| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 19 May 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Ancona, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cesena | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Metauro | |||
| C.S.I. Delfino Fano | |||
| –2019 | San Marino | ||
| 2019–2021 | Cesena | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021– | Cesena | 89 | (34) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Albania U19 | 8 | (3) |
| 2022–2024 | Albania U21 | 8 | (1) |
| 2025– | Albania | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 September 2025 | |||
Cristian Shpendi (born 19 May 2003) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Cesena. Born in Italy, he plays for the Albania national team.
Shpendi was born in Ancona, Italy, along with his twin, Stiven. He is the son of Albanian parents who originate from Pukë. The Shpendi family immigrated to Italy in 1997, thus Christian and Stiven both hold dual Italian and Albanian citizenship[ citation needed ]. [1] Their first team was Real Metauro, from where they moved to Delfino Fano and then to San Marino Academy until they went to Cesena. [2]
The twins played their first competitive season for Cesena under-17 squad coached by Filippo Masolini in Allievi Nazionali U17 team, where the attacking duo made each 16 appearances, with Cristian scoring 14 goals and Stiven 11. They then played for Cesena Primavera under coach Giovanni Ceccarelli in Campionato Primavera 3 2020–21 with 15 goals for Cristian and 13 for Stiven. The duo helped the side to reach the final, losing only to Arezzo Primavera. [3]
For the following season, 2021–22, at Primavera 2, Cristian scored 15 goals in 17 matches and was helped by 23 goals from Stiven in just 20 games - this made Stiven the league's top-scorer. Cesena won the Championship, gaining promotion to Primavera 1 and the Primavera Supercup against Udinese Primavera, beating them 4–1 with two goals from each twin. [4] Meanwhile, the players were also promoted to the first team in the 2021–22 Serie C, where Cristian made his professional debut under coach William Viali on 25 September 2021 against Olbia, starting and playing for 57 minutes before being replaced by Salvatore Caturano. [5] On 25 February 2022, the twins extended their contract with Cesena until 2025. [3]
Shpendi was first called up by the Albania under-19 team in 2021, appearing in several friendlies and scoring two goals. [4] He later took part in the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers, [6] where he made his competitive debut against France by replacing his twin Stiven at half-time. [7] In the following match he scored the equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Serbia, [8] but despite collecting four points in the group stage, Albania were eliminated due to an inferior goal difference. [9]
In 2022, Shpendi made his debut for the Albania under-21 side. [10] Between 2023 and 2024, he featured in three friendly matches before playing in the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E, where he appeared in five games. [11] On 17 November 2023, he scored once and provided an assist in the second half as Albania came from 0–2 down at half-time to defeat Romania U21 3–2, with his twin brother Stiven also scoring in the comeback victory. [12]
On 1 September 2025, Shpendi received his first senior call-up from coach Sylvinho for a friendly against Gibraltar and a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Latvia, being added to the squad as a replacement for Ernest Muçi, who withdrew from the initial list due to physical problems. [13]
He made his debut three days later in the friendly against Gibraltar, coming on as a half-time substitute for Mirlind Daku. [14] In the 69th minute, he won a penalty after his shot was handled by an opponent; Jasir Asani converted it to give Albania a 1–0 away victory. [15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe [a] | Other [b] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cesena | 2021–22 | Serie C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie C | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie C | 32 | 20 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 22 | |||
| 2024–25 | Serie B | 34 | 11 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 37 | 13 | |||
| 2025–26 | Serie B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 2 | |||
| Total | 88 | 33 | 11 | 4 | — | 3 | 0 | 100 | 36 | |||
| Career total | 89 | 34 | 10 | 4 | — | 3 | 0 | 100 | 36 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | |||
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Sulmuesit e vitlindjes 2003 qe jane me origjine nga Puka, prej disa sezonesh janë pjesë e skuadrës italiane, ndërsa forma e tyre ka bërë që të vijë edhe rinovimi me tre vite.
La mia famiglia è in Italia dal 1997, infatti siamo nati ad Ancona e abbiamo vissuto a Fano, abbiamo la doppia cittadinanza. La nostra prima squadra è stata la Real Metauro, poi siamo stati alla Delfino Fano, al San Marino e infine al Cesena. È il nostro terzo anno qui, ci siamo sempre trasferiti insieme».