Mile Svilar

Mile Svilar (Миле Свилар; born 27 August 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Roma. Born in Belgium, he played for the Serbia national team.

Early career and Anderlecht
Svilar is a product of the Belgian youth teams of KFCO Wilrijk and Beerschot A.C., while in 2010 he joined the Belgian giant Anderlecht. On 27 August 2015, he signed his first professional contract with the club. He was promoted to the first team in the 2016–17 season as the third choice goalkeeper, he was first included in the match day squad in the Belgian Cup match against Charleroi. He was also amongst the unused substitute in Anderlecht victory in the 2017 Belgian Super Cup.

Benfica
Svilar signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica on 28 August 2017. On 14 October, he made his debut with the club in a 1–0 victory over Olhanense, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for Benfica. In international competition, he broke Iker Casillas' record as the youngest goalkeeper to ever play in the Champions League on 18 October 2017, in a 1–0 home defeat to Manchester United, aged 18 years and 52 days. In the return leg against the English side, aged 18 years and 65 days, he became the youngest goalkeeper ever to save a penalty in a Champions League match. In the same match, which ended in a 2–0 away defeat, he also became the youngest player ever to score an own goal in the competition.

Roma
On 1 July 2022, Svilar signed a contract with Serie A club Roma until 30 June 2027. On 22 February 2024, he saved two penalties during the shootouts which ended in a 4–2 victory over Feyenoord in the 2023–24 Europa League knockout round play-offs.

Youth
Svilar was a member of Belgium U-16, Belgium U-17, Belgium U-18 national teams and was also a member of Belgium U-19. He was the first choice goalkeeper for the Belgium U-17 team at the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Azerbaijan.

Senior
Born in Belgium to Serbian parents, Svilar is eligible to represent Belgium or Serbia. On 4 November 2017, he announced that he would play his first game for the Serbia national team in March 2018, as he accepted the call from the Football Association of Serbia. On 20 August 2021, he received his first call up to the Serbia national football team, he debuted with Serbia in a friendly 4–0 win over Qatar on 1 September 2021.

On 5 March 2024, Svilar was called up by Serbia after being absence for almost 3 years, but he reportedly turned down the call-up, and was therefore not included in the final squad. Serbia manager Dragan Stojković later commented that Svilar will not receive future international call-ups from Serbia.

Personal life
Svilar has a Serbian passport. His father, Ratko, is a former Serbian goalkeeper.

Honours
Anderlecht
 * Belgian Super Cup: 2017

Benfica
 * Primeira Liga: 2018–19

Roma
 * UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2022–23

Individual
 * UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2023–24