Official
The time has come for a change Dejan Lovren. The Croatian central defender who won the UEFA Super Cup, Champions League and Premier League with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool leaves France and Olympique Lyon after 6 months to sign on a free transfer with PAOK Thessaloniki. For him a two-year contract, until 2026, with a new experience in the Greek championship.
The official press release. “PAOK announces the acquisition of Dejan Lovren from Lyon. The Croatian central defender has signed a partnership contract with Dikeflo until 30.06.2026 and will wear the number 6 shirt.
Dejan Lovren was born on 5 July 1989 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina and grew up in Croatia. At the age of 14, he joined the youth sector of Dinamo Zagreb and on 10 May 2006 he made his professional debut in a match against Varazdin. In 2006 he went on loan to Inter Zapresic to get back into shape, returning to Dinamo in June 2008 and staying until the summer of 2010. In those two years he won two league titles, one cup and recorded 57 appearances, three goals and one assist
So at the age of 21 came the first big transfer for the Croatian defender. Lyon spent 9,000,000 euros and made him a resident in France. With the French team he played 102 games, scored three goals, provided three assists and won the French Cup in the 2011-12 season.
After three full years, in July 2013 to be precise, Lovren moved to Southampton on behalf of the team of the same name, where he remained for a year and recorded 31 appearances, two goals and one assist.
The Croatian defender attracted attention with his performances at Southampton and made Liverpool pay €25,000,000 to make him theirs. Liverpool became the… Croatian goalkeeper after wearing the Croatian jersey for six consecutive years, making 185 appearances, scoring eight goals and four assists. With Liverpool, he won the Champions League in 2019, the UEFA Super Cup in the same year and of course the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, being a key member of the team himself.
In 2020, Lovren moved to Zenit Saint Petersburg, where he played 63 times, scoring three goals and three assists. He stayed in Russia for three years and won three league titles and cups before returning to Lyon in 2023 where he played 11 games.
At international level, Lovren is one of the best players in the history of the Croatian national team, with over 75 international caps, and was also a key member of the team that reached the World Cup final in 2018, and has played in three World Cups and one Euro in total”, the announcement on the official portal of the Greek club reads.