Benjamin Šeško, born in Slovenia in 2003, became the first Slovenian to play for Manchester United when he signed in August 2025 for an initial €76.5 million. He scored in United’s 4-0 win over Sabah on matchday 1 of this season’s Champions League.
Benjamin Šeško was born on 31 May 2003 in Slovenia, and began his career at his hometown club Radeče when he was in the first grade. After a year with Rudar Trbovlje he returned to Radeçe, moved to Krško in 2016, and in 2017-18 scored 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s. In 2018 he joined Domžale for one season.
On 3 June 2019, at 16, he signed a three-year professional contract with Red Bull Salzburg and was moved immediately to the farm club FC Liefering, where in 2020-21 he scored 21 goals in 29 appearances in the Austrian second tier. He debuted for Salzburg on 30 January 2021 and won three Austrian Bundesliga titles and one Austrian Cup.
In August 2022 RB Leipzig announced that he would join in July 2023 for a reported fee of around €24 million. On 3 September 2023 he scored his first Leipzig goals, a brace in a 3-0 win at Union Berlin, and on 19 September scored his first Champions League goal in a 3-1 win at Young Boys. He finished his first season with 18 goals and became the youngest player to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga games. In 2024 Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and AC Milan all pursued him, but he stayed at Leipzig, and in 2024-25 he scored 21 goals in all competitions, a personal best. He scored 39 goals in 87 appearances for Leipzig.
Manchester United announced his signing on 9 August 2025 on a five-year contract, with an initial fee of €76.5 million plus €8.5 million in add-ons. He made his debut on 17 August and scored his first goal on 27 September 2025 in a 3-1 loss at Brentford. In the first part of the season he scored only twice in 16 appearances under Ruben Amorim, but after Amorim was dismissed in January 2026 he scored six goals in January and February, including late goals against Fulham and West Ham, and won the club’s Player of the Month for February. He ended his first season as joint top scorer with 11 league goals alongside Bryan Mbeumo.
For Slovenia he made his debut on 1 June 2021, aged 18 years and one day, the youngest debutant in the team’s history, and scored his first goal on 8 October 2021 against Malta, becoming the youngest scorer in Slovenia’s history. He scored five goals in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, played in all four of Slovenia’s matches at the tournament, and scored an international hat-trick on 9 September 2024 against Kazakhstan.
At 1.95 metres tall, he is a powerful finisher with explosive pace and aerial ability, recorded at a top speed of 35.7 km/h. On matchday 1 this season he scored in United’s 4-0 win over Sabah, and on Tuesday he was part of the side that lost 2-0 at Atlético Madrid. His story, from a small town in Slovenia to one of the biggest clubs in the world, is among the most closely followed in English football.
Image: Benjamin Šeško and a teammate in a Red Bull Salzburg shirt (file photo). Photo: Werner100359 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
