# Rade Krunić

Rade Krunić (pronounced; born 7 October 1993) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Krunić started his professional career at Sutjeska Foča, before joining Donji Srem in 2013. In 2014, he moved to Hellas Verona, who loaned him back to Donji Srem later that year. In 2015, he switched to Borac Čačak. Later that year, he signed with Empoli. Five years later, Krunić was transferred to Milan, who sent him on loan to Fenerbahçe in 2024, with whom he signed permanently later that year. He moved to Red Star Belgrade in 2024.
A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Krunić made his senior international debut in 2016, earning over 30 caps since.

## Club career
### Early career

Krunić came through the youth setup of his hometown club Sutjeska Foča, which he joined in 2006. He made his professional debut in 2011 at the age of 17. On 6 November, he scored his first professional goal against Modriča, which secured the victory for his team.
In January 2013, he signed with Serbian side Donji Srem.
In the summer of 2014, Krunić moved to Italian outfit Hellas Verona, who loaned him back to Donji Srem.
In January 2015, he switched to Borac Čačak.

### Empoli

In July, Krunić joined Empoli on a three-year contract. He made his official debut for the squad against Sassuolo on 4 October. On 24 October, he scored his first goal for Empoli in a triumph over Genoa.
In October 2017, he extended his deal with the team until June 2021.
Krunić was an important piece in Empoli's conquest of the Serie B title, his first trophy with the club, which was sealed on 28 April 2018 and earned them promotion to the Serie A just one season after being relegated. He had an impact of 5 goals and 10 assists.
On 1 December, he played his 100th game for the side against SPAL and managed to score a goal.

### Milan

In July 2019, Krunić was transferred to Milan for an undisclosed fee, speculated to be in the region of €8 million.

#### 2019–20 season

He made his competitive debut for the team on 29 September in a loss to Fiorentina. On 3 November, he started his first match for Milan against Lazio.
In February 2020, he suffered a foot injury, which was diagnosed as a broken foot and was ruled out for at least a month. Over four months after the injury, on 4 July, he returned to the pitch.

#### 2020–21 season

Krunić debuted in the season on 21 September against Bologna. On 22 October, he scored his first goal for Milan in a UEFA Europa League tie against Celtic. Four months later, he scored his first league goal against his former squad Hellas Verona.

#### 2021–22 season

Krunić played his first fixture of the campaign in a defeat of Sampdoria on 23 August 2021.
On 19 October, he debuted in the UEFA Champions League away at Porto.
He won his first title with the club on 22 May 2022, when they were crowned league champions after 11 years.

#### 2022–23 season

Krunić appeared in his first encounter of the season against Udinese on 13 August.
In September, he extended his contract with Milan until June 2025.
He made his 100th appearance for the side against Dinamo Zagreb on 25 October.
On 2 November, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a win over Red Bull Salzburg.

#### 2023–24 season

Krunić made his season debut on 21 August against Bologna.
He appeared in his 100th clash for Milan in the Serie A against Lecce on 11 November.

### Fenerbahçe

In January 2024, Krunić was sent on a six-month loan to Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe. He debuted officially for the club in a Turkish Cup contest against Adanaspor on 17 January. A week later, he made his league debut against Samsunspor.
In July, Fenerbahçe signed him on a three-year deal.

### Red Star Belgrade

In September, Krunić joined Red Star Belgrade on a contract until June 2027. He debuted competitively for the team on 14 September against Napredak Kruševac. On 27 November, he scored his first goal for Red Star Belgrade in a UEFA Champions League clash against VfB Stuttgart. Three weeks later, he scored a brace in a beating of Čukarički, which were his first league goals for the side.

## International career

Krunić was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 team under coach Vlado Jagodić.
In November 2015, he received his first senior call-up, for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs against Republic of Ireland, but had to wait until 3 June 2016 to make his debut in a 2016 Kirin Cup tie against Denmark.
On 23 March 2019, in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Armenia, Krunić scored his first senior international goal.

## Personal life

Krunić married his long-time girlfriend Ivana in May 2022. Together they have two children, a daughter named Neva and a son named Andrej.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Sutjeska Foča | 2011–12 | First League of the RS | 9 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 2 |
| Sutjeska Foča | 2012–13 | First League of the RS | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| Sutjeska Foča | Total | Total | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 3 |
| Donji Srem | 2012–13 | Serbian SuperLiga | 13 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 2 |
| Donji Srem | 2013–14 | Serbian SuperLiga | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 2 |
| Donji Srem (loan) | 2014–15 | Serbian SuperLiga | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 1 |
| Donji Srem (loan) | Total | Total | 51 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 55 | 5 |
| Borac Čačak | 2014–15 | Serbian SuperLiga | 13 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 2 |
| Empoli | 2015–16 | Serie A | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 |
| Empoli | 2016–17 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 2 |
| Empoli | 2017–18 | Serie B | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 5 |
| Empoli | 2018–19 | Serie A | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 5 |
| Empoli | Total | Total | 116 | 13 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 119 | 13 |
| Milan | 2019–20 | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 |
| Milan | 2020–21 | Serie A | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 38 | 2 |
| Milan | 2021–22 | Serie A | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Milan | 2022–23 | Serie A | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 34 | 1 |
| Milan | 2023–24 | Serie A | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Milan | Total | Total | 101 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 139 | 3 |
| Fenerbahçe (loan) | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Fenerbahçe | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Fenerbahçe | Total | Total | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2024–25 | Serbian SuperLiga | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 4 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 325 | 27 | 19 | 0 | 45 | 3 | 389 | 30 |
* ↑ Includes Bosnian Cup, Serbian Cup, Coppa Italia, Turkish Cup
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

### International

    As of match played 7 September 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2018 | 5 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2019 | 5 | 1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2020 | 5 | 1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2021 | 5 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2023 | 5 | 2 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 34 | 4 |
    Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Krunić goal.
List of international goals scored by Rade Krunić :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 23 March 2019 | Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9 | Armenia | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying |
| 2 | 8 October 2020 | Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 14 | Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs |
| 3 | 23 March 2023 | Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 28 | Iceland | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 4 | 23 March 2023 | Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 28 | Iceland | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |

## Honours

Empoli
* Serie B: 2017–18
Milan
* Serie A: 2021–22