From Stardom to Obscurity : The Luka Jovic Story

From Stardom to Obscurity : The Luka Jovic Story

Luka Jovic was expected to become the next best thing in Europe. He had many top European clubs chasing him for months. He secured an incredible move to Real Madrid, with everyone expecting to replace Benzema. And then he just disappeared. Let’s dive in to what happened.

Luka Jovic’s incredible 2018/19 season at Frankfurt cannot be exaggerated. Blessed with incredible link up play, the Serb was incredible at holding on to the ball with his back to goal and that enabled him to cause havoc in the opposition box. He racked up an impressive tally of 27 goals and 7 assists in just 48 games. Those are some mind blowing stats for a 21 year old playing for Frankfurt. He also had an amazing Europa League campaign which helped him send a message across the footballing world.

Clubs like Barcelona, PSG and Inter all reportedly wanted him but he ended up joining Real Madrid. He became Los Blancos’ latest 'Galactico' for €60m Euros. That was a huge price tag to live up to and unfortunately Jovic failed to live up to the billing and deliver.

The Serb scored a measly 3 goals and assisted 5 in 51 games for Real Madrid. For someone who was once expected to become the next best thing in football, these stats are an embarrassment. And it’s not only about the statistics. Luka often looked uninspired and uninterested on the pitch. He was a shadow of his past self. Real Madrid tried to help him regain his former mojo by sending him on a loan deal back to Frankfurt but that did not work out as they hoped. A change was needed.

In July 2022, Luka Jovic joined Italian club Fiorentina on a free transfer, with Real Madrid still paying half his wages. It was an unusual deal but it seemed like this is exactly what the Serb needed to get his career back on track. Jovic had a decent enough start to life at Fiorentina but he eventually faded away as the season went on. He had a decent return of 13 goals and 3 assists in 50 games for the Italian club but it was far from the level of his days at Frankfurt. There were also concerns about his attitude and he had a difficult relationship with the fanbase.

He seemingly did manage to do enough to impress AC Milan, one of the biggest clubs in Italy. They signed him in the summer of 2023 during deadline day on a short term contract till the summer of 2024. Jovic has done well at Milan so far, earning the title of a proper super sub. He has scored some crucial goals for the Rossoneri and won them important points. He has scored 8 goals and assisted 1 in 22 games so far this season.

Luka Jovic finally seems to have found himself a home at Milan, for the time being at least. While his future is still very much up in the air, the Serb seems to have regained some of his level and he seems to be enjoying his football again. While he may not be the player everyone once expected him to be, he’s still an important part member of one of the biggest clubs in football. And, being just 26 years of age, his best days may still be ahead of him.