Kim Källström

Kim Mikael Källström (born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He was noted for his play-making ability and free-kick taking.

He started his career at several clubs in Sweden, winning consecutive Allsvenskan titles with Djurgården before moving to France where he represented Rennes and Lyon.

Källström was born in Sandviken 24 August 1982 to footballer Mikael and Ann Källström.

In 1986, he joined the local Sandvikens IF football team.

In 1989, the family moved to Partille outside Gothenburg and Källström started to play for the local club Partille IF.

When Källström was 17 years old he had a trial with Dutch club PSV.

Källström began his professional career with BK Häcken from Gothenburg.

In his first season, the club gained promotion the Allsvenskan by winning the Division 1 Södra.

Källström earned 131 caps for Sweden since his debut in 2001 until 2016 when he announced his departure from international football, making him their fourth most capped player of all time.

Häcken were relegated to the Superettan in 2001, but Källström's eight Allsvenskan goals earned him a transfer to Djurgårdens IF for SEK5m.

In his first season at Djurgården, Källström won the double of the Allsvenskan and the national cup tournament Svenska Cupen, and was the team's top scorer with twelve league goals.

He scored twice during the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, in fixtures against Shamrock Rovers and Copenhagen.

The team defended its Allsvenskan title in 2003, with Källström's 14 goals making him the team's top goalscorer and the second-highest goalscorer in Sweden.

He ended the 2003–04 season with seven goals from 18 appearances, including two in a 4–1 away win against Champions League finalists Monaco.

He played in four European Championships (Euro 2004, Euro 2008, Euro 2012, and Euro 2016) and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In the January 2004 transfer window, Källström moved to the French Ligue 1 club Rennes.

He made his debut for the club in the Coupe de France against Angers on 4 January and his first Ligue 1 appearance in a 2–0 defeat at Toulouse on 10 January.

A week later, he scored his first goal in French football during a 4–0 win over Sochaux at the Route de Lorient.

During the 2004–05 season, Källström scored five times in 31 Ligue 1 matches to help Rennes finish fourth and qualify for the following season's UEFA Cup.

On 5 February 2005, he received his first red card in French football in a 3–1 defeat at Marseille.

In 2005–06, he scored a career-best eight Ligue 1 goals, many of which came in fixtures against some of the biggest clubs in France.

In June 2006, Rennes accepted a bid of around €8m for the player from league champions Lyon.

Källström ended his two-and-a-half year spell at Rennes with 20 goals from 83 league appearances.

After a successful spell at Rennes, Källström signed for Lyon in June 2006, and went on to win a number of honours with the southern club.

His Lyon debut saw him score the equalising goal as les Gones won the Trophée des Champions against Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.

Five days later, he made his league debut against Nantes in a 3–1 win.

On 17 October 2006, Källström scored his first Lyon goal in a 3–0 win against Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League.

After ending the group stage unbeaten – including a defeat of nine times champions Real Madrid at the Stade de Gerland – Lyon were knocked out in the round-of-16 by Roma.

On 22 October, Källström scored his first Ligue 1 goal for the club in a 4–1 Choc des Olympiques derby defeat of Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome.

He scored further goals in league wins against Saint-Étienne and Nancy as Lyon won the French championship for the sixth consecutive season.

The 2007–08 season began with Valencia rumoured to be interested in signing Källström from Lyon, who wanted to keep the player despite the €13 million offer.

Källström remained at Lyon and, in the second round of the Ligue 1 season, was sent off after spitting towards a linesman during a 1–0 loss at Toulouse.

On 29 September 2007, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 victory against Lens.

A week later, he scored again in a 3–1 win at Bordeaux.

On 8 November, he scored in a 4–2 Champions League defeat of VfB Stuttgart.

On 31 March 2008, he appeared as a 68th-minute substitute as Lyon were beaten 1–0 by Bordeaux in the 2008 Coupe de la Ligue Final.

Källström won a range of domestic honours with Lyon and joined Spartak Moscow in 2012.

He spent the second half of the 2013–14 season on loan at Arsenal, where he won the 2013–14 FA Cup after converting a penalty in the semifinal.

Källström left Spartak in 2015 to join Grasshoppers, where he had a 49 game long spell before ending his career at Djurgårdens IF together with close friend Andreas Isaksson.