Erik Benjamin Nygren (born 8 July 2001) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Sweden national team.

Club career IFK Göteborg Nygren began playing football at Utbynäs SK when he was 5–6 years old. In 2013, at the age of 12, he joined IFK Göteborg. After impressing in the youth teams, Nygren made his first-team debut for IFK Göteborg in a friendly game against Örgryte IS on 24 March 2018.16-åring frälste Blåvitt, aftonbladet.se, 24 March 2018 Two months after his debut, in May 2018, Nygren signed his first professional contract with Göteborg, a deal running until the end of 2020, despite interest from foreign clubs such as Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Inter."Jag tackade nej till Manchester City", expressen.se, 23 May 2018 The new contract also saw the 16-year old Nygren promoted to the first team squad.A-lagskontrakt för Benjamin, ifkgoteborg.se, 23 May 2018

Nygren's official debut for Göteborg came against Torns IF in the Swedish Cup on 23 August 2018, where he made a brief appearance in the 4–0 win.Nu väntar gruppspel i cupen, ifkgoteborg.se, 23 August 2018 Before the season ended, Nygren also made his Allsvenskan debut in a game against Djurgårdens IF on 31 October 2018, and he played in the last three games of the season. In the following match against Malmö FF, Nygren started the game17-åringen Nygren gjorde sin första allsvenska start i Blåvitt: "Betyder väldigt mycket", fotbollskanalen.se, 5 November 2011 and was in the starting line-up in the final game of the season against Örebro SK, scoring twice in Göteborg's 3–1 victory.17-åringen matchvinnare – blev tvåmålsskytt, aftonbladet.se, 11 November 2018

Genk On 20 June 2019, 17-year old Nygren joined Belgian club Genk in a record deal for a fee around five million euros.Klart med Genk för Benjamin, ifkgoteborg.se, 20 June 2019Rekordaffären: Lämnar Sverige för 50 miljoner, expressen.se, 20 June 2020 He signed a deal until June 2024.BENJAMIN NYGREN CHOOSES GENK!, krcgenk.be, 20 June 2019 Nygren made his debut for Genk in a Belgian Super Cup win against K.V. Mechelen on 20 July 2019.GENK VS. MECHELEN 3 - 0, Soccerway, 20 July 2019 Nygren also scored Genk's first goal in his home debut on 27 July in a 2–1 win over K.V. Kortrijk.Nygrens drömdebut: "En jävligt go start", expressen.se, 26 July 2019

To get some more playing time and experience, Nygren was loaned out to Dutch side SC Heerenveen on 6 October 2020 for two seasons.Svenske U21-stjärnan byter klubb: "Kvalitet", expressen.se, 6 October 2020 In his first season, Nygren scored seven goals in 32 games (16 from start and 16 from the bench). Already after the first season, there was talk that he was on his way out of the club because he was not getting enough playing time, but he ended up staying and started the 2021–22 season out at the Dutch club.Benjamin Nygren öppnar för att lämna Heerenveen, fotbolltransfers.com, 1 June 2021

Nordsjælland

On 30 January 2022, Nygren got his loan-spell at SC Heerenveen terminated and joined Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland on a deal until the end of 2025.FC NORDSJÆLLAND KØBER SVENSK ANGRIBER I BELGIEN , fcn.dk, 30 January 2022

Celtic On 27 June 2025, Nygren signed for Scottish Premiership champions Celtic on a five-year-contract for an undisclosed fee. On 3 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 win against St Mirren in the league. On 10 August, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win against Aberdeen in the league. On 27 December 2025, Nygren scored a double against Livingston in the league, his 9th and 10th goal of the season and his Celtic career until then.

International career After having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Nygren made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 22 March 2025 in a friendly 1–0 loss against Luxembourg, replacing Jesper Karlström in the 82nd minute. He scored his first international game goal three days later in a friendly 5–1 win against Northern Ireland on 25 March 2025.

On 26 March 2026, Nygren assisted Viktor Gyökeres' opening goal in Sweden's 3–1 win against Ukraine in the World Cup playoffs.

On 12 May 2026, Nygren was named in the Sweden squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He made his World Cup debut on 14 June 2026, starting in a 5-1 group stage win against Tunisia.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGöteborg2018Allsvenskan3200———322019Allsvenskan12400———124Total15600———156Genk2019–20Belgian Pro League2110—0010402020–21Belgian Pro League3000—000030Total5110—001070Heerenveen (loan)2020–21Eredivisie28443———3272021–22Eredivisie17020———190Total45463———517Nordsjælland2021–22Danish Superliga121————1212022–23Danish Superliga25363—00—3162023–24Danish Superliga20621—95—31122024–25Danish Superliga301521———3216Total8725104—95—10635Celtic2025–26Scottish Premiership38165130124—58212026–27Scottish Premiership73002131—125Total45195151155—7026Career total197552295124101024974

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSweden2025732026101Total174

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

+List of international goals scored by Benjamin NygrenNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 25 March 2025 Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden 2–0 5–1 Friendly 2 6 June 2025 Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary 1–0 2–0 Friendly 3 15 November 2025 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland 1–1 1–4 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification4 28 September 2026 Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden 1–0 3–1 2026–27 UEFA Nations League B

Honours Celtic Scottish Premiership: 2025–26 Scottish Cup: 2025–26

Individual Danish Superliga Team of the Year: 2024–25 PFA Scotland Team of the Year (Premiership): 2025–26 Celtic Player of the Year: 2025–26

References

External links