Aleksandr Golovin (footballer)

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin (Александр Сергеевич Головин; born 30 May 1996) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and captains the Russia national team.

Early life
Golovin was born to a mining family in the small mining town of Kaltan in Southern Siberia, Russia. His father was friends with Aleksandr Plyasunov, a coach at the local youth sports school. When Golovin was six years old, he started playing football under Plyasunov, before moving on to the school of FC Novokuznetsk (then called Metallurg-Zapsib) and the Olympic reserve school in Leninsk-Kuznetsky. After playing for Metallurg, he was invited to play for the squad of the Siberian team. It was during this time that Golovin attracted the attention of scouts and was invited to play for PFC CSKA Moscow.

CSKA Moscow
Golovin debuted playing for PFC CSKA Moscow on 24 September 2014 against FC Khimik Dzerzhinsk in the 1/16 round of the Russian Cup. He made the starting lineup and was subbed out in the 88th minute of the game.

Golovin made his Russian Football Premier League debut for PFC CSKA Moscow on 14 March 2015 in a game against FC Mordovia Saransk as a sub in the 72nd minute of the game. He made his UEFA Champions League debut against Sparta Prague on 5 August 2015, subbing in for Alan Dzagoev. He scored his first goal for CSKA on 9 April 2016 against FC Mordovia Saransk.

In the summer of 2017, Arsenal offered between £8 and £10 million for Golovin, but CSKA declined the transfer.

On 2 December 2016, Golovin extended his contract with CSKA Moscow until the end of the 2020–21 season.

AS Monaco
On 27 July 2018, Golovin signed a five-year contract with AS Monaco for an undisclosed, but record-transfer fee, from CSKA Moscow. Golovin made his competitive debut for Monaco in a 1–1 Ligue 1 home draw against Nîmes on 21 September 2018, coming on as a substitute during the 72nd minute. He made his first start in Ligue 1 on 25 September, in a 0–1 home defeat against Angers. He scored his first Ligue 1 goal on 2 February 2019, in a 2–1 home win over Toulouse.

On 24 September 2019, Golovin scored two goals and provided an assist for Wissam Ben Yedder in Monaco's 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Nice. On 6 January 2021, in an away match against Lorient and with the score at 1–1, Golovin, who had just recovered from an injury, was brought on as a substitute and scored after less than a minute. Two weeks later, as a substitute once again, he delivered two assists, each from a corner kick, to help his team come from behind and defeat Marseille.

On 7 February 2021, Golovin scored his first hat-trick for Monaco in a 4–3 away victory against Nîmes. In doing so, he became the first player from Russia to record a hat-trick in Ligue 1.

On 28 December 2022, Golovin gave an assist in a 3-2 away victory against Auxerre. On 11 February 2023, he scored the first goal in a 3–1 home win against Paris Saint-Germain, his fifth goal of the season so far. On 19 February 2023, he scored his sixth goal of the season against Stade Brestois.

International career
Golovin won the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship with Russia national under-17 team, with which he also participated in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Later, Golovin went on to represent the Russia national under-19 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where Russia came in second place. Golovin made his debut for the Russia national team on 7 June 2015 in a friendly game against Belarus at the Arena Khimki, replacing captain Roman Shirokov in the 61st minute and scoring Russia's second goal of a 4–2 victory 16 minutes later.

On 11 May 2018, he was included in Russia's extended 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. On 3 June 2018, he was included in the finalized World Cup squad. On 14 June 2018, he played a crucial role in Russia's 5–0 victory over Saudi Arabia making two assists and scoring the final goal, a free-kick in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.

On 11 May 2021, he was included in the preliminary extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. On 2 June 2021, he was included in the final squad. He played every minute in all 3 of Russia's group stage games as Russia was eliminated after losing to Belgium and Denmark and beating Finland.

International
International goals
 * Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first.

Honours
CSKA Moscow
 * Russian Premier League: 2015–16
 * Russian Cup runner-up: 2015–16
 * Russian Super Cup runner-up: 2016

Monaco
 * Coupe de France runner-up: 2020–21
 * Trophée des Champions runner-up: 2018

Russia U17
 * UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2013

Russia U19
 * UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2015