Top facts about Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Kyri

Kyriakos Papadopoulos (born February 23, 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays center back for Atromitos in the Super League and for the Greece national team.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ age

is 30. Here, you can find the most important facts about Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

After making his league debut for Olympiacos at the age of 15, Papadopoulos moved to

in Germany in 2010 and scored in his professional debut for Greece the following year, at the age of 19. His rise in the Bundesliga, however, was delayed by a series of injuries over many seasons.

On June 4, 2011, Kyriakos Papadopoulos made his debut for the

, which was led by Portugal's Fernando Santos, in a qualifying match for the 2012 European Football Championship against Malta (3–1).

In May 2012, national coach Santos chose Papadopoulos for the 2012 European Football Championship, which was held in Poland and Ukraine. Greece was part of Group A, which also included Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

On June 8, he made his debut for his country in an international tournament, drawing 1–1 with the Polish national football team in the opening match of the European Championship. After 37 minutes of action, he was replaced by his namesake, Avraam Papadopoulos, who was injured.

Greece defeated Russia in the group stage to advance to the knockout round. Kyriakos Papadopoulos predicted that Greece's next opponent, Germany, would be wary of the dark horse.

The quarterfinals, however, were lost 4–2 on June 22. Papadopoulos appeared in the first two FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September 2012, defeating Latvia (1–2) and Lithuania (2–0).

Top facts about Kyriakos Papadopoulos:

At the age of 15, the central defender made his professional debut with Olympiakos Piraeus, where he won the league and cup double in 2008 and 2009. At the age of 18, the Greek moved to Germany to join FC Schalke 04, where he won the DFB Cup and the DFL Supercup.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos early life

Papadopoulos was born in Katerini and was playing for his local club Svoronos Katerinis when he was called on trial to practice with the RCD Espanyol young squad during pre-season in July 2007, with the goal of providing him a part in the minor team.

Papadopoulos, on the other hand, played well enough for the club's management to promote him to the reserve squad and promptly give him a contract.

However, Olympiacos scouts were aware of the prodigy's abilities, and George Louvaris, the club's previous manager, was fast to broker a contract with Papadopoulos' father Nikos, bringing him to Piraeus.

Olympiacos used him in six pre-season friendlies, three league games, and three Greek Cup games right away.

Regarding

Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ childhood

, it should be mentioned that he had a promising 2007–08 season. At the age of 15 years and 283 days, he made his competitive debut for Olympiacos in the Greek Superleague as a substitute during a 3–1 victory against Atromitos on December 2, 2007, becoming him the youngest player to ever play in the Greek league.

He also played in the UEFA Champions League as a substitute against Real Madrid and Lazio, as well as numerous Greek Cup games. If Papadopoulos had played in any Champions League games, he would have become the competition's youngest player by almost two years. There is no information available regarding

Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ parents

.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos professional career

Kyriakos Papadopoulos was a stalwart, organizing the rest of the team from the back-four and showing little reservation in calling the shots.

An important

fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos

is that he last played for the Greece national football team on 14 November in a won exhibition game against Ireland; after that, he did not have playing time in the national team for months, partly due to a lingering knee injury that also prevented him from playing in club football.

Injuries also cost Papadopoulos a spot in the Greek team for the World Championships in Brazil, where his country finished eighth. Papadopoulos returned to the Greece national football team on March 29, 2015, during a 0–0 draw with Hungary in a European Championship qualifier.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos club career

Papadopoulos signed a new three-year deal with Olympiacos in September 2008, which contained a £4.6 million release clause. He made his debut league appearance for Olympiacos in the 2008–09 season on November 2, 2008, in a 2–0 home victory against Ergotelis.

Schalke 04

Schalke 04, a German club, confirmed on June 23, 2010, that they had signed Papadopoulos to a four-year contract that will retain him until 2014.

