| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brajan Gruda[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 31 May 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Speyer, Germany[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | FV Speyer | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Karlsruher SC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Mainz 05 | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Mainz 05 | 30 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Brighton & Hove Albion | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Germany U15 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Germany U16 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Germany U18 | 2 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Germany U19 | 7 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Germany U21 | 17 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:52, 16 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:15, 29 June 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Brajan Gruda (born 31 May 2004) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Club career
[edit]Mainz 05
[edit]Born in Speyer, Gruda began his career with local side FV Speyer, before joining Karlsruher SC in 2015.[2] He joined Mainz 05 at the age of 14, and signed his first professional contract with the club in November 2022.[3]
In January 2023, he was promoted to take part in first team training, and made his senior debut on 25 January 2023 in a 2–1 home Bundesliga defeat against Borussia Dortmund.[4] Later that year, on 6 October, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[5]
On 18 May 2024, he scored and assisted in a 3–1 victory against VfL Wolfsburg, confirming Mainz 05's survival in the Bundesliga on the last day of the season.[6]
Brighton and Hove Albion
[edit]On 14 August 2024, Gruda signed for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on a contract until 2028.[7] On 10 May 2025, Gruda scored his first goal in English football in a Premier League match during a 2–0 away win at Wolves.[8]
International career
[edit]Gruda is of Albanian descent.[9] He has represented Germany at youth international level.[9][10]
In September 2023, he was first called up by Germany U21, and he made his U21 debut in a 3–0 victory against Kosovo, he provided three assists in the match.[11][12]
In May 2024, he trained with the senior national team prior to the UEFA Euro 2024.[13] He departed the training camp on 5 June after a calf injury.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Gruda is the son of Albanian former Vllaznia Shkodër player Bujar Gruda.[14] He is also related to fellow footballer Ildi Gruda.[14] His ancestry traces to the Albanian Gruda tribe of Northern Albania.
Since Brajan Gruda started playing as a starter for Mainz, the Albanian federation has tried to convince him to play for Albania, but the player has refused. Albanian media have always asked during Sylvinho's press conferences whether Gruda could join the Albanian national team, but he avoided the question by saying "they were working on it".
In October 2024, in an interview on the German national channel, he stated: "I don't know what the future holds, my parents are Albanian but my heart says I want to play for Germany." [15][16]
In June 2025, coach Alban Bushi stated that he had spoken with Brajan's parents and was in contact with them, saying that Brajan will join Albania only if he doesn’t receive a call-up from Germany.[17]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 16 August 2025[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mainz 05 | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 4 | ||
| Total | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 4 | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2024–25 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 52 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 5 | ||
Honours
[edit]Germany U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2025[19]
Individual
- Fritz Walter Medal U19 Silver: 2023[20]
References
[edit]- ^ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Brajan Gruda". Bundesliga. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "05-TALENT GRUDA ERHÄLT PROFIVERTRAG". Mainz 05 (in German). 18 November 2022. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ^ "Gruda debuts in professional football with Mainz in the Bundesliga". KOHA.net. 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–2 1. FSV Mainz 05". Bundesliga. 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Geile Mannschaft, geile Jungs". 1. FSV Mainz 05 (in German). 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "Brighton sign midfielder Gruda from Mainz for £25m". BBC Sport. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ Unwin, Will (10 May 2025). "Welbeck spot on to reach goal milestone as Brighton solve equation at Wolves". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ a b Brajan Gruda at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Brajan Gruda" (in German). German Football Association.
- ^ "Gruda überzeugt, Mwene & Onisiwo auf EM-Kurs". 1. FSV Mainz 05 (in German). 13 September 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Kosovo U21 0:3 (0:0) Deutschland U21". DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. (in German). 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "DFB-Überraschung zum Geburtstag! Youngster-Duo bleibt länger". Sky Sport. 29 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Brajan Gruda, "pinjolli" i familjes Gruda grumbullohet me Kombëtaren U15 të Gjermanisë" [Brajan Gruda, the "kid" of the Gruda family, joins the U15 National Team of Germany]. shkoder.info (in Albanian). 10 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "The attacker openly rejects Albania: I want to play in the World Cup with". 10 October 2024.
- ^ "Gruda finally closes the door to Albania: I want to play for Germany".
- ^ https://www.cna.al/english/sport/e-bujshme-brajan-gruda-te-shqiperia-e-konfirmon-alban-bushi-vishet-100-kuq-i432769
- ^ Brajan Gruda at Soccerway
- ^ "England 3-2 Germany (aet) highlights: Rowe header ensures Young Lions retain title". uefa.com. 28 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "Die Preisträger 2023". dfb.de (in German). 8 September 2023.
External links
[edit]- Brajan Gruda at Soccerway.com
- Brajan Gruda at WorldFootball.net
- Brajan Gruda at BDFutbol
- Brajan Gruda at kicker (in German)
- Brajan Gruda at the German Football Association
- Profile at the 1. FSV Mainz 05 website (in German)
