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Michael Mifsud (born 17 April 1981) is a Maltese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Maltese Premier League club Birkirkara and the Maltese national team.

Sliema Wanderers
Mifsud started his career with Sliema Wanderers, making his debut at age 15 in the 1997–98 season, as a substitute in a match against Naxxar Lions. On 5 April 1998, he scored his first senior goal, the opening goal in the 3–1 win against Xgħajra Tornadoes. The next season was Mifsud's breakout season as he became a regular figure in the team sheet, ending the season scoring eight league goals as well as being voted by local newspaper In-Nazzjon as the Most Promising Player. At the end of the season, Mifsud along with two other young Sliema Wanderers players attended a trial with Manchester United, as part of a recent agreement between the British club and the Malta Football Association (MFA).

Although his trial was unsuccessful, Mifsud returned to Malta in fine form, leading the league scoring charts for the 1999–2000 season with 21 goals as Sliema Wanderers finished second behind Birkirkara. The season ended with Sliema Wanderers winning the Rothmans FA Trophy and Super Cup, both times against Birkirkara. Mifsud was the cup top scorer with seven goals in three matches, as well as scoring twice in the Super Cup final played on 21 May 2000. Mifsud came fourth in the annual Player of the Year award, gaining 38% of the votes, and was awarded with the Player of the Year in the Under-21 League.

Before the start of the following league season, Mifsud attended a trial with German club Borussia Mönchengladbach. On his return to Sliema Wanderers, Mifsud reached higher heights as he once again finished league top scorer with 30 goals. This included hat-tricks against Rabat Ajax (6–0), Ħamrun Spartans (6–1) and Naxxar Lions (7–0), as well as a six-goal haul in the 11–0 win over Xgħajra Tornadoes. In the MFA Player of the Year awards, Mifsud came in second behind Gilbert Agius with 43% of the votes.

Kaiserslautern
In May 2001, Mifsud joined Kaiserslautern on trial after catching the eye of both Andreas Brehme, then manager of the Bundesliga club, and scouts who were watching Mifsud during his recent international duties. After a one-week long trial, Kaiserslautern's officials made contact with Horst Heese, MFA's Technical Director, to assist in the negotiations with Sliema Wanderers. On 24 June, Mifsud's transfer to Kaiserslautern was made official with him joining the club on a one-year loan deal. The agreement included a sell-on percentage of 15% to Sliema Wanderers and the Maltese club had the right of first refusal.

With several first-team forwards injured, Mifsud was handed his debut with Kaiserslautern in the opening game of the 2001–02 season played on 28 July 2001, when he came on as a second-half substitute for Olaf Marschall in a 4–0 away win away to 1860 Munich. With this appearance, he became the first Maltese to play in the top German league. A day later he made his debut for Kaiserslautern II, the reserve team of Kaiserslautern playing in the Regionalliga Süd (the third tier in German football), as a substitute in the 4–2 defeat against Hoffenheim. He scored his first goal in the 3–2 defeat against Eintracht Trier on 11 August 2001. With first-team opportunities lacking, Mifsud cemented his place in the first eleven of the reserve team and becoming a regular occurrence in the scoresheet. At the end of the season, he finished as the team's top scorer with 13 goals which included the winner against VfB Stuttgart II, braces against Hoffenheim and SpVgg Ansbach, and a hat-trick against VfR Aalen.

Following his first season in Germany, Kaiserslautern officially signed Mifsud on a two-year contract for a fee of Lm30,000 (around €69,881). Following the dismissal of Andreas Brehme, the arrival of new head coach Eric Gerets saw him getting more opportunities with the first team. He scored his first league goal against Hansa Rostock, played on 2 November 2002, in a 2–2 draw to become the first Maltese to score in the German top-flight. On 29 November, Mifsud received a retrospective three-match ban by the German Football Association following an incident with Niko Kovač in the previous week's league match against Bayern Munich, after he was accused of hitting Kovač with an elbow. During the season he continued to be involved with both the first team and the reserve team as the club spent most of the season in the relegation zone, saving their Bundesliga status in the penultimate game of the season. Despite being marred with financial troubles, the club ended the season as finalists of the DFB-Pokal, losing 3–1 to Bayern Munich. In April of the same year, Mifsud extended his stay with Kaiserslautern for another year.

The next season, Mifsud saw first-team opportunities lacking with the signing of new players and mostly figured out for the amateur team. On 21 November 2003, Mifsud and Kaiserslautern came into agreement to rescind his contract, with Mifsud citing personal reasons for this rescission, mostly related to homesickness.

Return to Sliema Wanderers
After his release from Kaiserslautern, Mifsud eyed a return back to his homeland, with Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara and his previous club, Sliema Wanderers, being linked to his signature. Despite agreeing personal terms with Marsaxlokk's club president, Victor Sciriha, Sliema Wanderers had the first option on the player and in the end Mifsud agreed an 18-month contract with his former club. Sliema Wanderers requested the MFA to open their offices on 1 January to register Mifsud ahead of the match against Hibernians, to be played on 3 January, however this request was not granted.

