Darko Churlinov

Darko Churlinov (born 11 July 2000) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Burnley and the North Macedonia national team.
Club career
Churlinov was born and raised in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, where he also started playing football with local FK Forca. Subsequently, he went through the youth ranks of FK Rabotnički and FK Vardar until he was 14 years old. He moved to Germany and joined the youth setup of Hansa Rostock, where his friend and fellow Macedonian footballer Dimitar Mitrovski was already playing in the youth teams. Mitrovski had asked the club officials to sign Churlinov as he would like to have a fellow Macedonian as a teammate. He finished his youth career at 1. FC Köln. He started to play for the second team of 1. FC Köln before being promoted to the first team, where he made his debut on 17 August 2019 against VfL Wolfsburg, being subbed on in replacement of Florian Kainz in the 70th minute. Churlinov would remain on the bench for the rest of his stint with Köln.
On 8 January 2020, Churlinov joined VfB Stuttgart on a four-year deal. He made his debut with Stuttgart on 22 February 2020 against SSV Jahn Regensburg, being subbed on in replacement of Silas Katompa in the 71st minute, creating a goal-scoring opportunity. Churlinov would primarily be a substitute throughout the rest of his career with Stuttgart.
On 18 August 2021, he joined Schalke 04 on a loan deal until the end of the season. Churlinov made his debut with Schalke 04 on 21 August 2021 against SSV Jahn Regensburg, being subbed on for Reinhold Ranftl in the 62nd minute, providing an assist to Simon Terodde's goal in the 81st minute.
On 19 August 2022, he joined Burnley on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Churlinov would make his debut with Burnley the next day against Blackpool F.C., where he was subbed on for Vitinho in the 71st minute. On June 1, 2023, Churlinov was hospitalized with suspected blood poisoning in Serbia, causing him to miss play for a month in domestic and international play.
International career
On 28 March 2017, at the age of 16 years and 8 months, Churlinov made his debut for the Macedonia national team in a friendly match against Belarus, becoming the youngest player who has ever played for Macedonia's national team. Churlinov scored his first international goal on 4 June 2021, in a friendly match against Kazakhstan.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first.
Honours
Schalke 04
2. Bundesliga: 2021–22
Burnley
EFL Championship: 2022–23
References
External links
sport.de
2000 births
Living people
Footballers from Skopje
Men's association football midfielders
Macedonian men's footballers
North Macedonia men's youth international footballers
North Macedonia men's under-21 international footballers
North Macedonia men's international footballers
1. FC Köln II players
1. FC Köln players
VfB Stuttgart players
VfB Stuttgart II players
FC Schalke 04 players
Burnley F.C. players
Regionalliga players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
English Football League players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
Macedonian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in England