Albion Rrahmani

Albion Rrahmani (born 31 August 2000) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga I club Rapid București and the Kosovo national team.

Rrahmani started his senior career in Kosovo at Minatori, Bashkimi Koretin, Malisheva, and Ballkani. With the latter side, he won three domestic trophies and became the top scorer of the national league in the 2022–23 season. His performances prompted a €600,000 move to Romanian team Rapid București in 2023, which made him the most expensive player ever signed from the Kosovo Superleague.

Internationally, Rrahmani earned his first cap for the Kosovo senior team in a 0–2 UEFA Euro qualifier loss to Romania in September 2023.

Early career / Ballkani
Rrahmani's youth career began at local club Llapi. At the age of 18, he paused his active career for half a year. On 8 September 2019, Rrahmani returned from career break and joined with Kosovo Second League club Minatori, and during his first season as a senior, he contributed by scoring 16 goals in the first half of the season.

On 24 January 2020, Rrahmani joined Kosovo Second League side Bashkimi Koretin. His debut with Bashkimi Koretin came on 29 February in a 1–1 away draw against Rahoveci. Eight days after debut, Rrahmani scored his first (four) goals for Bashkimi Koretin in his second appearance for the club in a 10–0 home win over Galaksia in Kosovo Second League, the match which was the last for the club due to Football Federation of Kosovo's executive council stopped the all competitions (including even Kosovo Second League) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 25 August 2020, Rrahmani joined Kosovo First League side Malisheva. and during his first season, he contributed by scoring 16 goals, which ensured the club promotion in the Kosovo Superleague for the first time in the history of the club, and for his contribution he received the nickname Lewandowski i Malishevës (Lewandowski of Malisheva).

On 23 June 2021, Rrahmani signed a three-year contract with Kosovo Superleague club Ballkani.

Rapid București
On 6 August 2023, Ballkani announced the move of Rrahmani to Romanian club Rapid București. The following day, Rapid București confirmed that he signed a three-year deal and received the squad number 9. The €600,000 transfer fee made Rrahmani the most expensive player of the Kosovo Superleague, and Rapid București reportedly outbid rival team Petrolul Ploiești for his signing. Fellow Liga I clubs CFR Cluj and FCSB had also scouted the player.

Rrahmani recorded his league debut on 25 August, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Marko Dugandžić and scoring twice in the 5–3 away win over FC U Craiova. The next fixture on 1 September, he opened the scoring by converting a penalty and also netted the last goal in a 4–0 derby thrashing of Dinamo București. On the 25th that month, Rrahmani netted his third double of the season in a 3–1 home defeat of CFR Cluj.

On 9 March 2024, Rrahmani scored a double and assisted compatriot Ermal Krasniqi in a 4–0 win over rivals FCSB in the last fixture of the regular season. He scored once more against FCSB on 20 April, in a 2–2 away draw in the championship play-offs. Despite having suffered an injury in October 2023 that sidelined him for several months, Rrahmani finished the 2023–24 season as the third-best goal scorer of the Liga I with 17 goals, while Rapid București missed out on European football after coming sixth overall in the league table.

Youth
Rrahmani was called up by the Kosovo national under-21 team for a 2023 UEFA European Championship qualifier against Andorra on 8 June 2021, but was an unused substitute in the 2–0 home win.

Senior
On 17 March 2023, Rrahmani was included in the Kosovo senior team's extended roster for the Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Israel and Andorra, but was left out of the final squad. He went on to make his full debut on 12 September that year, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Bernard Berisha in a 0–2 away loss to Romania in the same competition.

Rrahmani started his first match on 12 October, a 3–0 win against Andorra in which he came off the field in the second half after fracturing his ankle.

Honours
Ballkani
 * Kosovo Superleague: 2021–22, 2022–23
 * Kosovar Supercup: 2022

Individual
 * Kosovo Superleague top scorer: 2022–23
 * Kosovo Superleague "Star of the Week" Award: 2022–23 (Rounds 19 and 21)
 * Gazeta Sporturilor Player of the Month: February 2024