 million after bonuses) made Rrahmani the most expensive player of the Kosovo Superleague, and Rapid reportedly outbid rivals Petrolul Ploiești for his signing. Fellow Liga I clubs CFR Cluj and FCSB had also scouted the player.
Rrahmani recorded his league debut on 25 August 2023, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Marko Dugandžić and scoring twice in the 5–3 away win over FC U Craiova. One week later, he scored another two goals in a 4–0 local derby thrashing of Dinamo București. On 25 September, Rrahmani netted his third double of the season in a 3–1 home defeat of CFR Cluj.
On 9 March 2024, Rrahmani scored a double and assisted compatriot Ermal Krasniqi in a 4–0 win over rivals FCSB in the last fixture of the regular season. He scored once more against FCSB on 20 April, in a 2–2 away draw in the championship play-offs. Despite having suffered an injury in October 2023 that sidelined him for several months, Rrahmani finished the season as the third-best goal scorer of the Liga I with 17 goals.

### Sparta Prague

On 17 August 2024, Rapid București shareholder Victor Angelescu announced an agreement for the transfer of Rrahmani to Sparta Prague for €5 million and 15% interest. Two days later, he was officially unveiled by the Czech First League club. Rrahmani was handed the number 10 jersey and made his debut on 27 August, scoring a goal with his first ever touch for the club in a 2–0 victory over Malmö FF in the UEFA Champions League play-off round (4–0 win on aggregate). Upon the return of Jan Kuchta to Sparta on loan from FC Midtjylland, Rrahmani changed his number to 9.

## International career
### Youth

Rrahmani was called up by the Kosovo national under-21 team for a 2023 UEFA European Championship qualifier against Andorra on 8 June 2021, but was an unused substitute in the 2–0 home win.

### Senior

On 17 March 2023, Rrahmani was included in the Kosovo senior team's extended roster for the Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Israel and Andorra, but was left out of the final squad. He went on to make his full debut on 12 September that year, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Bernard Berisha in a 0–2 away loss to Romania in the same competition.
Rrahmani started his first match on 12 October 2023, a 3–0 win against Andorra in which he came off the field in the second half after fracturing his ankle. On 9 September 2024, he scored his first goal in a 4–0 away Nations League thrashing of Cyprus.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 9 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Ballkani | 2021–22 | Superliga e Kosovës | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 4 |
| Ballkani | 2022–23 | Superliga e Kosovës | 35 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | — | — | 49 | 28 |
| Ballkani | 2023–24 | Superliga e Kosovës | — | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | — | — | 4 | 2 |
| Ballkani | Total | Total | 49 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 9 | — | — | 68 | 34 |
| Rapid București | 2023–24 | Liga I | 25 | 17 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 17 |
| Rapid București | 2024–25 | Liga I | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 |
| Rapid București | Total | Total | 28 | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 18 |
| Sparta Prague | 2024–25 | Czech First League | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 20 | 7 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 89 | 46 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 59 |
* ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, twelve appearances and seven goals in UEFA Conference League
* ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and two goals in UEFA Conference League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Kosovo |
| Kosovo | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Kosovo | 2024 | 9 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 11 | 1 |

### International goals

| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 9 September 2024 | AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis, Larnaca, Cyprus | Cyprus | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League |

## Honours

Ballkani
* Kosovo Superleague: 2021–22, 2022–23
* Kosovar Supercup: 2022
Individual
* Kosovo Superleague top scorer: 2022–23
* Kosovo Superleague "Star of the Week" Award: 2022–23 (Rounds 19 and 21)
* Gazeta Sporturilor Player of the Month: February 2024