2021–22 PFC Ludogorets Razgrad season explained

The 2021–22 season is Ludogorets Razgrad's eleventh consecutive season in the Bulgarian First League, of which they were defending champions.

Season events

On 26 May, Ludogorets announced the signing of Sergio Padt from Groningen.^[1]

On 11 June, Ludogorets announced the return of Ihor Plastun from Gent.^[2]

On 14 June, Dragoș Grigore and Ludogorets ended their contract by mutual agreement.^[3]

On 17 June, Ludogorets announced the signing of Dorin Rotariu from Astana.^[4]

On 19 June, Ludogorets announced the permanent signing of Kiril Despodov from Cagliari after a successful loan deal.^[5]

On 29 June, Ludogorets announced the signing of Shaquille Pinas from ADO Den Haag,^[6] and the permanent signing of Bernard Tekpetey from Schalke 04.^[7]

On 30 June, Vladislav Stoyanov, Cosmin Moți and Svetoslav Dyakov all left Ludogorets after their contracts ended.^[8]

On 21 July, Anicet Abel and Ludogorets ended their contract by mutual agreement.^[9]

On 19 August, Dan Biton was sold to Maccabi Tel Aviv.^[10]

On 27 August, Claudiu Keșerü and Ludogorets ended their contract by mutual agreement.^[11]

On 30 August, Jorginho was loaned to Wisła Płock until 30 June 2022.^[12]

On 21 December, Ludogorets announced the signing of Rick from Ceará.^[13] Two days later, 23 December, Ludogorets announced the signing of Spas Delev.^[14]

On 28 December, goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was sold to Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC.^[15]

On 3 January, Ludogorets announced Ante Šimundža as their new Head Coach.^[16]

On 4 January, Ludogorets sold Dimitar Mitkov to Lokomotiv Sofia.^[17]

On 15 January, Ludogorets announced the signing of Žan Karničnik from Mura.^[18]

On 31 January, Ludogorets announced that Elvis Manu had left the club by mutual consent, and that they had signed Simon Sluga from Luton Town.^{[19] [20]}

On 2 February, Ludogorets sold Stéphane Badji to Eyüpspor and Mavis Tchibota to Maccabi Haifa.^{[21] [22]}

The following day, 3 February, Josué Sá joined Maccabi Tel Aviv on loan for the rest of the season.^[23]

On 12 February, Ludogorets announced the signing of Matías Tissera from Platense.^[24]

Squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Signed in	Contract ends	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Sergio Padt		GK	2022 5, df=yes	Groningen	2021		22	0
12	Simon Sluga		GK	2022 5, df=yes	Luton Town	2022		5	0
67	Damyan Hristov		GK	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2020		1	0
Defenders
3	Anton Nedyalkov		DF	2022 5, df=yes	FC Dallas	2018		142	2
4	Cicinho		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Santos	2015		218	5
5	Georgi Terziev		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Chernomorets Burgas	2013		193	5
6	Shaquille Pinas		DF	2022 5, df=yes	ADO Den Haag	2021		24	0
14	Denny Gropper		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Hapoel Tel Aviv	2022		4	0
21	Žan Karničnik		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Mura	2022		14	0
22	Jordan Ikoko		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Guingamp	2019[25]		86	5
24	Olivier Verdon		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Alavés	2021		68	3
30	Ihor Plastun		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Gent	2021		117	6
79	Tihomir Dimitrov		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2018		4	0
91	Aleksandar Ganchev		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2020		1	0
Midfielders
7	Alex Santana		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Botafogo	2020[26]		70	12
8	Claude Gonçalves		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Gil Vicente	2021		44	0
23	Show		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Lille	2021		29	3
31	Georgi Valchev		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2018		0	0
34	Branimir Kostadinov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Dunav Ruse	2019		1	0
50	Tsvetoslav Petrov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2019		2	0
51	Ilker Budinov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2019		6	0
64	Dominik Yankov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Sunderland	2017		89	12
73	Rick		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Ceará	2021		15	0
75	Petar Georgiev		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2020		3	0
82	Ivan Yordanov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2019		8	0
83	Valenin Tsvetanov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2020		1	0
85	Aleks Lukanov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2020		1	0
88	Wanderson		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Portuguesa	2014		271	69
90	Spas Delev		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Arda Kardzhali	2021		13	2
95	Cauly		MF	2022 5, df=yes	SC Paderborn	2020[27]		85	20
Forwards
9	Thiago		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Cruzeiro	2022		2	1
10	Matías Tissera		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Platense	2022		12	4
11	Kiril Despodov		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Cagliari	2021		68	16
19	Pieros Sotiriou		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Astana	2021[28]		54	25
37	Bernard Tekpetey		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Schalke 04	2021		73	14
38	Vladislav Naydenov		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2019		2	0
74	Hyusein Kelyovluev		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2019		1	0
Players away on loan
9	Higinio Marín		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Numancia	2020[29]		24	9
17	Jorginho		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Saint-Étienne	2019[30]		41	8
20	Serkan Yusein		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Botev Plovdiv	2019		12	0
29	Dorin Rotariu		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Astana	2021		10	1
32	Josué Sá		DF	2022 5, df=yes	Anderlecht	2020[31]		24	5
69	Damyan Damyanov		GK	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2016		1	0
Players who left during the season
8	Dan Biton		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Ashdod	2019		35	6
10	Elvis Manu		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Beijing Renhe	2020[32]		57	16
13	Mavis Tchibota		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv	2019[33]		98	23
25	Stéphane Badji		MF	2022 5, df=yes	Bursaspor	2019[34]		99	0
28	Claudiu Keșerü		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Al-Gharafa	2015		243	139
45	Dimitar Mitkov		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Youth Team	2020		9	0
71	Kristijan Kahlina		GK	2022 5, df=yes	HNK Gorica	2021		35	0
97	Georgi Chukalov		MF	2022 5, df=yes	OFC Pomorie	2020		1	0
99	Júnior Brandão		FW	2022 5, df=yes	Atlético Goianiense	2018		2	0