A notable fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos is that he made his Bundesliga debut for the club on August 21, 2010, in a 2–1 defeat to Hamburger SV. He scored his first goal for Schalke in a 6–1 victory against HJK Helsinki in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round on August 25, 2011.

Papadopoulos scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory against Steaua București in a Europa League group stage match on December 1. Papadopoulos scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 5–0 victory over Werder Bremen on December 17, 2011, and his second goal in a 3–1 win against VfB Stuttgart on January 21, 2012.

Papadopoulos has appeared in almost 70 games in all competitions since joining Schalke from

, scoring five goals and earning respect and appreciation from all across Europe for his tough and skilled defence despite his young age.

Milan, an Italian team, was interested in signing Papadopoulos ahead of the 2012–13 season. Schalke accused Milan of making an unlawful approach for Papadopoulos without the club's knowledge after displaying interest.

Russian heavyweights Zenit Saint Petersburg were also interested, but when Schalke accepted their £16 million proposal for Papadopoulos, he turned it down, preferring to remain in Germany.

A notable fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos is that he signed a new deal with Schalke in September 2012, which would keep him at the club until 2016.

In a 3–1 victory against FC Augsburg on matchday two of the 2012–13 season, Papadopoulos scored his first goal of the season and third in the Bundesliga. A virus, on the other hand, forced him to miss a number of games, and he had surgery to treat a knee injury he sustained in a 3–1 defeat away at Hamburger SV in November 2012.

Papadopoulos returned to play in a home game against SC Freiburg in December 2013 after a tough year hampered by injury (383 days to be precise).

Papadopoulos, though, sustained a second shoulder injury only a few weeks after his return to activity, and he may have been forced to have surgery.

His reoccurring knee troubles limited him to only four games in the 2013–14 season, thus the news came as a shock. He also missed the 2014 World Cup with Greece due to the injury.

Bayer Leverkusen

Papadopoulos was signed on a season-long loan by

on August 3, 2014. According to the official website of Leverkusen, "I'm relieved that everything worked well with the adjustment.

Bayer 04, like Schalke 04, is a club with big international aspirations. Unfortunately, I got injured more often this season than in previous seasons. But now I'm healthy and eager to reach both my personal and the club's objectives with Leverkusen."

Leverkusen stated on November 3, 2014, that Papadopoulos has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.

The injury occurred during the penultimate training session before his team's UEFA Champions League away match against Zenit Saint Petersburg, and he required surgery.

"That's really bitter for Papa," Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said before of the team's travel to Russia to media. Following his accident, Papadopoulos had successful surgery in Herne the following Monday, according to the club.

A notable

fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos

is that he scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayer Leverkusen against SC Paderborn on March 8, 2015.

His injury woes continued as he dislocated his right shoulder in a league match against 1. FC Köln on April 25, 2015. Papadopoulos would return to training after three months, according to Leverkusen officials.

Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen decided to make Papadopoulos' loan from Schalke 04 permanent on June 7, 2015, for a €6.5 million transfer fee and a five-year deal.

On September 29, 2015, Papadopoulos scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season in the first half of a Champions League match against

: Hakan Calhanolu swung in a corner that hit just beneath Barça goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen's crossbar, and Papadopoulos headed in the rebound from close range.

During the season, Papadopoulos experienced a number of injuries, including a rupture in a joint capsule that kept him out of training for two weeks, as well as a right calf tendon injury in a 0–0 Europa League match with

that forced him to leave the club until the conclusion of the season.

RB Leipzig

On August 31, 2016, Papadopoulos signed a season-long loan with RB Leipzig for €1.5 million, reuniting with Leipzig director of sport Ralf Rangnick, who was his coach when they won the DFB Pokal with Schalke in 2011.

He made his debut for the club as a substitute in a 1–1 Bundesliga encounter against

on September 21, 2016. Papadopoulos had a successful standard surgery to correct a persistent knee condition on November 24, 2016. He began a rehabilitation regimen and is expected to be back in play in three weeks.

