Alexander Sørloth (born 5 December 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Atlético Madrid and the Norway national team.
The son of former Norwegian international striker Gøran Sørloth, Sørloth started his career at Rosenborg, before spending a loan period at Bodø/Glimt in 2015. Following this, he transferred to Groningen in the Netherlands and then to Midtjylland in Denmark. In 2018, he joined Crystal Palace in England, followed by loan spells at Gent in Belgium and Trabzonspor in Turkey. He moved to RB Leipzig in Germany in 2020 and later spent two seasons on loan at Real Sociedad in Spain. In 2023, he joined Villarreal, before transferring to Atlético Madrid in 2024.
Club career Rosenborg
After many years in the youth system, Sørloth was rewarded with a contract by Rosenborg in July 2013. He played his first professional game for Rosenborg when he was subbed on in the second half of the Europa League first qualifying round game versus Crusaders, and it took him only 12 minutes to score his first goal, Rosenborg's 6th in their 7–2 win.
Sørloth made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 20 July 2014 in Rosenborg's home game against Sogndal coming on as a substitute for Alexander Søderlund after 60 minutes.
Sørloth went on a loan to Bodø/Glimt before the start of the 2015 Tippeligaen. In the league he scored 13 goals and making five assists in his 26 appearances (19 starters). In his last match for Bodø/Glimt, he scored his second hat-trick of the season, against Stabæk.
Groningen On 6 November 2015, Sørloth confirmed that he would be joining Eredivisie club Groningen on a 4.5-year contract at the end of the season. Groningen paid a transfer fee of around €750,000.
Midtjylland On 1 June 2017, Danish Superliga club Midtjylland announced that they had signed Sørloth on a four-year contract for what the club called a 'modest fee'. In September 2017 he was named the Superliga Player of the Month.
Crystal Palace On 31 January 2018, Sørloth signed for Premier League club Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £9 million. This made him the most expensive sale out of the Danish Superliga at the time. He made his debut on 10 February 2018 in a 3–1 away defeat to Everton. At the time of the transfer, he was the top scorer in the Superliga, and would go on to win the title at the end of the season. On 28 August, Sørloth scored his first and only goal for Palace in a 1–0 win over Swansea City in the EFL Cup.
Loan to Gent On 8 January 2019, Sørloth signed for Belgian First Division A side Gent on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.
Loan to Trabzonspor In August 2019, Sørloth signed for Turkish club Trabzonspor on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season. He debuted for the club on 8 August against Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, where he scored the second goal in a match that ended 2–2.
In March 2020, Sørloth scored his first hat-trick for Trabzonspor in a 6–0 Süper Lig victory against Kasimpasa. On 5 July 2020, Sørloth became Trabzonspor's top-scoring foreign player in a single season, with 29 goals, exceeding the tally of Georgian former center-forward Shota Arveladze.
RB Leipzig
After playing for his national team in the first two group matches of the UEFA Nations League, Sørloth failed to return to Trabzon prior to Trabzonspor's upcoming league fixture against Beşiktaş. On 22 September 2020, Sørloth signed for RB Leipzig for an initial fee of €20 million plus €2 million in potential add-ons, with any proceeds to be shared evenly between Trabzonspor and Crystal Palace. On 2 December 2020, he scored the game-winning goal against İstanbul Başakşehir in a 4–3 win in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, which was his first goal for the club.
Loan to Real Sociedad On 25 August 2021, Sørloth moved to La Liga side Real Sociedad on a season-long loan deal. On 29 August 2022, he returned to the Txuri-urdin on loan for another year.
Villarreal On 25 July 2023, La Liga club Villarreal announced the signing of Sørloth on a five-year deal, for a reported fee of €10 million. On 27 August, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 loss to Barcelona. On 19 May 2024, he scored four goals in a 4–4 draw in a league game against Real Madrid, reaching his 23rd goal, without penalty kicks, of the 2023–24 season as La Liga's top scorer with one match remaining. He was eventually surpassed by just one goal by Artem Dovbyk, who scored a hat-trick on the final matchday of the season.
