Lazar Marković

Lazar Marković (Лазар Марковић, ; born 2 March 1994) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Gaziantep.

After playing for the youth selections of Borac Čačak, Marković joined Partizan in 2006 as a 12-year-old trainee.

As Partizan appeared in the group stage of an UEFA competition for the first time since 2010, Marković appeared in all group fixtures, impressing against the likes of Neftchi Baku, Rubin Kazan and Internazionale.

On 29 May 2011, coach Aleksandar Stanojević promoted Marković to the first team ahead of the final round of the 2010–11 SuperLiga, which Partizan played against Sloboda Užice.

He was given the number 50 shirt.

Marković was used as a second-half substitute for Joseph Kizito in his team's 2–1 win.

On 11 July 2011, together with Nikola Ninković, Marković signed his first professional contract with Partizan, for five years.

Marković made his first appearance of the 2011–12 season in Partizan's opener against Shkëndija, in the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, playing the last three minutes of the match.

He scored his first senior goal in a league match against Novi Pazar, on 13 August 2011.

At the end of 2011, Marković was voted Partizan's Player of the Year in a poll on the club's website.

In his first full senior season, Marković made 26 league appearances and scored six goals.

Despite not scoring a goal in the second half of the championship, Marković earned 2011–12 SuperLiga Team of the Year selection.

Marković made his full international debut for Serbia in 2012, earning over 20 caps.

In the group stage, he assisted Saša Marković against Rubin Kazan on 6 December 2012.

By the end of the 2012–13 season, Marković appeared in 19 league games and scored 7 goals and earned a place in the SuperLiga's Team of the Year selection for the second-straight season.

Additionally, Serbian sports portal Mozzart Sport rated Marković among the 25 best players in the SuperLiga that season.

He started his career at Partizan before moving to Benfica in 2013, where he won a domestic treble in his only season, after which he completed a £20 million move to Liverpool.

He spent most of his time out on loan, at Fenerbahçe, Sporting CP, Hull City, Anderlecht and Fulham.

On the morning hours of 10 June 2013, Partizan club president Dragan Đurić told Sportski žurnal, "Chelsea wants to loan Marković to Benfica for two years, and honestly speaking, I hope to God that they don't come to an agreement so that Lazar can stay six more months at Partizan."

This statement was later misinterpreted by several non-Serbian sports news outlets, which incorrectly cited Đurić stating, "It is true, Chelsea will send Marković on a loan for two years."

Approximately eight hours after the article was published, Benfica's official website released a statement stating Marković had signed a five-year contract with the club, not mentioning any loan deal with Chelsea.

The earlier statements regarding a potential loan deal with Chelsea caused great confusion among journalists and followers of the transfer saga alike.

On 25 August 2013, Marković made his debut for Benfica in 2–1 win against Gil Vicente, scoring a decisive goal at the 92nd minute that drew the game.

On the third matchday of the 2013–14 Primeira Liga season, against Sporting CP at the Estádio José Alvalade, Marković scored the equalizing goal after a dribble past three players, as the match ended in a 1–1 draw.

He made his Süper Lig debut on 13 September, replacing Robin van Persie in the 62nd minute of a 1–0 win at Kasımpaşa, and scored his first goal on 10 December by opening a 1–1 draw against Celtic at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

On 1 May 2014, in injury time of Benfica's 2013–14 UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg match against Juventus, Marković was sent off for a fight with his opponent Mirko Vučinić.

Neither were on the field of play at the time, Marković having been substituted and Vučinić still on the substitutes' bench.

Marković therefore missed the final through suspension; Benfica lost the final to Sevilla on penalties (4–2) after a 0–0 draw.

On 15 July 2014, Liverpool announced the signing of Marković from Benfica for £20 million.

Benfica received €12.5 million for their 50% share of his economic rights.

He made his competitive debut on 25 August in Liverpool's second match of the 2014–15 Premier League season, replacing Philippe Coutinho after 60 minutes of a 3–1 defeat at Manchester City.

In Liverpool's final group stage match in the UEFA Champions League, on 9 December 2014 against Basel, Marković was shown a straight red card for violent conduct after he appeared to flick his fingers into the face of opponent Behrang Safari.

The match ended in a 1–1 draw, which saw Liverpool drop into the UEFA Europa League.

Marković scored his first goal for Liverpool against AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup quarter-finals on 17 December 2014, scoring in the 27th minute of a 3–1 victory.

In February 2015, Marković was given a four-match European ban for this incident.

On 10 January 2015, he scored his first Premier League goal, netting in the eight minute for the only goal in a victory at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

On 10 February, he opened the scoring for Liverpool in a 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur, his first Premier League goal at Anfield.

On 30 August 2015, Marković joined Fenerbahçe on a season-long loan.

The result advanced the Yellow Canaries to the last 32 of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

On 21 January 2016, Marković scored his first goal in domestic Turkish football against Tuzlaspor in the group stage of the 2015–16 Turkish Cup, converting in extra time after coming on as a substitute.