SV Hamburger

A notable fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos is that he joined Hamburger SV on January 13, 2017, following a disappointing first half of the season with RB Leipzig and due to the club's purchase of defender Dayot Upamecano from Salzburg during the winter transfer window.

Markus Gisdol, the HSV manager, knew the defender from their time together at Schalke 04. He made his first start for the club in a 1–0 away defeat to VfL Wolfsburg on January 21, 2017.

On 3 February 2017, Papadopoulos scored a headed goal from a set piece to give Hamburg a 1–0 win against his parent club, Bayer Leverkusen.

Papadopoulos scored against his former team in a 3–0 away victory at RB Leipzig a week later, giving HSV back-to-back Bundesliga victories for just the second time this season.

He was replaced in the first half of his fourth Bundesliga game with Hamburg on February 18, 2017, owing to a shoulder injury.

Papadopoulos made his comeback in the DFB Cup against Borussia Mönchengladbach on March 1, 2017. In a 0–0 away draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on March 18, 2017, he made his 100th appearance in the Bundesliga, donning the jerseys of four different teams.

On June 21, 2017, Hamburger SV signed Papadopoulos on a permanent three-year agreement from Bayer Leverkusen for €6.5 million, with the Dinosaurs offering extra €3 million in the form of a target bonus for the following three years, after barely avoiding relegation the previous season.

Despite only having been at the club for six months, he was selected vice-captain for the 2017–18 season on August 9, 2017. In a 2–1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on December 12, 2017, he scored his first goal of the season.

According to the Hamburger Morgenpost, Papadopoulos had a knee cartilage damage on July 23, 2018, which necessitated emergency surgical surgery.

The recovery time is expected to last six months, which means he will be ready to participate again around Christmas after missing the first half of the 2018–19 2. Bundesliga season.

After a long recuperation process (154 days to be precise) from cartilage injury, he returned to the squad as a substitute in an away 0–0 game against VfL Bochum on 30 March 2019, and three days later he made his first team debut as a starter in a 2–0 away victory DFB Pokal game against Paderborn.

Lokomotiva

NK Lokomotiva, a Croatian football club headquartered in Zagreb, officially confirmed the acquisition of Greek international for an unknown amount on October 27, 2020.

Al-Fayha

On 18 July 2021, he signed a two-year deal with Saudi Professional League side Al-Fayha on a free transfer from NK Lokomotiva for an unknown amount, strengthening the Greek component in the team after the arrival of Panagiotis Tachtsidis.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos is seeking for a new club to join on August 28, 2021, after his contract with Al-Fayha was resolved after a month in Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old defender made just one appearance, and it was for only 16 minutes.

Atromitos

Papadopoulos returned to Super League Greece on September 9, 2021, when he signed a one-year deal with Atromitos F.C. for an unknown amount.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos international career

Papadopoulos was selected for the under-19 Greek national team to compete in the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship's Elite round in 2007.

He played in all three of Greece's group games against Moldova, the Netherlands, and Russia, helping the country finish first and go to the finals. Later in the competition, Papadopoulos was paired with colleague Konstantinos Lambropoulos in the heart of the Greek defense.

He played a key role in the Czech Republic's clean sheet, as well as good performances against

and

. Scouts from top clubs like as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea were impressed by his performances.

In a tournament when he was the youngest player by 13 months, the clubs were pleased with the defender's maturity. Despite being the tournament's youngest player, he was named one of UEFA's top ten most gifted players in Europe in their UEFA Under-19 Team of the Tournament.

After an outstanding season with Schalke, then-Greece head coach Fernando Santos called Papadopoulos up for the first time to the senior team for a match against Malta on June 4, 2011.

Due to an injury to Avraam Papadopoulos and the unavailability of Sokratis Papastathopoulos to participate, he was called into the team to play with Vangelis Moras in the center of defense. He not only had a fantastic game, but he also scored his team's second goal.

He scored his second international goal against Latvia in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying on September 6, 2011.

