Viktor Johan Anton Claesson (; born 2 January 1992) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for IFK Värnamo, which he captains. He is known for his passing and set piece abilities.

A full international between 2012 and 2023, Claesson won 74 caps and scored 15 goals for the Sweden national team. He represented his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career Early career Claesson started his career with local club IFK Värnamo. After progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut in 2009 in a Division 1 Södra match. After a breakthrough campaign during the 2011 Superettan season, Claesson join IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football.

Krasnodar On 25 January 2017, Claesson signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League team FC Krasnodar. He scored on his debut on 16 February 2017 in a 1–0 Europa League Round of 32 win against Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe, scoring a header on his first touch in any competitive Krasnodar game in the 4th minute. He was selected by UEFA as "Man of the Match". He continued his form with two goals in a Russian Cup game against FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast on 28 February 2017 and a goal against Celta de Vigo in the first leg of Europa League Round of 16 on 9 March 2017.

Claesson missed all of the 2019–20 season with a serious knee injury.

2020–21 season Out of action for over 14 months, Claesson returned from injury on 18 August 2020, playing the last 15 minutes of Krasnodar's 2–0 home win over Arsenal Tula in the Russian Premier League. On 18 September, he scored his first two goals since his return from injury in a 7–2 thrashing of Khimki. Four days later, Claesson scored from the penalty spot in the club's first-leg play-off round match against PAOK for qualification to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Krasnodar would win the second leg against PAOK by the same scoreline and secure progression to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

2021–22 season On 3 March 2022 Krasnodar announced that his contract was suspended and he would not train with the team, but the contract was not terminated and remained valid. On 5 March 2022, his contract was terminated and he was released from the club.

Copenhagen On 30 March 2022, Claesson signed with Copenhagen in Denmark until the end of the season. On 3 April, he scored the winning goal in his debut match for the club after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute.

On 16 June 2022, Claesson signed an extension with Copenhagen until 2026.

Värnamo In January 2026, it was announced that Claesson will return to his childhood club IFK Värnamo when his contract with Copenhagen expires at the end of June.Officielt: Viktor Claesson skifter hjem til Värnamo, bold.dk, 16 January 2026 He started and scored in his first match with Värnamo when he returned, in a 2-3 defeat against Ljungskile.Claesson lynede i sin hjemkost, bold.dk, 19 July 2026

International career In May 2018, Claesson was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was one of Sweden's main men for the duration of the tournament, in which the Blågult reached the quarterfinals.

In a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Spain on 10 June 2019, Claesson suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing the cruciate knee ligaments, after a clash with Jordi Alba.

He was named in Sweden's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, and appeared in all four games as Sweden was eliminated in the round of 16 by Ukraine. He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win against Poland in the group stage. On 19 November 2023, Claesson registered one goal and one assist against Estonia in their 2–0 win in their European Qualifiers game.

In October 2025, he announced his retirement from the national team. He was capped 74 times and scored 15 goals.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsIFK Värnamo2009Division 1 Södra165———1652010Division 1 Södra251110—2028112011Superettan291310——3013Total702920—207429IF Elfsborg2012Allsvenskan2750062—3372013Allsvenskan2333083—3462014Allsvenskan2657260—3972015Allsvenskan29115361—40152016Allsvenskan29832——3210Total134321872660017845Krasnodar2016–17Russian Premier League1311242–1852017–18Russian Premier League30100042—34122018–19Russian Premier League29124192—42152019–20Russian Premier League000000—002020–21Russian Premier League2461082—3382021–22Russian Premier League18320——203Total11432832580014743Copenhagen2021–22Danish Superliga101———1012022–23Danish Superliga30137381—45172023–24Danish Superliga25540112104172024–25Danish Superliga28661111—4582025–26Danish Superliga30651130—487Total123312254341018940Career total4411245015941830588157

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSweden201221201320201400201500201630201712220181412019432020512021153202282202392Total7415

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Claesson goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Viktor ClaessonNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 23 January 2012 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar 2–0 5–0 Friendly2 28 March 2017 Estádio do Marítimo, Funchal, Portugal 1–2 3–2Friendly3 2–24 10 September 2018 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden 2–0 2–3 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B5 23 March 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden 2–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying6 26 March 2019 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway 1–2 3–3UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying7 7 June 2019 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden 2–0 3–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying8 17 November 2020 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 1–0 2–4 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A9 25 March 2021 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification10 23 June 2021 Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia 3–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 2020112 September 2021Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden2–12–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification1224 September 2022Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia1–01–42022–23 UEFA Nations League B1319 November 2022Stadion, Malmö, Malmö, Sweden2–02–0 Friendly149 September 2023Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia5–05–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying1519 November 2023Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden1–02–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours Elfsborg Allsvenskan: 2012 Svenska Cupen: 2013–14

Copenhagen Danish Superliga: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25 Danish Cup: 2022–23 2024–25

Sweden King's Cup: 2013

Individual Allsvenskan top assist provider: 2015 Swedish Midfielder of the Year: 2018 Stor Grabb: 2018 Russian Premier League Left Winger of the Season: 2018–19

References

External links

Profile at the F.C. Copenhagen website (archive)