Mathias Ross
{{short description|Danish footballer (born 2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mathias Ross
| image =
| full_name = Mathias Ross Jensen
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|2001|1|15}}
| birth_place = Aalborg, Denmark
| height = 1.90 m
| position = Centre-back
| currentclub = Galatasaray
| clubnumber =
| youthyears1 = 2011–2013
| youthclubs1 = Aalborg KFUM
| youthyears2 = 2013–2018
| youthclubs2 = AaB
| years1 = 2018–2022
| clubs1 = AaB
| caps1 = 94
| goals1 = 5
| years2 = 2022–
| clubs2 = Galatasaray
| caps2 = 0
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2023–2024
| clubs3 = → NEC (loan)
| caps3 = 21
| goals3 = 2
| years4 = 2024–2025
| clubs4 = → Sparta Prague (loan)
| caps4 = 11
| goals4 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2017–2018
| nationalteam1 = Denmark U17
| nationalcaps1 = 11
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 2018–2020
| nationalteam2 = Denmark U19
| nationalcaps2 = 17
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 2021
| nationalteam3 = Denmark U20
| nationalcaps3 = 2
| nationalgoals3 = 0
| nationalyears4 = 2021–2022
| nationalteam4 = Denmark U21
| nationalcaps4 = 3
| nationalgoals4 = 0
| club-update = 1 June 2025
| nationalteam-update =
}}
Mathias Ross Jensen (born 15 January 2001) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Turkish club Galatasaray. He is the older brother of Oliver Ross.
Club career
=AaB Fodbold=
Growing up in the Hasseris district of Aalborg, Ross started his football career as a 10-year-old at Aalborg KFUM.{{cite news |last1=Gammelgaard |first1=Camilla |title=Mathias udlever sin fodbolddrøm |url=https://nordjyske.dk/nyheder/mathias-udlever-sin-fodbolddroem/8fa402e4-2865-434a-8741-c0da7886c3f6 |accessdate=5 November 2020 |work=Nordjyske |date=15 October 2017 |language=da}} At under-13 level he joined the AaB youth academy.{{cite news |last1=Krøll |first1=Rasmus |title=AaB rykker 17-årig forsvarsspiller op i Superligatruppen |url=https://www.tv2nord.dk/aalborg/aab-rykker-17-arig-forsvarsspiller-op-i-superligatruppen |accessdate=5 November 2020 |work=TV 2/Nord |date=9 October 2018 |language=da}}{{cite news |title=En mentalt robust gut fra Hasseris |url=https://www.pressreader.com/denmark/ekstra-bladet-tipsbladet/20180907/281552291744480 |accessdate=5 November 2020 |work=Tipsbladet |date=7 September 2018 |page=6 |language=da}} In his first year as a U17 player, other centre-backs were preferred ahead of Ross, which meant that he mainly appeared on the reserve team or as a substitute striker in the final minutes. In his second U17 year, however, he became a regular player for the team in the U17 league. AaB U17 finished the 2017–18 season in third place in the league table,{{cite web |title=Stilling - U/17 Ligaen 2017-18 |url=https://www.dbu.dk/resultater/pulje/258163/stilling |website=Danish Football Association |accessdate=5 November 2020}} and in June 2018 he was named U17 Player of the Year in AaB.
Ross made his professional debut for the AaB first team on 2 September 2018, when he came on as a substitute after 27 minutes for an injured Jakob Blåbjerg in a 2–2 draw against Randers FC.{{cite news |last1=Jensen |first1=Claus |title=17-årig på spring: AaB-talent rusker op i hierarkiet |url=https://nordjyske.dk/plus/17-aarig-paa-spring-aab-talent-rusker-op-i-hierarkiet/2d7d34ac-93b7-42cb-b06c-9e6d4dc997a1 |accessdate=5 November 2020 |work=Nordjyske |date=16 September 2018 |language=da}} At the time of the substitution, AaB were behind 2–1, and newspaper Tipsbladet described Ross' debut as "excellent". A month later, in October 2018, he was permanently promoted to AaB's first team squad.{{cite news |last1=Krøll |first1=Rasmus |title=Mathias Ross rykket op i AaB-truppen |url=https://nordjyske.dk/nyheder/aab-rykker-17-aarig-op-i-foersteholdstruppen-efter-to-kampe/9c70d127-fd4b-4824-a0b2-2a049cb03823 |accessdate=5 November 2020 |work=Nordjyske |date=9 October 2018 |language=da}} During the regular season he was used three times, but from the relegation round he established himself as a starter in the first team. AaB eventually qualified for the play-offs to participate in the first qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League, where they were, eliminated in the first round against AGF.
In January 2019, Ross signed a contract extension keeping him in AaB until 2023.