Out on loan

Transfers

See main article: List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2021 and List of Bulgarian football transfers winter 2021–22.

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 June 2021	GK		Sergio Padt	Groningen	Free	[35]
1 June 2021	MF		Claude Gonçalves	Gil Vicente	Free
11 June 2021	DF		Ihor Plastun	Gent	Undisclosed
17 June 2021	FW		Dorin Rotariu	Astana	Undisclosed
19 June 2021	FW		Kiril Despodov	Cagliari	Undisclosed
29 June 2021	DF		Shaquille Pinas	ADO Den Haag	Undisclosed
29 June 2021	FW		Bernard Tekpetey	Schalke 04	Undisclosed
1 July 2021	DF		Olivier Verdon	Alavés	Undisclosed
1 July 2021	GK		Kristijan Kahlina	HNK Gorica	Undisclosed
21 December 2021	MF		Rick	Ceará	Undisclosed
23 December 2021	MF		Spas Delev	Arda Kardzhali	Undisclosed
15 January 2022	DF		Žan Karničnik	Mura	Undisclosed
31 January 2022	GK		Simon Sluga	Luton Town	Undisclosed
12 February 2022	FW		Matías Tissera	Platense	Undisclosed
28 February 2022	DF		Denny Gropper	Hapoel Tel Aviv	Undisclosed
28 February 2022	FW		Thiago	Cruzeiro	Undisclosed

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2021	FW		Jakub Świerczok	Piast Gliwice	Undisclosed
19 August 2021	MF		Dan Biton	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Undisclosed
28 December 2021	GK		Kristijan Kahlina	Charlotte FC	Undisclosed
4 January 2022	FW		Dimitar Mitkov	Lokomotiv Sofia	Undisclosed
2 February 2022	MF		Stéphane Badji	Eyüpspor	Undisclosed
2 February 2022	FW		Mavis Tchibota	Maccabi Haifa	Undisclosed
6 April 2022	FW		Júnior Brandão	Operário Ferroviário	Undisclosed

Loans out

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
1 July 2021	GK		Damyan Damyanov	Botev Vratsa	30 June 2022
1 July 2021	MF		Serkan Yusein	Beroe Stara Zagora	30 June 2022
2 August 2021	FW		Júnior Brandão	CRB	31 December 2021
30 August 2021	MF		Jorginho	Wisła Płock	30 June 2022
1 January 2022	MF		Georgi Chukalov	Spartak Varna	30 June 2022	[36]
25 January 2022	FW		Dorin Rotariu	Atromitos	End of season
3 February 2022	DF		Josué Sá	Maccabi Tel Aviv	30 June 2022
28 February 2022	FW		Higinio Marín	Górnik Zabrze	30 June 2022	[37]

Released

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Joined	Date	Ref.
14 June 2021	DF		Dragoș Grigore	Rapid București
30 June 2021	GK		Vladislav Stoyanov	Retired
30 June 2021	DF		Cosmin Moți	Retired
30 June 2021	MF		Svetoslav Dyakov	Pirin Blagoevgrad	1 July 2021
30 June 2021	MF		Svetoslav Kovachev	Arda Kardzhali	1 July 2021
21 July 2021	MF		Anicet Abel	Future FC	26 October 2021
27 August 2021	FW		Claudiu Keșerü	FCSB	31 August 2021
31 January 2022	FW		Elvis Manu	Wisła Kraków	28 February 2022	[38]

Competitions

Bulgarian Supercup

See main article: 2021 Bulgarian Supercup.

