 Milanovic playing for Western Sydney Wanderers in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicolas Petar Milanovic | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2001-11-14) 14 November 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Penrith, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Aberdeen | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Sydney United 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Sydney Wanderers | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | St Albans Dinamo | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2023 | Western United | 36 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Western United NPL | 10 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Western Sydney Wanderers NPL | 5 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 68 | (24) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Aberdeen | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Australia U23 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Australia | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 September 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
.svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png)
Nicolas Petar Milanovic (Croatian: [nǐkolas pětar milǎnoʋitɕ] NEE-koh-lahs PEH-tahr mee-LAH-no-vich; born 14 November 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen and the Australia national team.
Club career
Western United
Milanovic began his professional career at Western United, joining the club in a COVID-19 pandemic enforced hub in New South Wales in 2020.[1] Milanovic made 36 appearances for Western United before departing the club mid-way through the 2022–23 season, citing his intention to return to Sydney.[2]
Western Sydney Wanderers
Within minutes of publicly departing Western United, it was announced that Milanovic had joined Western Sydney Wanderers.[3] Milanovic made his debut coming off the bench in a 0-1 loss to Sydney FC. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2-3 loss to Melbourne City.
Having come off the bench in every game that he played in last season, Milanovic was handed a starting role for the Wanderers in the 2023–24 season playing in all but two matches as he was called up for Olyroos duty. Milanovic finished the season as the club's top scorer tied with Lachlan Brook, having both scored nine goals. Thanks to his good performances over the season, Milanovic signed a one-year contract extension with the Wanderers keeping him at the club until 2026, despite rumours of a transfer to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.[4][5]
On 8 September 2024, Milanovic scored his first professional hat-trick against the Newcastle Jets in a 4–1 win.[6] Milanovic finished the 2024–25 season as runner-up behind joint winners of the Golden Boot, kicking 12 goals for the season.[7]
Aberdeen
On 15 May 2025, Milanovic signed for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee, reported to be the highest in Western Sydney's history.[8][9]
International career
In 2024, Milanovic made two appearances for Australia's under-23 team.
Shortly following his transfer to Aberdeen, Milanovic was included in Australia's training squad under coach Tony Popovic. The training camp in United Arab Emirates comes weeks before the final games of the third round of 2026 World Cup qualification as Milanovic hopes to makes his senior national debut.[10]
Milanovic was selected in the squad for the 2025 Soccer Ashes series against New Zealand. On 5 September 2025, he made his debut coming on as a substitute in the second half.[11]
Personal life
Born in Australia, Milanovic is of Croatian descent.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 5 October 2025[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental[c] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 2022–23 | A-League Men | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 5 | ||
| 2023–24 | A-League Men | 25 | 9 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 9 | |||
| 2024–25 | A-League Men | 26 | 12 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 29 | 14 | |||
| Total | 78 | 26 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 83 | 28 | ||||
| Aberdeen | 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career total | 83 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 91 | 28 | ||
- ^ Includes Australia Cup
- ^ Includes Scottish League Cup
- ^ Includes Europa League
International
- As of match played 9 September 2025[14]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia U23 | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
| Australia | 2025 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Honours
Australia U23
- WAFF U-23 Championship runner-up: 2024[15]
Individual
- Johnny Warren Medal: 2024–25[16]
- A-League Men PFA Team of the Season: 2024–25[17]
- Western Sydney Wanderers FC Player of the Year: 2025
- A-Leagues All Star: 2024[18]
References
- ^ "Milanovic and Antelmi join Western United ahead of A-League restart". 17 July 2020.
- ^ "Nicolas Milanovic departs Western United to return home". 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Milanovic signs for hometown club". 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Milanovic signs extension". 9 October 2024.
- ^ Pisani, Sascha (20 November 2025). "Brilliant numbers shine light on young gun's compelling case for Socceroos call". aleagues.com.au.
- ^ Guelas, Joanna (8 November 2024). "Milanovic hat-trick powers Wanderers to win over Jets". Canberra Times. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ Dodd, James (4 May 2025). "History made as young guns share Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot after record-breaking campaign". aleagues.com.au. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ "Aberdeen sign 'exciting' Australian winger Milanovic". BBC. 15 May 2025.
- ^ Dodd, James (16 May 2025). "Western Sydney Wanderers agree club-record transfer fee for Nicolas Milanovic: Full Details". aleagues.com.au.
- ^ Monteverde, Marco (16 May 2025). "Nicolas Milanovic among seven uncapped players in national training squad, but Adrian Segecic misses out". news.com.au.
- ^ "CommBank Socceroos defeat New Zealand 1-0 in first leg of Soccer Ashes". Socceroos. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Hughes, Nicholas (9 August 2022). "Nicolas Milanovic opens up on 'surreal' Sydney United reunion". Western United.
- ^ Nicolas Milanovic at Soccerway
- ^ Nicolas Milanovic at Soccerway
- ^ "Subway Olyroos' Head Coach, Tony Vidmar has named an extended 26-man squad for the fifth edition of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship – Saudi Arabia 2024". Football Federation Australia. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ^ Comito, Matt (27 May 2025). "Nicolas Milanovic wins Johnny Warren Medal after breakout campaign with the Wanderers". A-Leagues.
- ^ "Five Grand Finalists named as PFA announces 2024-25 A-League Men Team of the Season". Professional Footballers Australia. 29 May 2025.
- ^ "A-League All Stars Men lock in final 21-player squad to take on Newcastle United this Friday". A-League Men. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
External links
- Nicolas Milanovic at Soccerway