=Galatasaray=
On 8 September 2022, Ross signed a four-year contract with Galatasaray.{{cite web|url=https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/galatasaray-a-hos-geldin-mathias-ross-jensen/51661|title=Galatasaray’a hoş geldin Mathias Ross Jensen!|publisher=Galatasaray S.K.|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022}} It was announced that a transfer fee of €1,750,000 would be paid to the player's former team, AaB.{{cite web|url=https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/gs-sportif-a-s/mathias-ross-jensen-galatasaray-da/51656|title=Mathias Ross Jensen Galatasaray’da!|publisher=Galatasaray S.K.|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022}}
Ross became the champion in the Süper Lig in the 2022–23 season with Galatasaray. Defeating Ankaragücü 4–1 away in the match played on 30 May 2023, Galatasaray secured the lead with two weeks before the end and won the 23rd championship in its history.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65761517|title=Turkish Super Lig: Galatasaray win title for 23rd time after beating Ankaragucu 4-1|publisher=BBC Sport|date=30 May 2023|access-date=31 May 2023}}
==Loan to NEC Nijmegen==
On 21 July 2023, Ross was loaned out to the Eredivisie club NEC for one season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nec-nijmegen.nl/service-contact/vraag/n.e.c.-huurt-mathias-ross-van-galatasaray.htm|title=N.E.C. huurt Mathias Ross van Galatasaray|publisher=NEC Nijmegen|date=21 July 2023|access-date=22 July 2023}} Accordingly, NEC Nijmegen would pay a temporary transfer fee of €250,000 to Galatasaray.{{Cite web|url=https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/gs-sportif-a-s/mathias-ross-nec-nijmegen-kulubune-kiralandi/53586|title=Mathias Ross, NEC Nijmegen Kulübü'ne kiralandı|publisher=Galatasaray S.K.|date=21 July 2023|access-date=22 July 2023}}
==Loan to Sparta Prague==
On July 16, 2024, it was confirmed that Ross joined Sparta Prague, which had Ross' former AaB manager, Lars Friis, as manager, on a loan deal for the 2024-25 season, with a purchase option of around €1.2 million.{{Cite web|url=https://sparta.cz/cs/novinky/42852-prichazi-mathias-ross|title=Přichází Mathias Ross|publisher=AC Sparta Prague|date=16 July 2024|access-date=16 July 2024|language=cs}}{{Cite news|last=Bech|first=Malthe|url=https://bold.dk/fodbold/stillinger/tjekkiet-1-liga/nyheder/officielt-mathias-ross-skifter-til-sparta-prag|title=Officielt: Mathias Ross skifter til Sparta Prag|website=bold.dk|date=16 July 2024|access-date=16 July 2024|language=da}}
International career
Ross made his international debut on 7 October 2017 as part of the Denmark under-17 team, when he was part of the starting lineup and played 90 minutes in a 3–4 defeat to Germany in a friendly match.{{cite web |title=Danmark - Tyskland 3-4 |url=https://www.dbu.dk/landshold/Landsholdsdatabasen/LBaseMatchInfo.aspx?matchid=8880 |website=Danish Football Association |accessdate=5 November 2020}} He went from being a peripheral player under the auspices of the Danish Football Association (DBU) to being team captain in the last match during the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.{{cite web |title=Danmark - Belgien 0-1 |url=https://www.dbu.dk/landshold/Landsholdsdatabasen/LBaseMatchInfo.aspx?matchid=9031 |website=Danish Football Association |accessdate=5 November 2020}} He made 11 appearances for the national under-17 team.{{cite web |title=Mathias Ross Jensen - DBU |url=https://www.dbu.dk/landshold/landsholdsdatabasen/PlayerInfo/7911 |website=Danish Football Association |accessdate=5 November 2020}}
Ross made his first appearance for the Denmark under-19 team on 7 September 2018, and soon established himself as a starter.
Career Statistics
=Club=
{{updated|match played 26 February 2025}}{{Soccerway|517659|access-date=17 September 2024}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="6"|AaB
|9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2019-20
|Danish Superliga |23 | 0 | 4 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2020-21
|Danish Superliga |26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2021-22
|Danish Superliga |28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2022-23
|Danish Superliga |8 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 8 | 1 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!94 | 5 | 6 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 100 | 6 | ||
| Galatasaray (loan)
|0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 2 | 1 | ||
| NEC (loan)
|21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 25 | 2 | ||
| Sparta Prague (loan)
|10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3{{efn|name="UCL"|Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League}} | 1 | 15 | 1 | |
| colspan="3"|Career Total
!125 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 142 | 10 |
{{notelist}}
Honours
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{DBU player|7911}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Mathias}}
Category:Footballers from Aalborg
Category:Men's association football central defenders
Category:Danish men's footballers
Category:Denmark men's youth international footballers
Category:Denmark men's under-21 international footballers
Category:Danish Superliga players
Category:Galatasaray S.K. footballers
Category:AC Sparta Prague players
Category:Danish expatriate men's footballers
Category:Danish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Category:Danish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Category:Danish expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic