The tragic downfall of Luka Jovic
Just six years after Luka Jovic’s groundbreaking €63m move to Real Madrid, the Serbian striker has joined Greek club AEK Athens after being released by AC Milan. Let’s review his tragic and unlucky story.
The breakout
In 2017, Eintracht Frankfurt sign Luka Jovic on a two-year loan with an option to buy for just €6m from SL Benfica. At the time Jovic plays for the Benfica reserves – in Germany almost nobody has heard of him. Jovic looks promising in his first season at the club, scoring 8 goals in the Bundesliga and another in the DFB Pokal (the iconic back heel against Schalke in the semi final).
In his second season for Eintracht Frankfurt, Jovic scores 27 goals – 10 of them in the Europa League, where Eintracht reach the semi finals. His performances on European level impress fans from all around the continent. The 21-year-old is now one of the hottest striker talents around, monitored by all of Europe’s top clubs. He ends up joining Real Madrid for €63m in the summer of 2019, becoming our record sale. Jovic later reveals that he would’ve preferred to stay in Frankfurt a little longer, but it was clear that Eintracht couldn’t turn down such an enormous offer. "I was crying when they told me I had to leave", Jovic tells Mozzartsport a few years later.
The turning point
It would turn out that staying in Frankfurt would indeed have been the better option for Luka Jovic. The Serbian’s time at Real Madrid is unlucky overall. He only scores three goals in 51 games across three seasons, mostly coming off the bench. In the 2020/21 season, the now 23-year-old actually returns to Eintracht Frankfurt for half a year. On his debut, Jovic scores a brace to make it 3-1 against Schalke after coming off the bench, getting the hopes of every Eintracht fan up. Unfortunately, he only scores two more goals across the all-in-all disappointing loan spell, making his return to Madrid even more difficult. What complicates his situation further is that Jovic doesn’t always behave like a model citizen. During the Covid era, he often makes headlines for breaching lockdown rules, drawing negative attention to himself. Meanwhile, his competitor, Karim Benzema, is having the best time of his career. Jovic later admits that Benzema was just too good to get past. In 2022 the French striker wins the Ballon d’Or, while Jovic is sold to Fiorentina for free despite still having a valid contract.
Ups and downs in Italy
At AC Fiorentina, Jovic finally plays a more important role in the team again. He plays a decent season scoring 13 goals in 50 matches across all competitions – 6 of those come in the Conference League, where Fiorentina are beaten in the final. However, Viola coach Vincenzo Italiano is not impressed by Jovic and excludes him from the squad for the upcoming season. Jovic signs for AC Milan. What sounds like a great move at first glance, is actually just a desperate deal by Milan late into deadline day. As the Italian giants fail to sign any of their striker targets, they turn to Jovic, who they snap up for just €500k. As the backup for Olivier Giroud, Jovic actually gets a solid amount of playing time for the Rossoneri, playing 30 matches and scoring 9 goals. Despite earning a contract extension at Milan, Jovic is only Milan’s third-choice striker going into the next season in 2024. Milan sign Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham in summer, plus Joao Felix and Santiago Gimenez in winter. Due to injuries in the squad, Jovic still gets some chances to prove himself. In the Coppa Italia semi final against Inter he’s in the starting lineup – and scores the first two goals in their 3-0 win. However, it remains his only personal highlight of the season and Milan decide against renewing his contract this time.
After being linked to clubs in Spain and Mexico, Jovic eventually ends up at AEK Athens, where he will now link up with former teammate Mijat Gacinovic. He will also pair up with Anthony Martial up front, who was, just like Jovic, once the most exciting striker talent in Europe.
Luka Jovic is still just 27 years old. His career is far from over. The move to Athens might be a step back, but it could help him to get back on track. It would be a dream to see him return to the level he had while playing for Eintracht Frankfurt in that magical Europa League season.
