Mario Pašalić

A box-to-box midfielder born in Germany to Croatian parents who found sustained success at Atalanta after a complicated early career involving multiple loan spells from Chelsea.

Pašalić developed at Hajduk Split before a 2014 move to Chelsea. Unable to break into the Premier League side, he spent years on loan across Europe — in Spain, France, Italy, and Russia — before finding a permanent home at Atalanta from 2020 onwards. He was integral to Atalanta's 2023–24 UEFA Europa League title, their first major European trophy.

For Croatia, he earned 85 caps and scored 12 goals, representing the national team at Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup (third place), and Euro 2024.