Home » Simon Kjær 

Simon Kjær 

Position: Centre-back 

Age: 33 (born March 26, 1989) 

Shirt number: 16 

Country: Denmark (119 caps since 2009) 

At AC Milan since: 2020 

A native of Horsens, Denmark captain Simon Kjær was one of Stefano Pioli’s reliable at the back of the Milan defence, as he is paired by either Fikayo Tomori or Alessio Romagnoli.  

Kjær first moved to Italy in 2008 with Palermon after a single season with Midtjylland, lasting until 2010 when he was snapped up by Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg where he stayed up to 2013, with a loan to Roma on the side. 

He then moved to French side Lille and then to Turkey’s Fenerbahce, spending two years in each of those clubs. In 2017, he moved to La Liga’s Sevilla and spent three seasons there, but was beset by a combination of poor form and badly-timed injuries, which prompted the club to send him to Atalanta on loan in 2019. 

But after poor performances saw his stint with La Dea prematurely ended, Sevilla later sent him to AC Milan the following year on loan and performed well. And despite his muscle injury, the pandemic enabled him to return to full health once matches resumed, continued to appear for the Serie A powerhouse before the Rossoneri signed him on July 15, 2020 on a permanent basis for €3.5 million. 

After playing 39 times for Milan in his first full season, all signs were pointing in the right direction in the 2021-22 season. But Kjær was struck by an ACL injury just eleven minutes into their away league match at Genoa, causing him to miss the last five months of the season.  

Despite the misfortune, Kjær got the first major trophy of his career after Milan won their 19^th Scudetto on the final day. 

Internationally, he had earned his first senior cap in 2009 and was part of the Denmark squad in two World Cups and two European Championships, making the semifinals of the latter in the 2020 edition. He ranks third in all-time Denmark caps, and was the overall leader among active players.