Parva Liga

Regular stage

See main article: 2021–22 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria).

Results

Championship stage

See main article: 2021–22 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria).

Results

Bulgarian Cup

See main article: 2021–22 Bulgarian Cup.

UEFA Champions League

See main article: 2021–22 UEFA Champions League.

Qualifying rounds

See main article: 2021–22 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round.

UEFA Europa League

See main article: 2021–22 UEFA Europa League.

Group stage

See main article: 2021–22 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

|-|colspan="16"|Players away from the club on loan:|-|colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Ludogorets Razgrad that left during the season:|}

Goal scorers

width=60	Place	width=60	Position	width=60	Nation	width=60	Number	width=150	Name	width=150	A Group	width=150	Bulgarian Cup	width=150	Supercup	width=150	Champions League	width=150	Europa League	width=80	Total
1	FW		19	Pieros Sotiriou	17	1	1	3	1	23
2	FW		37	Bernard Tekpetey	10	0	0	0	0	10
	FW		11	Kiril Despodov	6	1	0	2	1	10
4	MF		95	Cauly	5	1	0	2	0	8
5	MF		7	Alex Santana	6	0	1	0	0	7
	MF		64	Dominik Yankov	4	2	1	0	0	7
7	FW		10	Elvis Manu	4	1	0	1	0	6
8	FW		13	Mavis Tchibota	3	0	1	0	0	4
	FW		10	Matías Tissera	2	2	0	0	0	4
				Own goal	3	0	0	1	0	4
11	DF		22	Jordan Ikoko	3	0	0	0	0	3
	DF		32	Josué Sá	3	0	0	0	0	3
	DF		24	Olivier Verdon	3	0	0	0	0	3
	MF		23	Show	2	1	0	0	0	3
15	MF		90	Spas Delev	2	0	0	0	0	2
	FW		9	Higinio Marín	0	2	0	0	0	2
17	FW		29	Dorin Rotariu	1	0	0	0	0	1
	MF		88	Wanderson	1	0	0	0	0	1
	FW		9	Thiago	1	0	0	0	0	1
	DF		4	Cicinho	1	0	0	0	0	1
	DF		3	Anton Nedyalkov	0	0	0	1	0	1
	DF		30	Ihor Plastun	0	0	0	0	1	1
TOTALS					75	11	4	10	3	103

Clean sheets

width=60	Place	width=60	Position	width=60	Nation	width=60	Number	width=150	Name	width=150	A Group	width=150	Bulgarian Cup	width=150	Supercup	width=150	Champions League	width=150	Europa League	width=80	Total
1	GK		1	Sergio Padt	8	0	0	0	1	9
	GK		71	Kristijan Kahlina	4	1	1	3	0	9
3	GK		12	Simon Sluga	1	1	0	0	0	2
TOTALS					13	2	1	3	1	20

Disciplinary record

Number	Nation	Position	Name	A Group		Bulgarian Cup		Supercup		Champions League		Europa League		Total
				width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"		width=60 style="background: #FF8888"		width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"		width=60 style="background: #FF8888"		width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"		width=60 style="background: #FF8888"		width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"		width=60 style="background: #FF8888"		width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"		width=60 style="background: #FF8888"		width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"		width=60 style="background: #FF8888"
3		DF	Anton Nedyalkov	0	0	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	1
4		DF	Cicinho	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	11	1
5		DF	Georgi Terziev	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
6		DF	Shaquille Pinas	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
7		MF	Alex Santana	5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
8		MF	Claude Gonçalves	6	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	9	0
10		FW	Matías Tissera	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
11		FW	Kiril Despodov	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	9	0
19		FW	Pieros Sotiriou	7	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	10	0
21		DF	Žan Karničnik	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
22		DF	Jordan Ikoko	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
23		MF	Show	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
24		DF	Olivier Verdon	5	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	1
30		DF	Ihor Plastun	4	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	8	1
37		FW	Bernard Tekpetey	6	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	10	0
64		MF	Dominik Yankov	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
73		MF	Rick	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
90		MF	Spas Delev	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
95		MF	Cauly	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
Players away on loan:
9		FW	Higinio Marín	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
32		DF	Josué Sá	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
Players who left Ludogorets Razgrad during the season:
10		FW	Elvis Manu	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
13		FW	Mavis Tchibota	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
25		MF	Stéphane Badji	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	4	0
			TOTALS	71	1	13	2	4	0	15	0	14	1	117	4