His first game back was on 10 January 2004 against Valletta and he marked his return with a goal in a 3–0 win. In the following game, in the top of the table clash against Birkirkara, Mifsud scored the winner as Sliema Wanderers cemented their first position. With a brace against Ħamrun Spartans, he closed the month of January with four goals in three matches, in which he was voted as the player of the match in all of them, and was then also chosen as the MIA Player of the Month. In the Championship Pool round, Mifsud scored another four goals, as Sliema Wanderers were crowned league champions on 3 May, after Birkirkara's 1–1 draw against Pietà Hotspurs. The arrival of Mifsud in January was described as a catalyst in defending the previous year's league title.

Lillestrøm
His exploits with Sliema Wanderers put Mifsud on the radar, with Nordic clubs becoming interested. On 20 June 2004, Mifsud arrived in Norway to sign for Lillestrøm, and the next day he agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract till 2006. Although there were plans to include him for the next fixture on 4 July against Fredrikstad, his debut had to be postponed as he had to return to Malta to obtain the necessary clearance paperwork. Sliema Wanderers were requesting Mifsud to refund Lm20,000 that were given to him in advance, with Lillestrøm offering a compensation fee and adding a 15% sell-on clause to the contract in order to alleviate the process. With the deal appearing to collapse, the dispute between the player and the Maltese club was finally resolved in late July and he was able to join Lillestrøm. A niggling ankle injury kept him out of the game against Tromsø, and he eventually made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 away defeat to Rosenborg on 9 August. Mifsud took some time to adjust to the Norwegian game and mostly made substitute appearances during his first season, as well as being involved with the reserve team in the 2. divisjon, the third-tier in Norwegian football.

The arrival of new manager Uwe Rösler in November 2004, pushed Mifsud to a more starter role as one of the forwards in Rösler's 4–3–3 formation. After impressing in pre-season, Mifsud scored his first goal on 17 April 2005 in a 1–0 win over Lyn. Important contributions for the season included the last-minute winner against Vålerenga, the equalizer against Tromsø, and the equalizer in an eventual 2–1 win over defending champions Rosenborg. In the Norwegian Cup, Mifsud scored three goals, twice in the second round match against Strømmen (won 3–1), and another goal in the subsequent round against Moss (won 5–3 after extra time). In August, Mifsud suffered a shoulder injury during training and had to miss the rest of the season, as Lillestrøm finished fourth in the league and lost the cup final against Molde.

Mifsud returned back to training in January 2006. Mifsud was sporadically involved during the Royal League competition, a situation which was further exacerbated by playing internationally for the Maltese national team instead of resting as advised by the club. His first goal of the season arrived in the 1–0 win over Vålerenga, played on 12 May, which was followed by two other goals in the successive league matches against Molde and Stabæk. In early June, Mifsud hit the headlines as a package containing doping substances addressed to him was stopped in customs. After being questioned by police the investigation was closed after not finding any evidence to charge Mifsud. This decision was upheld by the anti-doping commission. Lillestrøm insisted that this was an attempt to destabilize the team and confirmed that Mifsud conducted a doping test after the Stabæk game which resulted negative. He finished the season as the club's league top scorer (and the club's second in all competitions) with 11 goals, including braces against Brann and Lyn, and the winner against Viking as Lillestrøm finished again fourth in the league.

https://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/i/aXdod/nytt-lsk-tilbud-til-mifsud	[new contract LSK - november 2006]

May 2006 - not signing new contract https://www.dagbladet.no/sport/trenger-ikke-tilby-meg-ny-kontrakt/66214510


 * https://mfa.com.mt/en/news/news/1545/birthday-boy-michael-mifsud.htm
 * https://kfl.no/wiki/index.php/Michael_Mifsud
 * https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/Six-star-striker-Mifsud-enjoying-life-in-the-city.438433 [Valletta - Sep 2012]
 * https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/italian-serie-b-club-targeting-mifsud.136784.amp [Serie B club - 2014]
 * https://www.mfa.com.mt/en/news/news/1793/michael-mifsud-reaches-a-milestone-in-his-glittering-career.htm [Malta - Sep 2015]
 * https://www.mfa.com.mt/en/news/news/3680/michael-mifsud-hits-300th-career-goal-in-birkirkara-win.htm [Birkirkara - Nov 2018]

Under 18 goal against Liechtenstein, "UEFA Under 18 Championship - Group 14 Malta vs Liechtenstein 1-2. Goal from a penalty by Michael Mifsud" http://www.maltafootball.info/archives/news/1999-11.shtml

MaltaFootball contains also the goals for the under-21 level.

100th cap
 * https://www.mfa.com.mt/en/news/news/754/landmark-match-for-ace-scorer-michael-mifsud.htm

Club

 * Notes

To update total

International goals

 * "Score" represents the score in the match after Mifsud's goal.

Club
Sliema Wanderers
 * Maltese Premier League: 2003–04
 * Maltese FA Trophy: 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2015–16
 * Maltese Super Cup: 2000

Valletta
 * Maltese Premier League: 2011–12, 2015–16,  2017–18
 * Maltese FA Trophy: 2009–10
 * Maltese Super Cup: 2011, 2012

Individual

 * Malta's Sportsman of the Year: 2001, 2003
 * Maltese Premier League Player of the Month: March 2000, January 2004, August 2017