Fatos BeÃÂiraj (, ; born 5 May 1988) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a striker.
BeÃÂiraj began his career in his hometown of Peja with the local club Shqiponja at 17 years of age, before joining their city rivals Besa Pejë in July 2007. After spending the first half of the 2007âÂÂ08 season with Besa Pejë, his good performances in the Kosovar Superliga attracted attention from several clubs in the region, and in January 2008, BeÃÂiraj moved to the Montenegrin First League side BuduÃÂnost Podgorica.
He immediately established himself as a first team regular at BuduÃÂnost, scoring 9 goals in 15 appearances in the second half of the 2007âÂÂ08 season, helping the club win the Montenegrin championship title and finish runners-up in the 2007âÂÂ08 Montenegrin Cup. In the following two seasons, BeÃÂiraj scored 28 league goals in 62 matches for the club, becoming league top scorer in the 2008âÂÂ09 season with 18 goals scored.
On 30 August 2010, it was announced that BeÃÂiraj signed for Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. He played well in his debut season with Dinamo and became regularly called up to the Montenegro national team. He played in 22 league matches and scored 8 goals, most notably a beautiful goal against Rijeka and a fine header against Hajduk Split.
BeÃÂiraj struggled to find his goalscoring form at the beginning of the 2011âÂÂ12 season, finally scoring after eight matches without a goal, netting the fifth goal in a 5âÂÂ0 win against Karlovac. He then scored the last goal in a 4âÂÂ1 win against Malmö in the 2011âÂÂ12 UEFA Champions League Play-off. BeÃÂiraj then continued his goalscoring form in domestic competition, scoring against Varaà ¾din, Istra 1961, Zadar, à  ibenik and Split.
On 22 November 2011, BeÃÂiraj scored Dinamo's first goal in the 2011âÂÂ12 UEFA Champions League, netting a header in the club's 6âÂÂ2 away loss to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
BeÃÂiraj was the first choice striker throughout the 2011âÂÂ12 season and became top scorer of the Prva HNL with 15 goals in 28 appearances, becoming the first foreign player to accomplish that feat.
In February 2014, BeÃÂiraj transferred to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai. On 8 March 2014, he made his debut for Yatai in a 1-0 away defeat against Beijing Guoan. On 23 April 2014, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 away win against defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande. He made 28 appearances for Yatai in the 2014 season and scored 7 goals.
In January 2015, BeÃÂiraj transferred to Belarusian Premier League side Dinamo Minsk. On 6 August 2015, he scored a 118th-minute winner in a 1âÂÂ1 extra-time (2âÂÂ1 aggregate) win over Swiss side Zürich in the second leg of the 2015âÂÂ16 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
On 18 February 2016, BeÃÂiraj signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian side Dynamo Moscow. He scored his first goal for Dynamo Moscow on 19 March 2016, giving his club a 1âÂÂ0 win against Ufa. On 11 January 2018, BeÃÂiraj's Dynamo contract was dissolved by mutual consent, making him a free agent.
The day after leaving Dynamo Moscow, on 12 January 2018, BeÃÂiraj signed a contract with the Belgian First Division A club Mechelen.
On 5 September 2018, BeÃÂiraj signed with Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Netanya. He was the top goalscorer for the club in his debut season scoring 15 goals in all club competitions. His second season with Netanya wasn't as successful, scoring only 7 times in the league and once in the Toto Cup. On 7 June 2020, BeÃÂiraj requested to be released from the club. In the two seasons with the club, he scored a total of 23 goals in 63 appearances for the club.
On 25 July 2020, BeÃÂiraj signed with Polish Ekstraklasa side Wisà Âa Kraków on a two-year contract after leaving Maccabi Netanya by contract termination.
On 11 February 2021, BeÃÂiraj signed for Bnei Yehuda of the Israeli Premier League.
BeÃÂiraj was first called up for the Montenegro U21 national team by head coach Duà ¡an Vlaisavljeviàin 2009, winning his first cap in a 2011 European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan on 7 June 2009. He went on to earn five caps for the U21 team before receiving his first call-up for the senior team in March 2009, for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Italy. BeÃÂiraj made his international debut in that match, coming on as a substitute for Radomir ÃÂaloviàin the 70th minute of the game. He scored his first goal for Montenegro on 17 November 2010 in a friendly match against Azerbaijan. On 7 June 2019, BeÃÂiraj captained Montenegro in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Kosovo. In November 2022, BeÃÂiraj announced the end of his national team career, after 86 appearances and 15 scored goals.
BuduÃÂnost Podgorica
Dinamo Zagreb
Dynamo Moscow
Individual