Notes and References

1. Web site: Новият нидерландски вратар на Лудогорец Серджио Падт пристигна в Разград . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . bg. 26 May 2021.
2. Web site: Игор Пластун се завърна в Лудогорец . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . bg. 11 June 2021.
3. Web site: Ludogorets and Grigore part ways . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 14 June 2021.
4. Web site: Ludogorets signed a contract with a Romanian player . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 17 June 2021.
5. Web site: Лудогорец успя! Десподов е играч на шампионите . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . bg. 19 June 2021.
6. Web site: Лудогорец привлече национал на Суринам . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . bg. 29 June 2021.
7. Web site: Ludogorets bought Bernard Tekpetey's transfer rights . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 29 June 2021.
8. Web site: Let's all say farewell to Moti, Dyakov, and Stoyanov on Wednesday . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 5 July 2021.
9. Web site: Ludogorets and Abel Anicet part ways . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 21 July 2021.
10. Web site: Ludogorets sold Dan Bitton to Maccabi . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 19 August 2021.
11. Web site: Ludogorets and Keseru ended their contract . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 27 August 2021.
12. Web site: Ludogorets rented out Jorginho to Vizsla (Plock) . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 30 August 2021.
13. Web site: A player from the Brazilian A Series joined Ludogorets . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . 21 December 2021.
14. Web site: A Bulgaria national football team player joined Ludogorets . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 26 December 2021 . 23 December 2021.
15. Web site: Лудогорец продаде Кристиан Кахлина в САЩ . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 29 December 2021 . bg. 28 December 2021.
16. Web site: Ante Simundza is Ludogorets' new coach . ludogorets.com . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 4 January 2022 . 3 January 2022.
17. Web site: Ludogorets sold Dimitar Mitkov to Lokomotiv (Sofia) . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 9 January 2022 . 4 January 2022.
18. Web site: Жан Краничник е футболист на Лудогорец . ludogorets.com . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 15 January 2022 . bg. 15 January 2022.
19. Web site: Лудогорец се раздели с Елвис Ману . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 1 February 2022 . bg. 31 January 2022.
20. Web site: Лудогорец привлече хърватски национал от Англия . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 1 February 2022 . bg. 31 January 2022.
21. Web site: Лудогорец продаде Стефан Баджи на Еюпспор . ludogorets.com . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 3 February 2022 . bg. 2 February 2022.
22. Web site: Лудогорец със сериозен трансфер, продаде Чибота на шампиона на Израел . ludogorets.com . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 3 February 2022 . bg. 2 February 2022.
23. Web site: Жосуе Са ще играе под наем в Макаби (Тел Авив) . ludogorets.com . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 3 February 2022 . bg. 3 February 2022.
24. Web site: Ludogorets acquired an elite player from Argentina . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 14 February 2022 . 12 February 2022.
25. Web site: Лудогорец прави трансферен удар със защитник от Франция . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 16 June 2019 . bg. 16 June 2019.
26. Web site: Ludogorets attracted a midfielder from Botafogo. ludogorets.com. 23 July 2020.
27. Web site: Халф от Бундеслигата подсилва Лудогорец . ludogorets.com . 13 January 2020 . bg.
28. Web site: A player from Cyprus joined Ludogorets . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 9 February 2021 . 5 February 2021.
29. Web site: Ludogorets has a new addition from Spain . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 15 August 2020 . 12 August 2020.
30. Web site: Лудогорец договори Жоржиньо, националът на Гвинея-Бисау става играч на шампиона от 1 юли . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 23 June 2019 . bg. 18 June 2019.
31. Web site: A Benin national football team player joins Ludogorets . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 5 October 2020 . bg. 2 October 2020.
32. Web site: An experienced Dutch player joined Ludogorets . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 28 August 2020 . 16 August 2020.
33. Web site: Ludogorets introduced Biton and Tchibota . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 12 June 2019 . 11 June 2019.
34. Web site: Лудогорец с нов трансферен удар . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 3 July 2019 . bg. 28 June 2019.
35. Web site: Лудогорец представи Серджио Падт и Клод Гонсалвеш . ludogorets.com/ . PFC Ludogorets Razgrad . 22 December 2021 . bg. 7 June 2021.
36. Web site: Лидерът във Втора лига се подсили с трима играчи . gong.bg/ . Gong BG . 3 February 2022 . bg. 31 December 2021.
37. Web site: HIGINIO MARIN PIŁKARZEM GÓRNIKA . gornikzabrze.pl . Górnik Zabrze . 14 April 2022 . Polish . 28 February 2022.
38. Web site: Elvis Manu piłkarzem Wisły Kraków . Wisła Kraków . 28 February 2022 . pl . 28 February 2022.