Top facts about Dejan Lovren, the solid defender

(born 5 July 1989) is a Croatian competitive player who leads

of the Russian Premier League and competes as a center defender for the Croatian national squad.

Dejan Lovren’s age

is 31. Keep on reading to find out the most important facts about Croatian defender.

Dinamo Zagreb was Lovren's first club before joining Olympique Lyonnais in January 2010. He played three and a half years with the Ligue 1 club, winning the 2012 Coupe de France before joining Southampton in 2013. Later, he signed Liverpool for £20 million after one campaign with Southampton.

Lovren was always passionate about succeeding at

, particularly after one of his many high-profile errors, that the rational move to bring his game back to basics and focus on fundamentals was summarily overridden by his desire to make up for his mistakes.

Before joining Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg in July 2020, he made 185 starts for the team claiming the UEFA Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020. He took over as captain of the squad from Artem Dzyuba after just four months.

Top facts about Dejan Lovren:

Dejan Lovren made his professional debut in 2009 after previously representing Croatia at different junior levels. He has subsequently made around 60 appearances for his nation. He was a member of Croatia's teams for both the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where they were defeated finalists by

in the latter.

Dejan Lovren early life

Lovren was born in Zenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Bosnian Croat family, and spent his early years in the town of Kraljeva Sutjeska. When he was 3 years old,

Dejan Lovren’s parents

moved from the disintegrating Yugoslavia to Munich to avoid the Bosnian Conflict, and he spent the following seven years in Deutschland.

Regarding

Dejan Lovren’s childhood

, his family finally had to depart since they lacked the proper documents to live in Germany, and they relocated in Karlovac, Croatia, 50 kilometers southwest of Zagreb. Lovren had to adjust to life in Croatia at first, and he failed in school for a few years due to his lack of knowledge of the Croatian dialect.

Dejan Lovren personal life

Davor Lovren, Lovren's brother, is a pro player who presently represents Fortuna Düsseldorf. Ivanka, Lovren's grandma, named him after Montenegrin soccer hero Dejan Savievi.  He is multilingual, speaking Croatian, German, English, and French.

The important fact about

Dejan Lovren’s personal life

is that he is coupled to Anita Sekuli, and the pair have 2 kids: Elena was born in August 2012, and Josip was born in June 2015.

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, photojournalist published explicit images of numerous Croatian international team members taking a "skinny swim" in a Brazilian hot tub. Lovren is said to have suffered the most because almost his whole body was uncovered.

A notable

fact about Dejan Lovren

is that in February 2017, LFC TV aired a brief movie titled Lovren: My Life as a Migrant, in which the player spoke candidly about his hardships, difficult life, and scars, and called for greater tolerance for immigrants, saying,"When I see what's going on with refugees now, it reminds me of my own situation, my parents, and how others don't want you to be in their nation. I appreciate the desire to defend oneself, but many people do not have houses.

It's not their crime; they're struggling for survival in order to protect their children. They desire a safe environment for their children and their prospects. All of this happened to me, and I understand what some parents are going through. Give them opportunity, give them a chance, give them a chance. You can tell who is a good person and who isn't."

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in late April 2020, Lovren encouraged vaccine reluctance and disinformation by sharing postings by conspiracy theorists Rashid Buttar, David Icke, and Ivan Pernar.

In January 2021, he rejected being vaccine-skeptical or believing the outbreak was a fraud, saying that everyone should be able to choose whether or not to be immunized, rather than being forced to. He continued by saying that if he had to pick, he would have the Sputnik V vaccine.

Dejan Lovren professional career

After the semi-final win over

, Lovren told reporters, "I took Liverpool to the final of the Champions League and now with my national team we are in the final. People should recognize that I am also one of the best defenders in the world and not just talk nonsense."

However, some fans believe that he is not even close to the likes of

, de Ligt, Varane, Koulibaly, and other well-known defenders.

Dejan Lovren club career

Lovren began his football career at BSC Sendling in Munich, Germany. He featured for national clubs NK Ilovac and NK Karlovac as a kid after relocating to Croatia, until signing

in 2004.

Dinamo Zagreb

In a Croatia Premier Soccer League game versus NK Varteks on May 10, 2006, he earned his Dinamo start. Lovren was transferred to NK Inter Zaprei for 2 years on July 17, 2006, where he netted one goal in 50 league games. Lovren was a regular starter for Dinamo after returning from loan, playing in 38 games and hitting 3 goals during the 2008–09 season.