Papadopoulos was part of Greece's 23-man roster for the UEFA Euro 2012 championships, appearing in the team's second and third group games, as well as the quarter-final defeat to Germany.

As part of a selection makeover, Papadopoulos was recalled by new Greece manager Sergio Markarian on April 17, 2015, to play in the country's European Championship qualifier against Hungary.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos was chosen by German coach Michael Skibbe at the start of the World Cup 2018 qualification campaign.

After 71 minutes against Cyprus, he came in as a replacement for Kostas Stafylidis. He started and finished the third game against Estonia, but was sent off after 79 minutes against Bosnia and Herzegovina. After that, Papadopoulos was forced to sit out the crucial fifth game against the Belgian Red Devils.

Some more facts about Kyriakos Papadopoulos:

Kyriakos Papadopoulos made 136 Bundesliga appearances for Gelsenkirchen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and Hamburger SV over eight seasons.

After being relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga with HSV in 2018, he only made three second-division appearances in the following two years due to injuries and was subsequently dropped from the professional squad.

Following stations in Croatia and Saudi Arabia, Papadopoulos returned to Greece in early September 2021 after 11 years abroad and joined Atromitos Athens.

An important

fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos

is that he played in the amateur league for GAS Svoronos in his hometown of Katerini before signing a three-year contract with Olympiacos Piraeus in the summer of 2007.

He made his Super League debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Atromitos on 2 December 2007 at the age of 15 years and 283 days.

He is the youngest player to have played a competitive game in Greece's top division, as well as the Olympiacos U18 team. Papadopoulos signed a new three-year contract with Olympiakos in September 2008.

The 18-year-old joined FC Schalke 04 for the 2010/11 season, signing a contract that initially ran until June 30, 2014. Papadopoulos made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke 04 against Hamburger SV on Matchday 1 of the 2010/11 season.

In 2011, Papadopoulos won the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup with Schalke 04. Papadopoulos injured his knee in the middle of the first half of the 2012/13 season and was sidelined for the rest of the season. During his rehabilitation, he experienced setbacks and missed the start of the 2013/14 season.

He returned to the Bundesliga on December 15, 2013, after an absence of more than a year. He had three more missions by the end of the season. His contract was set to expire on June 30, 2016.

In order to gain match experience, Papadopoulos was loaned out to league rivals Bayer 04 Leverkusen for a year in August 2014.

He made his Bundesliga debut for Bayer Leverkusen against

on Matchday 1 of the 2014/15 season.

On October 22, 2014, he scored his first competitive goal for Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-0 Champions League win over Zenit Saint Petersburg. He was finally signed to a contract until June 30, 2020 for the 2015/16 season.

Papadopoulos was loaned to league rivals RB Leipzig for the 2016/17 season. Due to injuries, he only appeared in one of the 15 mandatory games, making a substitution against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

In January 2017, he was loaned out to league rivals Hamburger SV after about four and a half months in Saxony.

In 15 appearances, Papadopoulos contributed to HSV's relegation with strong performances, mostly alongside Mergim Mavraj, who was also signed in the winter (two goals). He quickly became a crowd favorite, owing to his strong identification with the club and a fighting mentality.

HSV acquired the transfer rights for the 2017/18 season and signed Papadopoulos to a contract until June 30, 2020. HSV coach Markus Gisdol named him as a replacement for Mavraj for deputy captain Gtoku Sakai.

Papadopoulos was a regular in central defense under coaches Markus Gisdol and Bernd Hollerbach. After sitting on the bench for the entire season in the first game under Christian Titz on March 17, 2018, a 2-1 home defeat against Hertha BSC on matchday 27 that dropped HSV to last place in the table, he publicly criticized this after the game.

Papadopoulos was retained in the senior squad after apologizing to the manager and the team. The defender was relegated to the second division with HSV at the end of the season.

