Benjamin Šeško

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Benjamin Šeško
FC RB Salzburg gegen SK Austria Klagenfurt (2023-05-28) 38 (cropped).jpg
Šeško with Red Bull Salzburg in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-05-31) 31 May 2003 (age 22) [1]
Place of birth Radeče, Slovenia [2]
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) [3]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Manchester United
Number 30
Youth career
2010–2013 Radeče
2013–2014 Rudar Trbovlje
2014–2016 Radeče
2016–2018 Krško
2018–2019 Domžale
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2023 Red Bull Salzburg 55 (21)
2019–2021FC Liefering (loan) 44 (22)
2023–2025 RB Leipzig 64 (27)
2025– Manchester United 3 (0)
International career
2017–2018 Slovenia U15 6 (4)
2018 Slovenia U16 4 (4)
2018–2019 Slovenia U17 14 (5)
2020 Slovenia U19 1 (0)
2021– Slovenia 41 (16)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:59, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:33, 24 March 2025 (UTC)

Benjamin Šeško (pronounced [ˈbeːnjaminˈʃɛːʃkɔ] , born 31 May 2003) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Slovenia national team.

Contents

Šeško joined Red Bull Salzburg aged 16 in 2019 from Domžale. He was loaned to the Salzburg's reserve team FC Liefering for two seasons, where he scored 22 goals in 44 games in the second tier of Austrian football. He made his first-team debut for Red Bull Salzburg in January 2021 and went on to win three Austrian Bundesliga titles and one Austrian Cup. In July 2023, Šeško joined German club RB Leipzig, where he scored 39 goals in 87 appearances over two seasons, and won one DFL-Supercup.

Šeško represented Slovenia at youth international level, before becoming the youngest player to appear for the senior national team in 2021, aged 18, and scored his first goal for the national team in October 2021, making him Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer.

Club career

Early career

Šeško began his career at his hometown club Radeče when he was in the first grade. [4] [5] He then spent one year with Rudar Trbovlje in the under-11 selection, [4] [6] before returning to Radeče. [4] In 2016 he transferred to Krško, where he played for the under-15s and under-17s. [7] In the 2017–18 season, he scored 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s. [7] In 2018, Šeško joined Domžale, where he stayed for one season. [7]

Red Bull Salzburg

At the age of 16, on 3 June 2019, Šeško signed a three-year professional contract with Red Bull Salzburg. [8] He debuted with Red Bull Salzburg in a 3–0 Austrian Football Bundesliga win over TSV Hartberg on 30 January 2021. [9]

Loan to FC Liefering

Immediately after signing with Red Bull Salzburg, he was moved to their farm club FC Liefering, competing in the Austrian Second League. In the 2020–21 season, he scored 21 goals in 29 appearances and became the league's second-best goalscorer. [10] He scored most of his goals in the final part of the season, scoring 13 goals in the last 7 rounds. [11]

RB Leipzig

On 9 August 2022, RB Leipzig announced that Šeško would join them on 1 July 2023, on a five-year contract until 2028, for a reported transfer fee of around €24 million. [12] [13]

On 3 September 2023, Šeško scored his first goals for RB Leipzig by netting a brace in a 3–0 away win over Union Berlin, which ended their 24-match streak without loss at home. [14] [15] On 19 September, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal (excluding qualifying rounds) as RB Leipzig defeated Young Boys 3–1 away from home in the matchday 1 of the 2023–24 edition. [16] Šeško finished his first season with 18 goals across all competitions, and also became the youngest ever player to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga games at 20 years and 353 days. [17]

In June 2024, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and AC Milan all pursued Šeško, [18] but he decided to stay with RB Leipzig, extending his existing contract by another year until 2029. [19] [20] During the 2024–25 season, he emerged as RB Leipzig's top scorer, setting a personal record with 21 goals in all competitions. [21]

Manchester United

On 9 August 2025, Premier League club Manchester United announced the signing of Šeško on a five-year contract until 2030, thus becoming the first-ever Slovenian to represent the club. [22] [23] The transfer fee was reported to be an initial €76.5 million, with an additional €8.5 million in performance related add-ons. [24] [25] On 17 August, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal in the opening round of the Premier League. [26]

International career

Sesko (number 11) with Slovenia in 2022 Sweden-Slovenia Nations League 2022-09-27 49.jpg
Šeško (number 11) with Slovenia in 2022

