Ilian Iliev (footballer, born 1999)
 Iliev with Cherno More Varna in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ilian Ilianov Iliev | ||
| Date of birth | 20 August 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Funchal, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | CSKA Sofia | ||
| Number | 73 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2017 | Cherno More | ||
| 2017–2019 | Académica de Coimbra | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Cherno More | 3 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Académica de Coimbra | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Cherno More | 47 | (5) |
| 2021–2024 | Apollon Limassol | 49 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | → Kifisia (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Cherno More (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2024– | CSKA Sofia | 28 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Bulgaria U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Bulgaria U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 2021– | Bulgaria | 21 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 04:54, 10 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:02, 10 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Ilian Ilianov Iliev (Bulgarian: Илиан Илианов Илиев; born 20 August 1999), also known as Ilian Iliev Jr., is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for CSKA Sofia.
Club career
Ilian made his first team league début in a 1–3 home defeat against Ludogorets on 9 September 2016, coming on as substitute for Georgi Iliev.[3] He scored his first goal in the top division of Bulgarian football on 30 August 2019, in the 1–1 draw with Dunav Ruse.[4]
On 31 July 2017, Iliev joined Académica de Coimbra's academy.[5]
On 19 July 2021, Iliev agreed a deal to join Cypriot First Division side Apollon Limassol on a four-year contract.[6] Having spent the first-half of the 2023–24 season on loan with A.E. Kifisia, Iliev returned to Cherno More on loan for the remainder of the season in February 2024.[7]
International career
Iliev made his debut for Bulgaria national team on 25 March 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Switzerland.[8]
Personal life
He is the son of former footballer and current manager Ilian Iliev Sr.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 9 August 2025
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cherno More | 2016–17 | First League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Académica de Coimbra | 2017–18 | LigaPro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Cherno More | 2019–20 | First League | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 47 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 5 | ||||
| Apollon Limassol | 2021–22 | Cypriot First Division | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 49 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 | ||
| Kifisia (loan) | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Cherno More (loan) | 2023–24 | First League | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| CSKA Sofia | 2024–25 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 33 | 4 | ||
| 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 28 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 159 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 175 | 11 | ||
International
- As of match played 10 June 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2021 | 6 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 0 | |
Honours
Apollon Limassol
References
- ^ "Илиан Илиев: Ако е лесно, значи не е за мен" (in Bulgarian). temasport.com. 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Състав на "Черно море" за сезон 2016/2017" (in Bulgarian). Cherno More official website. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ "Черно море води 58 минути на Лудогорец, но допусна пълен обрат. Синът на Илиан Илиев с дебют на 17 години" (in Bulgarian). petel.bg. 9 September 2016.
- ^ Dimitrov, Ivaylo (30 August 2019). "Черно море и Дунав завършиха наравно 1:1" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ "Илиан Илиев ще играе в Португалия" (in Bulgarian). chernomorepfc.bg. 27 July 2017.
- ^ "ΣΥΜΦΩΝΙΑ ΜΕ ΤΣΕΡΝΟ ΜΟΡΕ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΙΛΙΑΝ ΙΛΙΕΦ" (in Greek). Apollon Limassol FC. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Черно море привлече Илиан Илиев" [The Black Sea attracted Ilian Iliev]. chernomorepfc.bg (in Bulgarian). 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Bulgaria v Switzerland game report". FIFA. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021.