Papadopoulos suffered a serious knee injury during the summer preparations for the 2nd Bundesliga 2018/19, which sidelined him for eight months – and thus the entire first half of the season.

An important fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos is that he made his comeback in a 2-0 away win over SC Paderborn 07 in the DFB Cup quarterfinals. He remained for the duration of the game.

Furthermore, due to a serious knee injury sustained during the summer preparations, he only played in one league game later in the season (1:2 home defeat against 1. FC Magdeburg).

Dieter Hecking took over as coach of Hamburg for the 2019/20 season. During Hecking's tenure, Papadopulos only played 90 minutes on the first day of the season. Following that was another brief mission.

Rick van Drongelen and Gideon Jung took over as central defenders. When Jung was injured, he was replaced by Timo Letschert, though, unlike Papadopoulos, Jonas David also played a role in Hecking's considerations.

After returning to team training during the international break in October, summer signing Ewerton, who had previously been injured, returned to the team.

Papadopoulos approached HSV, requesting permission to leave the club during the winter. In consultation with the sporting director, he was then transferred to the second team.

Papadopoulos was released in mid-December after appearing in one game in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Nord.

An important fact about Kyriakos Papadopoulos is that he completed a trial with the Chinese first division club Shanghai Shenhua in mid-January 2020, but a commitment did not materialize.

According to his own statement, the contracts had already been negotiated, but he decided against changing because he was in China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Papadopoulos returned to second-team training in early February. Another regional league assignment followed until the leagues were suspended in Germany in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Papadopoulos wanted to stay in shape with the reigning Greek champions PAOK Thessaloniki beginning in mid-May.

Abel Ferreira, the head coach, decided against Papadopoulos' participation in training because he was not aware of the plan. He began training with Panathinaikos Athens at the end of May. His contract with HSV was set to expire on June 30, 2020.

After his contract with HSV expired, the Greek continued to play for fourth-tier club PAO Koufalia. After nearly four months without a club, the 28-year-old joined Croatian first division club Lokomotiva Zagreb at the end of October 2020.

He had made 24 league appearances, always starting, and scored two goals by the end of the 2020/21 season.

Papadopoulos joined the Saudi Arabian first division club al-Fayha FC for the 2021/22 season. However, he left the club at the end of August 2021 after a little more than a month without an assignment.

After 11 years away, Papadopoulos returned to Greece in early September 2021 and signed a contract with first division club Atromitos Athens, with whom he signed a contract until the end of the 2021/22 season.

Papadopoulos competed in the U19 European Championship in 2008. He took part in all three qualifiers against Moldova, the

, and Russia, in which Greece advanced to the preliminary round.

In the preliminary round, Papadopoulos, along with Vasilis Lambropoulos, was at the heart of the Greek defense, preventing the Czech team from scoring. He was the youngest of the top ten tournament players listed as 'Stars of Tomorrow' on UEFA's website.

On November 19, 2008, he made his U21 national team debut as the team's youngest player. On June 4, 2011, at the age of 19, he received his first cap for the senior Greek national team.

In the European Championship qualifier against Malta, he scored his first international goal. Papadopoulos was a member of the Greek national team's squad for Euro 2012, which took place in Poland and Ukraine.

After coming on as a substitute in the first game against Poland, he started the next two games against Russia and the Czech Republic and helped his team reach the quarter-finals. Greece was eliminated from the tournament with a 4-2 loss to Germany.

As a central defender, Papadopoulos appeared in all of the national team's games. Due to injury, he only appeared in three World Cup qualifiers after that. For the same reason, he was not named to Greece's World Cup squad for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos social media

Regarding

Kyriakos Papadopoulos social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an Instagram page (

) with more than 36k followers. On the page, we can see various pictures of him along with his fans and family.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos body measurements

Speaking about

Kyriakos Papadopoulos body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the player is 183cm and 85kg.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos net worth and salary

Kyriakos Papadopoulos' net worth

is estimated to be around $10 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.

Read More:

Follow 

 for the