Eligible for Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (due to his mother hailing from Doboj), [27] Šeško opted for the former, having represented the country at the under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 levels. He made his under-19 debut in a friendly game against Austria in September 2020. [28]

In May 2021, Šeško was called up by the senior team manager Matjaž Kek for a pair of friendlies in June 2021. [29] He debuted for Slovenia in a 1–1 friendly tie with North Macedonia on 1 June 2021. At the time he was 18 years and 1 day old and became the youngest debutant in the national team, surpassing the previous record set by Petar Stojanović seven years earlier. [30] On 8 October 2021, Šeško scored his first goal for Slovenia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Malta, becoming Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 18 years, 4 months and 8 days. [31]

"I have no doubt whatsoever that Šeško will surpass me. I look at my record like it's gone. It's the past. He will definitely correct those numbers."

Slovenia's all-time top goalscorer Zlatko Zahovič (35 goals) in September 2022 about the then 19-year-old Šeško, who at the time scored four national team goals. [32]

During the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B campaign, Šeško helped Slovenia avoid relegation to League C with two decisive goals. He provided an assist and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Norway on 24 September 2022, [33] and also scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden three days later. The goal against Sweden was described as a "wonder goal" by the media, [34] [35] and was nominated as one of the best goals of the matchday by UEFA. [36]

Šeško was Slovenia's top scorer in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, netting five goals from nine appearances in Group H [37] as Slovenia qualified for its first European Championship since 2000. [38] He was later named in the squad for the final tournament, where he played in all four Slovenia's matches. [39] The team advanced to the knockout stages for the first time and was eliminated by Portugal in the round of 16 on penalties. [40]

On 9 September 2024, Šeško scored his first international hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Kazakhstan in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B. [41]

Style of play

Šeško is described as a tall, athletic centre-forward known for his powerful finishing, explosive pace, and aerial ability, standing at 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in). [42] He has also recorded a top speed of 35.7 km/h, which is just 1.5 km/h slower than the fastest player in Bundesliga. [43]

Šeško is considered one of the most promising young strikers in Europe. [42] [44] His combination of physical strength and technical ability has led to comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimović, who he cited as a role model during his formative years. [42] Recruitment analysts have described Šeško as a clinical forward capable of dropping into space, holding off defenders, and linking effectively with teammates in advanced positions. [42]

While he initially operated primarily as a penalty-box striker, Šeško has gradually expanded his involvement in the build-up phase, becoming more engaged in general play around the final third. He has shown improvement in his link-up play and movement off the ball, often dropping deeper to support attacking transitions and contribute to team possession beyond just finishing chances. [42] [43]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 August 2025 [2] [45]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Liefering (loan) 2019–20 Austrian 2. Liga 151151
2020–21 Austrian 2. Liga29212921
Total44224422
Red Bull Salzburg 2020–21 Austrian Bundesliga 10000010
2021–22 Austrian Bundesliga245558 [c] 13711
2022–23 Austrian Bundesliga3016427 [d] 04118
Total5521971517929
RB Leipzig 2023–24 Bundesliga 3114228 [c] 21 [e] 04218
2024–25 Bundesliga3313448 [c] 44521
Total642766166108739
Manchester United 2025–26 Premier League 30001040
Career total166701513103171021490
  1. Includes Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International

As of match played 23 March 2025 [46]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Slovenia 202171
2022104
202395
2024136
202520
Total4116
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šeško goal.
List of international goals scored by Benjamin Šeško
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
18 October 2021 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta6Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 4–04–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
212 June 2022 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia13Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 2–22–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B
324 September 2022Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia14Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2–12–12022–23 UEFA Nations League B
427 September 2022 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden15Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1–01–12022–23 UEFA Nations League B
517 November 2022 Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania16Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1–02–1 Friendly
626 March 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia19Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 1–02–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
77 September 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia22Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland 3–14–2UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
814 October 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia23Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 1–03–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
92–0
1020 November 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia26Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 1–02–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
1121 March 2024National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta27Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 2–22–2Friendly
126 September 2024Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia34Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 1–01–1 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B
139 September 2024Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia35Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 1–03–02024–25 UEFA Nations League B
142–0
153–0
1614 November 2024Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia38Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1–11–42024–25 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg

RB Leipzig

Individual

References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 "Slovenia – B. Šeško". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
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