Richairo Juliano à ½ivkovià(/Rià ¡airo à ½ulijano à ½ivkoviÃÂ; born 5 September 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Thai League 1 club Bangkok United. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Curaçao national team.
Born in Assen, à ½ivkoviàbegan playing football at FVV from Foxhol. He was noticed early on due to his agility and speed, and at the age of 11 he left for the youth academy of FC Groningen where he progressed. He brought more attention to himself due to his performance for the reserves team, and by the end of 2012 he signed a three-year contract with the club.
On 2 December 2012, à ½ivkoviàcame on as an 84th-minute substitute in the first team's 2âÂÂ0 win over Heracles Almelo, making him the youngest debutant in the history of the club. On 3 August 2013, the first match day of the 2013âÂÂ14 Eredivisie season, he scored his first regular season goal for the club, thereby relieving Arjen Robben as the youngest to have ever scored for Groningen. His talent did not go unnoticed, with 11 top football clubs enquiring about him by November 2013, including the likes of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
On 17 March 2014, à ½ivkoviàagreed to sign for Ajax, taking a three-year contract starting 1 July 2014. FC Groningen also received Ajax forward Danny Hoesen, as well as a percentage of à ½ivkoviÃÂ's transfer fee should Ajax sell the player before the expiration of his contract, hereby following in the footsteps of Luis Suárez who had transferred from Groningen to Ajax before him. On 5 June 2014, à ½ivkoviàmade his debut for Ajax in a friendly match against Wacker Innsbruck concluding the club's pre-season training camp in Austria. He scored the final goal in the 46th minute of the 5âÂÂ1 victory. He made his competitive debut for the reserves team Jong Ajax in the Eerste Divisie season opener, a North Holland derby match which resulted in a 3âÂÂ0 win at home against SC Telstar. He scored his first goal for the reserves in his second appearance from a penalty kick in the 55th minute against Fortuna Sittard, which resulted in a 2âÂÂ0 win. He made his third appearance for the reserves team in another North Holland derby match against neighbouring FC Volendam. The game ended in a 5âÂÂ0 loss at home. à ½ivkoviàwas sent off receiving a red card in the 59th minute following the ejection of Ajax goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh in the 35th minute of the match.
On 28 October 2014, à ½ivkoviàmade his regular season debut in the first team, playing in the third round KNVB Cup away match against SV Urk. Coming on as 46th-minute substitute for Arkadiusz Milik, he scored the final goal in the 89th minute of the 4âÂÂ0 victory. Scoring on his debut for the first team, à ½ivkoviàbecame the 50th Ajax player to do so since the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands.
On 22 June 2015, à ½ivkoviàwas sent on loan at Willem II, together with Lesly de Sa and Ruben Ligeon. On 1 July 2015, he scored the first four goals in a friendly game against Jong Brabant which ended 0âÂÂ12. Lesley de Sa also added a goal in that game. However, he already returned to Ajax in February 2016, as his loan at Willem II did not turn out to be a success.
à ½ivkoviàstarted the 2016âÂÂ17 season with Jong Ajax for which he scored three times in two matches. Especially after the arrival of Bertrand Traoré at Ajax, his prospects for playing time with the first team of Ajax decreased. On 16 August 2016, he was sent on loan to FC Utrecht until the end of the season.
On 16 June 2017, à ½ivkoviàsigned for Belgian Pro League club KV Oostende on a four-year contract. The transfer fee was not announced, however FC Groningen would receive 10% of the amount received by Ajax in the transfer.
On 18 February 2019, à ½ivkoviàmoved to second tier Chinese club Changchun Yatai for the 2019 China League One season. On 4 May 2019, he bagged his first senior hat-trick in a league match against Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard in a 3âÂÂ4 away win.
On 31 January 2020, à ½ivkoviàsigned for English Premier league club, Sheffield United on a six-month loan until the end of the 2019âÂÂ20 Premier League season, with the deal including an option to buy.
On 25 July 2022, à ½ivkoviàjoined Emmen for one year with an option for a second.
On 11 July 2023, à ½ivkoviàjoined Singapore Premier League outfit, Lion City Sailors on a one-year contract. He donned the no.34 jersey in tribute to his former Ajax teammate, Abdelhak Nouri who still suffered from a cardiac arrhythmia back in 2017 and in still recovering in the process. On 16 July 2023, à ½ivkoviàscored his first goal for the club in a match against Albirex Niigata (S). On 25 September 2023, he scored first club hat-trick and providing two assist in the 2023 Singapore Cup fixtures against Balestier Khalsa in a 7âÂÂ0 home win. On 4 October 2023, à ½ivkoviàscored his first AFC Champions League goal in a 2âÂÂ1 away win against Hong Kong side, Kitchee. On 8 November 2023, à ½ivkoviàscored a brace against Korean giant, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors helping the club to another historic win. On 9 December 2023, he scored a penalty from the spot which ended up as a 3âÂÂ-1 win against Hougang United which saw him lifting the 2023 Singapore Cup with the club. à ½ivkoviàleft the club on 30 May 2024.
On 9 July 2024, à ½ivkoviàmoved to Thai League 1 club Bangkok United.
Through his parents' respective origins, à ½ivkoviàis eligible to represent Serbia, Montenegro, Curaçao or the Netherlands.
Following his first Eredivisie goal earlier in the month, à ½ivkoviàwas called up to the Netherlands under-19 team on 22 August 2013. He has also represented the Netherlands at under-20 and under-21 level.
In March 2023, à ½ivkoviàreceived his first call-up to the Curaçao senior national team for the CONCACAF Nations League A fixtures in which he make his debut against Canada. On 29 March 2023, He make his second appearances in a friendly against Argentina at the Estadio ÃÂnico Madre de Ciudades.
à ½ivkoviàcarries the last name of his mother Mira, who is originally from Serbia; his father, who left the family when à ½ivkoviàwas little, was from Curaçao. In addition to Dutch, he speaks Serbian.
Red Star Belgrade
Lion City Sailors