Atlético Madrid On 3 August 2024, Sørloth transferred to fellow La Liga club Atlético Madrid for a fee in the region of €32 million. He signed a four-year contract. A few weeks later, on 19 August, he scored his first goal on his debut in a 2–2 away draw against his former club Villarreal. Later that year, on 21 December, he netted a stoppage-time goal in a 2–1 victory over Barcelona, securing his club's first away win over the latter since February 2006.
On 10 May 2025, Sørloth scored a first-half quadruple against his former club, Real Sociedad, including a hat-trick within four minutes, breaking the previous record held by David Villa in 2006. In addition, he became the first player in La Liga history to achieve a hat-trick before the 12th minute, adding a fourth goal in the 30th minute. He concluded his debut season with 20 goals, finishing as his club's top scorer in La Liga.
On 24 February 2026, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Club Brugge, securing his club's qualification to the round of 16. On 8 April 2026, he scored the club’s second goal in a 2–0 win against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.
International career
Sørloth debuted for the Norwegian senior squad against Portugal on 29 May 2016. He scored his first goal against Iceland the same year on 1 June.
Sørloth started all matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where he scored five goals and provided two assists. On 21 May 2026, Sørloth was included in the 26-man squad selected by Norway national team manager Ståle Solbakken for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In the 2–1 quarter-final loss against England on 11 July, Sørloth explained his decision not to pass to Erling Haaland in a key chance to extend Norway's lead, stating that he chose to shoot after believing the passing lane was blocked. He later faced criticism and death threats on social media.
Personal life On 31 May 2021, an Instagram post of Sørloth's surpassed 3.5 million comments, making it the most commented post on Instagram by an athlete. It was mainly fans of the Turkish football club Trabzonspor, asking the player to return to his former loan club.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRosenborg2013Tippeligaen00—11—1120146030902015000Total600—41—101Bodø/Glimt (loan)2015Tippeligaen261331—2914Groningen2015–16Eredivisie1320—201522016–17253112284Total38511—040436Midtjylland2017–18Danish Superliga191011—64—2615Crystal Palace2017–18Premier League40——402018–19121031161Total1601031——201Gent (loan)2018–19Belgian Pro League19431———225Trabzonspor (loan)2019–20Süper Lig342477824933RB Leipzig2020–21Bundesliga29540413762022–2310——010Total30540—410386Real Sociedad (loan)2021–22La Liga33442—72—4482022–23341252724616Total671694—144—9024Villarreal2023–24La Liga342310—63—4126Atlético Madrid2024–25352074803053242025–26351340146115420Total7033114—2264110744Career total359133411931642171475175
International
+Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNorway201671201750201851201954202053202193202293202362202484202595202690Total7726
As of match played 23 June 2026. Norway score listed first, score column indicates score after each Sørloth goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Alexander SørlothNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition11 June 2016Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway3–13–2Friendly22 June 2018Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland 3–23–2315 October 2019Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania1–11–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying4 15 November 2019Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway3–04–054–0618 November 2019National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta2–12–17 7 September 2020Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland3–15–12020–21 UEFA Nations League B8 4–1911 October 2020Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway2–04–01024 March 20211–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification1130 March 2021Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro1–01–0127 September 2021Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway4–15–11329 March 20228–09–0Friendly1412 June 20223–13–22022–23 UEFA Nations League B1520 November 20221–11–1Friendly1628 March 2023Batumi Stadium, Batumi, Georgia1–01–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying1712 October 2023AEK Arena, Larnaca, Cyprus1–04–01826 March 2024Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway1–01–1Friendly1910 October 20242–03–02024–25 UEFA Nations League B2013 October 2024Raiffeisen Arena, Linz, Austria1–11–52117 November 2024 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway3–05–02222 March 2025 Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova4–05–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification2325 March 2025 Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary2–14–2246 June 2025 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway 1–03–02513 November 20251–04–1262–0
Honours Midtjylland Danish Superliga: 2017–18
Trabzonspor Turkish Cup: 2019–20
RB Leipzig DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2020–21
Atlético Madrid Copa del Rey runner-up: 2025–26
Individual Süper Lig top scorer: 2019–20 Turkish Cup top scorer: 2019–20 La Liga Player of the Month: January 2023
References
External links
Profile at the Atlético Madrid website