Arijan Ademi (; born 29 May 1991) is a professional footballer who plays for Hungarian Football League club ÃÂjpest.
Ademi started his professional career at à  ibenik, debuting for the senior squad on 22 March 2008, aged just 16 years. On 16 June 2010, he was transferred to reigning Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, becoming the team captain in 2017. Through fourteen seasons at the club, Ademi became the most decorated player in club's history, having won 24 trophies.
Born in Croatia to Macedonian Albanian parents, Ademi represented his country of birth at various youth levels. Despite even making three appearances for the senior team, on 9 October 2014, he debuted for the Macedonia national team in an official match. He was selected to represent North Macedonia at UEFA Euro 2020.
In 2015, Ademi initially received a four-year suspension for doping, which was subsequently reduced to two years.
Ademi began his career at à  ibenik where he was promoted to the first team on 15 September 2007. He made his first senior appearance for the club on 22 March 2008 in a match against Dinamo Zagreb. He featured as a 63rd-minute substitute for Gabriel in a match à  ibenik lost 5âÂÂ1. The following season Ademi made 28 appearances for the senior squad, 16 of which he started in the first eleven. The 2009âÂÂ10 Prva HNL was the most successful for Ademi as he made 27 appearances in the first eleven and scored two goals. He scored his first league goal on 25 July 2009 in an away match against Croatia Sesvete which à  ibenik won 2âÂÂ1. He was also the youngest player that captained any Prva HNL club that season.
On 16 June 2010 he was transferred to Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of â¬400,000. He made his first appearance for his new club on 31 July 2010 in a league match against Rijeka in a match Dinamo Zagreb lost 2âÂÂ1. He also made his debut in European competitions on 4 August in the 2010âÂÂ11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match against Sheriff Tiraspol which finished with a draw 1âÂÂ1. Upon arrival of the coach Vahid Halilhodà ¾iàhe established himself as a first team regular in the position of defensive midfielder, and appeared as a starter in their 2010âÂÂ11 UEFA Europa League group matches, as Dinamo finished third with 7 points, behind Villarreal and PAOK. By the end of the season he has won his first trophies with Dinamo, Prva HNL and Croatian Cup.
After losing his first team spot, in the second part of the 2011âÂÂ12 season he was sent on loan to Lokomotiva, where he made only three appearances due to injury.
He came back from loan at the beginning of the 2012âÂÂ13 season, and was a part of the squad that qualified for the 2012âÂÂ13 UEFA Champions League. In the CL group stage, Ademi made 5 appearances, as Dinamo finished bottom of their group with one point.
On 7 October 2015, Dinamo Zagreb announced that Ademi failed a doping test after their recent Champions League win over Arsenal in September. UEFA subsequently suspended Ademi for a period of four years. On 27 March 2017, the suspension was reduced by two years as Ademi managed to prove that he hadn't taken doping intentionally, making him eligible for selection from October 2017. In November 2017, Ademi was named the club captain, after coach Mario CvitanoviÃÂ stripped Domagoj AntoliÃÂ of captaincy.
In summer 2020, upon winning Prva HNL, Ademi became the most decorated player in Dinamo's history, having won 17 trophies. On 3 December 2020, he broke Sammir's record for most appearances for Dinamo in European competitions, making his 77th appearance in the 2âÂÂ0 Europa League victory over Feyenoord at De Kuip.
In March 2023, it was confirmed that Ademi would be leaving Dinamo after 13 years to join Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan. He played his final match for Dinamo on 19 March against Rijeka.
Ademi scored his first goal for Guoan in his 7th game for the club against Nantong Zhiyun on 15 May 2023.
On 8 September 2023, Ademi rejoined Dinamo Zagreb.
Ademi made his first international appearance for Croatia playing for the under-19 football team. His debut international cap came in a friendly match against Slovenia under-19 selection in Bistra, on 12 August 2008. Croatia won the match 3âÂÂ1 and Ademi played until 69th minute when he was substituted by Renato KeliÃÂ. He made another appearance the next day when two selections faced each other in Breà ¾ice. The match finished with another win by Croatian under-19 team and Ademi played full 90 minutes in that match. He scored his first international goal on 17 September in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina under-19 team in à ½upanja. The match finished with a 2âÂÂ2 draw. His first official match for under-19 team came on 5 October 2008 when the team faced Estonia in Tallinn in their 2009 UEFA under-19 football championship. Estonia won the match 4âÂÂ1 with Ademi playing the full match for Croatian side. He made another appearance against Kazakhstan on 7 October 2008 in a match Croatia won 4âÂÂ0. After that, Ademi was capped four times in friendly matches for the under-18 team between 10 March and 2 April 2009. He also scored a goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina under-18 team on 31 March in a home match Croatia won 3âÂÂ0. Ademi returned to under-19 team on 15 September 2009 featuring in the friendly match against Slovenia. After that, he made four more official appearances for the under-19 team in their 2010 UEFA under-19 football championship qualifying campaign. On 22 January 2013 national team head coach Igor à  timac called up Ademi for a friendly match against South Korea in London on 6 February 2013. Earlier, in February 2013, Ademi had complained to the Albanian media that Albania never extended him an invitation.
After Niko KovaÃÂ did not select Ademi for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, Ademi decided to play for Macedonia. KovaÃÂ later changed his mind and tried to call him up after the tournament but Ademi refused as he had already given his word to the Football Federation of Macedonia and didn't want to break the besa. On 9 October 2014, he made his official debut in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Luxembourg.
On 8 October and 12 November 2020, Ademi took part in North Macedonia's 2âÂÂ1 and 1âÂÂ0 victories over Kosovo and Georgia in the UEFA Euro 2020 play-offs, despite being injured both times, helping North Macedonia reach their first major tournament in history. On 31 March 2021, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Germany in Duisburg, Ademi provided Eljif Elmas with an assist for the winning goal in the 2âÂÂ1 victory. It was Germany's first defeat in the FIFA World Cup qualification since 1 September 2001 and the third ever.
On 8 March 2024, national team coach Blagoja Milevski confirmed that Ademi retired from national team.
Ademi was born in à  ibenik to a Macedonian Albanian family who hail from Pirok. His great-grandfather moved from Pirok to à  ibenik after World War I, where his grandfather Afet opened a pastry shop that is still working. He is a cousin of Macedonian professional football player Agim Ibraimi.
In April 2020, Ademi's girlfriend Andrea JankoviÃÂ, daughter of Janko JankoviÃÂ, gave birth in Zagreb to their first child, a baby boy they named Adrian. In September 2022, Ademi and JankoviÃÂ had their second son.
à  ibenik
Dinamo Zagreb