During the 2009–10 campaign, he appeared in all 4 of Dinamo's UEFA Champions League qualifications, scoring a goal versus Pyunik Yerevan.

Lyon

Lovren completed a four-and-a-half-year deal with French Ligue 1 side

in January 2010 for €8 million + €1.5 million in bonuses. He earned his professional start on January 24, 2010, in a 2–1 loss to AS Monaco in the Coupe de France, in which he played the whole game.

An important

fact about Dejan Lovren

’s professional career is that he made his Ligue 1 introduction in Lyon's 2–1 victory over

at home, where he played the full 90 minutes for the second time. He made ten appearances in the latter part of the year largely as a replacement.

Lovren was not permitted to play in Lyon's UEFA Champions League games that campaign since he had previously represented Dinamo Zagreb in the tournament.

With the transfer of two additional defenders, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Mathieu Bodmer, in the august of 2010, Lovren's game time rose during the 2010–11 term.

He steadily cemented himself as a first-team starting player throughout the campaign, appearing as a center-back with Cris and as a right or left full-back, showcasing his versatility as a defense. Lovren was included to Don Balón's list of the 100 finest emerging footballers in the globe in November 2010.

Lovren renewed his contract with Lyon for 2 more years on January 23, 2012, committing to the French side until 2016. He played for Lyon in the 2012 Coupe de France Finale, a 1–0 victory against Quevilly, although Bakary Koné replaced him after 18 minutes.

Southampton

Lovren completed a four-year deal with Southampton on June 14, 2013, for an unknown fee valued at £8.5 million. He started his career versus

on August 17, 2013, in a 1–0 victory. On September 21, 2013, he netted his first score for Southampton over Liverpool at Anfield, a strike that transpired to be the game-winner.

A notable fact about Dejan Lovren’s Southampton career is that in a 1–1 tie with

at Old Trafford on October 19, he supplied Adam Lallana with the equalizing goal.

On 18 January 2014, he scored his second league goal in a 2–2 away tie over Sunderland, however he was carted off late in the match and needed medical attention thereafter. Lovren, along with teammate Gastón Ramrez, was ruled out for 6 to 8 weeks on January 23 due to foot ligament injury.

Lovren was included to Bloomberg Sports' Super 50 list at the end of his first campaign in the Premier Division which gives analytical evaluations of achievements from individuals in Europe's top 5 divisions. In 31st place, he was the Premier League's fifth-highest rated player.

Following much supposition about Lovren's coming years after the departing of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, and Rickie Lambert from Southampton, the Liverpool Echo noted on July 25, 2014, that Southampton had concurred a cost with Liverpool for the purchase of Lovren, who was established to endure a medical at Liverpool after allegedly giving in a transfer request at Southampton.

Liverpool

After Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, Lovren was the third Saints star to sign Liverpool in the same trade period on July 27, 2014. He got a four-year contract for a reported £20 million, marking him Liverpool's most costly defender until Virgil van Dijk came to the club in 2018.

He created his Liverpool premiere in a friendly against

at Anfield on 10 August 2014, having scored the second goal in a 4–0 victory, and his competitor premiere on 17 August in the team's starting Premier League match of the tournament starting to play the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 victory over previous club

at Anfield.

An important

fact about Dejan Lovren

’s Liverpool career is that on October 28, he netted his debut professional score for Liverpool when he nodded in the game-winner from a free-kick in a 2–1 League Cup fourth-round triumph against

.  Lovren was demoted from the first squad after a disappointing performance against Basel in the Champions League.

As the final penalty shooter Lovren's shot went over the woodwork as Reds lost a penalty shootout against

on February 26, 2015, and were knocked out of the Europa League's last 32.  The Telegraph site featured Lovren in a story on the Premier League's 20 worst acquisitions in 2014–15, noting how many of his mistakes resulted in opposing goals.

For the first three games of the 2015–16 campaign, Lovren reclaimed his starting spot and played well, with three clean sheets and 7 points. Lovren was replaced by Mamadou Sakho after a series of losses to

and Manchester United, both of which saw the defense allow six goals.

