# Nemanja Gudelj

Nemanja Gudelj (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Гудељ; born 16 November 1991) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for La Liga side Sevilla and the Serbia national team.

## Club career
### NAC Breda

Gudelj signed his first professional contract with NAC Breda in July 2009 but failed to make an official appearance in his debut season despite being named on the bench several times.

### AZ

In the summer of 2013 Gudelj transferred to AZ Alkmaar for a fee of around €3 million, sold by his father who was manager at NAC, signing a four-year contract.
He received interest from Portuguese club Porto.

### Ajax

On 6 May 2015, it was announced that Gudelj would join AFC Ajax starting from the 2015–16 season. Along with him, his younger brother Dragiša would move to Ajax youth team and his father Nebojša would become a scout for the club focusing primarily on scouting players from the Balkans and Serbia. On 5 November 2016, Gudelj was removed from the first team selection after stating he couldn't be motivated when not starting.

### Tianjin TEDA

On 5 January 2017, Ajax announced Gudelj would transfer to Tianjin TEDA on 25 January 2017 for a sum rumoured to be around €5.5 million.

### Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao

On 28 January 2018, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao announced that Gudelj was transferred from Tianjin TEDA and signed a 2-year contract. The transfer fee was not announced. He made his debut for Guangzhou on 21 February 2018 in a 0–0 away draw against Cerezo Osaka in the second group stage match of 2018 AFC Champions League. On 14 March, he scored his first goal for the club in the fourth group stage match of the AFC Champions League against Jeju United, which ensured Guangzhou Evergrande's 2–0 away win. Gudelj was excluded from first team squad in July 2018 due to the limitation of the number of foreign players.

#### Sporting CP (loan)

On 23 August 2018, Gudelj was loaned to Primeira Liga side Sporting CP for the 2018–19 season. The contract at will extend for four years as a Sporting CP player. The actual loan contract expires in the end of the season so he would move as a free player .

### Sevilla

On 23 July 2019, Gudelj signed with Spanish side Sevilla FC. In July 2020 he tested positive for COVID-19.

## International career

Having represented Serbia at the U19 and U21 levels, Gudelj debuted for the senior squad on 5 March 2014 in a 2–1 away victory against the Republic of Ireland in a friendly match after coming on as a last minute substitute for Antonio Rukavina. He scored his first goal the same year on 18 November in a 2–0 away friendly victory against Greece.
In November 2022, Gudelj was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He played in group stage matches against Brazil and Switzerland. Serbia finished fourth in the group.
Gudelj was part of the Serbia squad for UEFA Euro 2024 and started the team's opening match of the tournament against England, playing the first half of the 1–0 loss before being substituted for Ivan Ilić. He also played in a grup stage match against Denmark. Serbia finished fourth in the group.

## Personal life

Gudelj is the son of former player Nebojša Gudelj and the older brother of Dragiša Gudelj.
In August 2023, Gudelj married his girlfriend Anastasija Ražnatović, the daughter of Ceca and Arkan, in a secret ceremony at Rajinovac.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| NAC Breda | 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| NAC Breda | 2010–11 | Eredivisie | 29 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 33 | 2 |
| NAC Breda | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 1 |
| NAC Breda | 2012–13 | Eredivisie | 34 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | 5 |
| NAC Breda | Total | Total | 79 | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 87 | 8 |
| AZ | 2013–14 | Eredivisie | 29 | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 53 | 7 |
| AZ | 2014–15 | Eredivisie | 32 | 11 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | 12 |
| AZ | Total | Total | 61 | 16 | 9 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 89 | 19 |
| Ajax | 2015–16 | Eredivisie | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | — | — | 46 | 5 |
| Ajax | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 2 |
| Ajax | Total | Total | 40 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | — | — | 59 | 7 |
| Tianjin TEDA | 2017 | Chinese Super League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2018 | Chinese Super League | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| Sporting CP (loan) | 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 27 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 1 |
| Sevilla | 2019–20 | La Liga | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 |
| Sevilla | 2020–21 | La Liga | 30 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| Sevilla | 2021–22 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 |
| Sevilla | 2022–23 | La Liga | 34 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | — | — | 53 | 4 |
| Sevilla | 2023–24 | La Liga | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 3 |
| Sevilla | 2024–25 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | 0 |
| Sevilla | Total | Total | 153 | 4 | 20 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 215 | 7 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 390 | 38 | 47 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 531 | 46 |
* ↑ Includes KNVB Cup, Chinese FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey
* ↑ Includes Taça da Liga
* 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ One appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield, four appearances and one goal in Eredivisie Europa League play-offs
* ↑ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in AFC Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Chinese FA Super Cup
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* 1 2 Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
* ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Serbia | 2014 | 9 | 1 |
| Serbia | 2015 | 2 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2017 | 6 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2020 | 8 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2021 | 11 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2023 | 9 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2024 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 66 | 1 |
    Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gudelj goal.
List of international goals scored by Nemanja Gudelj :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 18 November 2014 | Perivolia Municipal Stadium, Chania, Greece | Greece | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |

## Honours

Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao
* Chinese FA Super Cup: 2018
Sporting CP
* Taça de Portugal: 2018–19
* Taça da Liga: 2018–19
Sevilla
* UEFA Europa League: 2019–20, 2022–23