Alexander Isak went from Stockholm prodigy to Britain's most expensive footballer
At 16, Alexander Isak became the youngest player ever to score for AIK in Sweden's top flight. Nine years later Liverpool paid 125 million pounds for him, a British record and the third-largest fee in football history. In between came stops in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, plus a starring spell at Newcastle.
Isak was born in Stockholm in September 1999, the youngest of six children in a family of Eritrean descent, and grew up in Solna supporting AIK from the age of six. He came through the club's youth system and scored on his first-team debut in a cup game in February 2016. That April he found the net against Östersund at 16 years and 199 days, a club record for the league. On his 17th birthday he scored twice in a derby win over Djurgården, and a teammate hailed him as Sweden's new Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Borussia Dortmund signed him in January 2017 for a fee reported at 9 million euros, a record for a player from the Swedish league, after he reportedly rejected Real Madrid. Chances were scarce, so he went on loan to Willem II, where he became the first player to score three penalties in one Eredivisie match and netted 12 goals in his first 12 league games. Real Sociedad came next, and in April 2021 he helped them lift the delayed 2020 Copa del Rey with a 1–0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Newcastle made him their record signing in August 2022, and he scored on debut at Anfield. His December 2024 form, eight goals, two assists and a hat-trick at Ipswich, earned him the Player of the Month award, the first Swede to win it since Ibrahimović. In 2025 he told the club he wanted out, sat out the season opener and publicly confirmed his wish to leave. Liverpool completed the deal on 1 September 2025, but in December he broke his fibula in a tackle while scoring against Tottenham.
For Sweden he became the youngest scorer in national team history, finding the net in a 6–0 friendly win over Slovakia in January 2017. He went to Euro 2020 and, named by coach Graham Potter for the 2026 World Cup, scored and set up two more in a 5–1 win over Tunisia.
Source: Alexander Isak