In November 8, he came on as a replacement for Sakho in a 2–1 loss to

at Anfield, with Sakho sidelined for two months due to a knee injury.

Lovren was carted off the ground in the 79th minute of a 2–2 draw versus West Bromwich Albion on December 13th due to a knee injury and was substituted by Divock Origi. Lovren scored a stoppage-time winner in a 4–3 Europa League quarter-final triumph versus Borussia Dortmund the next 14 April.

After a tough start to his time at Liverpool, Lovren was characterized by Liverpool Echo as having developed into a "cool and collected" captain on the field by the conclusion of the 2015–16 season under Jürgen Klopp. Lovren's deal with Liverpool was renewed until 2021 on April 28, 2017.

He had a rough beginning to the 2017–18 campaign allowing

and Son Heung-min to score easy chances in Tottenham Hotspur's 4–1 victory against Liverpool on October 22, 2017. After barely half an hour, he was replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

In a 4–0 victory against Bournemouth on December 17, Lovren netted his first goal of the term making Liverpool the first side in Premier League history to win four straight away league matches by a difference of at least 3 scores. Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren formed a stable connection at the core of Liverpool's defense after his debut on January 1st.

Lovren led Liverpool for the first time in a 4–3 victory over Manchester City on January 14, 2018.  Lovren netted his second goal of the season in a 4–0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion on May 13, securing Liverpool's Champions League qualifying for next term.

Lovren also played a key part in Liverpool's Champions League adventure, in which the squad advanced to the final but lost to reigning champions Real Madrid. After that summer's World Cup, Lovren began the 2018–19 campaign unwell.

A notable fact about Dejan Lovren’s Liverpool career is that on the 3rd of January 2019, Lovren committed a key blunder that allowed Sergio Agüero to score the game's first goal. Liverpool did lose the game 2–1, breaking their

undefeated streak. Lovren was hurt six minutes into the FA Cup match versus

on January 7, and was replaced by Ki-Jana Hoever. 

He was then dropped from the starting team, appearing in only two full games for the rest of this season as Liverpool finished second in the Premier League to impending winners Manchester City and managed to win the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final against Tottenham Hotspur, where he was an inactive replacement.  He became the seventh Croatian to win the Champions League in the club's history.

Lovren wanted a move during the summer of 2019 because he did not want to remain a replacement. Milan and Roma, both from Serie A, showed the most interest. As a result, he was left out of Liverpool's team for the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, which they won on penalties against

.

On September 25, Lovren returned back to the team for an EFL Cup encounter against MK Dons. After Jol Matip's illness, he went on to cement his place in the starting XI. On November 27, he netted the leveler in a 1–1 tie versus Napoli in the Champions’ League group stage. Unfortunately, he sustained a leg injury in a match versus

on December 10th, and was replaced by Joe Gomez.

Due to his condition, he was unable to participate in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, which Liverpool claimed after defeating Flamengo 1–0 in the final. On January 26, 2020, he reappeared and led the squad in an FA Cup match versus Shrewsbury Town, which finished in a 2–2 tie.  a On June 25, after Chelsea's 2–1 win over Manchester City, Liverpool officially won the League, becoming Lovren the very first Croatian to do so.

Zenit Saint Petersburg

An important fact about Dejan Lovren’s professional club career is that after a six-year career with Reds, he completed a 3 deal with Zenit Saint Petersburg for €12 million on July 27, 2020.

On August 7, he made his Zenit start versus

in the 2020 Russian Super Cup. Zenit finished the game 2–1, giving Lovren his first title with the team in his debut appearance. In a 0–2 victory against Rotor Volgograd on August 11, he earned his league debut.

In a 0–2 win against Rostov four days later; he scored a goal for Zenit. On the 20th of October, he made his Champions League debut for Zenit, scoring a goal when a strike from beyond the penalty area bounced off Ethan Horvath's back and into the net as Zenit lost 1–2 to Club Brugge. Lovren got a muscular strain in practice just before Zenit's league encounter versus Sochi on April 11, 2021. In his unavailability, Zenit defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 6–1 on May 2 to win the league championship.

Dejan Lovren international career

Lovren has played 54 times for the Croatia junior national sides, scoring six goals. Manager Slaven Bili gave him his debut contact to the Croatian national team in August 2009, when he named him in his game team versus

.

