1. Early Life and Background
Nedim Bajrami was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on February 28, 1999. He was raised in Switzerland by parents of ethnic Albanian descent. His father is from Tetovo and his mother is from Gostivar, both cities in North Macedonia. This background provided him with dual nationality, enabling his later decision to represent Albania internationally. Bajrami stands at 70 in (179 cm) tall and weighs 150 lb (68 kg).
2. Club Career
Nedim Bajrami's club career has progressed through Swiss and Italian leagues before his recent move to Scotland, marked by key contributions and promotions.
2.1. Grasshoppers
Bajrami spent his entire youth career at Grasshoppers, joining their academy in 2009. In February 2017, he signed his first professional contract alongside teammates Petar Pušić and Arijan Qollaku. He made his senior debut for Grasshoppers in the same month, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to FC Thun. While at Grasshoppers, he also played for the Grasshoppers U21 team in the Swiss 1. Liga from 2015 to 2018, making 14 appearances and scoring 4 goals. For the senior team, he amassed 69 appearances and scored 6 goals in the Swiss Super League before his departure.
2.2. Empoli
On August 13, 2019, Bajrami moved to Italian Serie B club Empoli on a loan deal that included an option to buy. He quickly made an impact, scoring his first goal in Italy on October 26, 2019, in an away match against Trapani. His significant contributions helped Empoli achieve promotion to Serie A, the top Italian league, during his tenure. Across his loan and subsequent permanent spell, Bajrami made 118 appearances for Empoli, scoring 17 goals.
2.3. Sassuolo
Bajrami' transferred to Sassuolo on January 31, 2023. This move was initially a loan agreement that included an obligation for Sassuolo to purchase him permanently. During his time with Sassuolo, Bajrami made 48 appearances and scored 3 goals across both the loan and permanent spells.
2.4. Rangers
On August 30, 2024, Nedim Bajrami completed a transfer to Rangers, a prominent club in the Scottish Premiership. He quickly found his footing with the Scottish side, scoring his first goal for Rangers on September 26, 2024, in a 2-0 UEFA Europa League victory away against Malmö. On November 3, 2024, Bajrami scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Motherwell in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup. Demonstrating his importance in crucial matches, he also scored Rangers' opening goal in the League Cup final on December 15, 2024.
3. International Career
Nedim Bajrami's international journey began with Switzerland's youth teams before he made the significant decision to represent Albania at the senior level.
3.1. Switzerland Youth National Teams
Bajrami had an extensive youth international career representing Switzerland at various age levels, including the U15, U16, U17, U18, U19, and U21 teams. He played a crucial role in the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification campaign, featuring in all six of Switzerland's matches and captaining three of them. During his time with the U17 team, he scored a total of 5 goals, notably netting a brace against Montenegro in 2015. His youth appearances included 5 matches for the U15 team, 7 for the U16s, 13 for the U17s, 4 for the U18s, 9 for the U19s (scoring 3 goals), and 11 for the U21s (scoring 1 goal).
3.2. Switch to Albania National Team
On March 9, 2021, Nedim Bajrami confirmed his decision to switch his national allegiance from Switzerland to Albania, the country of his ethnic origin. This decision was publicly acknowledged by Mauro Lustrinelli, the manager of the Swiss U-21 team, who stated, "We tried to convince Bajrami to continue playing for Switzerland but he told us that his heart beats for Albania. For us in the national team, identification is one of the main values, so we had no choice but to let him leave."
Following this decision, Bajrami officially received Albanian citizenship on March 17, 2021, which made him eligible to play for the Albania national football team. The final approval for his change of allegiance was granted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on August 30, 2021, after a ruling from FIFA was also obtained.
3.3. Albania Senior National Team
Nedim Bajrami made his debut for the Albania senior national team on September 5, 2021, in a 1-0 victory against Hungary during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute, replacing Qazim Laçi.
His first goal for Albania came on June 17, 2023, in a 2-0 win over Moldova as part of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches. He followed this with his second international goal on June 20, 2023, contributing to a 3-1 victory against the Faroe Islands in another Euro 2024 qualifier. Bajrami scored his third goal on September 7, 2023, in a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic. On June 7, 2024, he scored his fourth international goal in a 3-1 friendly win against Azerbaijan.
In June 2024, Bajrami was included in Albania's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In their opening group stage match against defending champions Italy on June 15, 2024, Bajrami made history by scoring the fastest goal in UEFA European Championship history, finding the net just 23 seconds into the match. Despite his record-breaking goal, Albania ultimately lost the game 2-1. His sixth international goal was scored on November 19, 2024, in a 1-2 loss against Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League B.
4. Records
Nedim Bajrami holds the record for the fastest goal scored in UEFA European Championship history. He achieved this on June 15, 2024, during Albania's match against Italy at UEFA Euro 2024, scoring just 23 seconds after kick-off.
5. Honours
Empoli
- Serie B: 2020-21
6. Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grasshoppers U21 | 2015-16 | Swiss 1. Liga | 1 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016-17 | 12 | 4 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | ||||
| 2017-18 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | ||
| Grasshoppers | 2016-17 | Swiss Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017-18 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |||
| 2018-19 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2019-20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 69 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 6 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2019-20 | Serie B | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| Empoli | 2020-21 | Serie B | 36 | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | 0 | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 2021-22 | Serie A | 35 | 6 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 38 | 9 | |||
| 2022-23 | Serie A | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 1 | |||
| Total | 118 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 22 | ||
| Sassuolo (loan) | 2022-23 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 18 | 1 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2023-24 | Serie A | 28 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 31 | 3 | ||
| 2024-25 | Serie B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 48 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 4 | ||
| Rangers | 2024-25 | Scottish Premiership | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 4 |
| Career total | 267 | 31 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 296 | 39 | ||
6.1. International Statistics
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 2021 | 6 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 26 | 5 | |
Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | June 17, 2023 | Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania | Moldova | 2-0 | 2-0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2. | June 20, 2023 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands | Faroe Islands | 1-0 | 3-1 | |
| 3. | September 7, 2023 | Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic | Czech Republic | 1-1 | 1-1 | |
| 4. | June 7, 2024 | Haladás Sportkomplexum, Szombathely, Hungary | Azerbaijan | 1-0 | 3-1 | Friendly |
| 5. | June 15, 2024 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany | Italy | 1-0 | 1-2 | UEFA Euro 2024 |
| 6. | November 19, 2024 | Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania | Ukraine | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2024-25 UEFA Nations League B |