Despite the fact that Lovren was a last-minute replacement, he was said to be enjoying the novel experience. On November 8, 2009, he started his career as a replacement for Danijel Pranji versus Qatar.

Lovren netted his first international goal versus Malta in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match. Slaven Bili selected him in the training camp ahead to UEFA Euro 2012, but due to an illness he was not picked for the final team.

An important fact about Dejan Lovren’s international career is that on March 26, 2013, in a World Cup qualification game versus Wales at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Lovren got his second goal for Croatia. After

had handed Wales the advantage from a penalty that Lovren had caused, the match was leveled by an equalizer. Croatia went on to win the game by a score of 1–2.

Lovren was chosen to Niko Kova's tentative 30-man team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil in May 2014.

Lovren was adjudged to have injured Fred in the 69th minute of the championship opener, over opponents Brazil in So Paulo, by Japanese official Yuichi Nishimura, when the result was 1–1. Brazil won 3–1 after a contentious penalty was awarded, which was scored by Neymar. Croatia was eliminated from the competition after a 1–3 loss to Mexico.

The important fact about Dejan Lovren’s international career is that he was pulled out of Croatia's team for the UEFA Euro 2016 due to his poor relationship with manager Ante Čačić. He was included to Zlatko Dali's 23-man team for the 2018 World Cup in Russia in May 2018.

His mistake in the penalty area in the last group stage encounter versus Iceland, when Croatia already had advanced for the next round, resulted in a penalty that was successfully converted by Gylfi Sigursson for 1–1. Despite this, Croatia won 1–2 and finished first in their group. He then played a key role in Croatia's run to the final, when they were defeated 4–2 by France.

Due to injury, Lovren was unable to play in Croatia's first game in the first season of UEFA's new competition Nations League, a 6–0 historic loss to Spain.

A month later, he returned for a game versus England, which finished in a goalless draw.  He was a member of Spain's 3–2 loss on November 15th.

Following the match, Lovren created controversy by labeling Spain's players "a group of cowards" on an Instagram live broadcast and confessing to elbowing Spain's captain

, with whom he had a public dispute before to the tournament.  After losing 1–2 against England three days later, Croatia was demoted from League A to League B in the Nations League's following season.

Lovren was suspended for one international match by UEFA on 11 January 2019 for insulting the Spain national team and emblem, as well as the premeditated elbowing of Sergio Ramos. He was unable to participate in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Azerbaijan.

On September 6, he netted his third international goal in a 0–4 triumph against Slovakia.  However, his mistakes in away games versus Azerbaijan and Wales cost Croatia four points and forced the squad to miss out on qualifying for the championship.  Because of three yellow cards, he was also sidelined for the decisive home match versus Slovakia.  Despite this, Croatia won the match 3–1 and qualified for the Euros.

Lovren netted the first goal in a 4–2 loss to France in a Nations League match at Stade de France on September 8, 2020.

Dejan Lovren social media

Regarding

Dejan Lovren social media

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

) with 2.5 million followers. In the page we can see various pictures of him during the matches, and also some aspects of his personal life.

He also has a Twitter account (

) with more than 94K followers. He often posts controversial things on his Twitter page, for example in 2020 he told Liverpool fans to “shut up”.

Dejan Lovren body measurements

Speaking about

Dejan Lovren body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the defender is 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) and weighs 185 lbs (84 kg).

Dejan Lovren net worth and salary

As of the very last football season in 2021, Dejan Lovren’s net worth is expected to be about 20 million euros. As of 2021, his estimated market price is 10 million euros. Zenit pays him almost 5 million euros a year.

A fact about

Dejan Lovren’s net worth

is that aside from his football earnings, he has amassed a fortune from private partnerships for major brands Puma.

Lovren and his best friend Lovro Krar created the fashion label Russell Brown in 2013. The business was shut down three years later for unclear circumstances According to rumors; the shutdown was caused by a strained connection between Lovren and Krar.

An important fact about Dejan Lovren’s net worth is that in May 2018, he launched a new label called Rock Filius.  Lovren opened the four-star Joel resort in Novalja, nearby Zre, on May 29, 2018.

The hotel is titled after Josip and Elena, according to Lovren.  Lovren provided sixteen people that lost their houses in the 2020 Petrinja earthquakes free interim lodging in the resort on December 29, 2020.

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