.jpg) Cikalleshi with Albania in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 July 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Kavajë, PSR Albania | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tractor S.C. | ||
| Number | 37 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2008 | Besa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2013 | Besa | 57 | (11) |
| 2011 | → Skënderbeu (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Tirana (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 2012 | → Incheon United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Kukësi | 30 | (17) |
| 2014–2015 | Split | 32 | (10) |
| 2015–2017 | İstanbul Başakşehir | 31 | (3) |
| 2017 | → Akhisar Belediyespor (loan) | 14 | (7) |
| 2017–2019 | Osmanlıspor | 26 | (9) |
| 2018–2019 | → Göztepe (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Akhisar Belediyespor | 39 | (9) |
| 2020–2024 | Konyaspor | 105 | (30) |
| 2022–2023 | → Al-Khaleej (loan) | 29 | (10) |
| 2024– | Tractor | 3 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008 | Albania U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009 | Albania U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Albania U21 | 3 | (1) |
| 2014–2024 | Albania | 60 | (13) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:47, 17 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Sokol Cikalleshi (Albanian pronunciation: ['sɔkɔl 'tsikaɫɛʃi]; born 27 July 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as forward for Iranian club Tractor S.C. and the Albania national team.
He made his professional debut in 2007 as a 17-year-old with his hometown club Besa, and would then go on loan to Skënderbeu, Tirana and South Korean side Incheon United between 2011 and 2012. He joined Kukësi in 2013 and scored 22 goals in all competitions during the 2013–14 campaign, where he gained the attention of the Albania national team setup as well as Croatian side RNK Split who signed the player in 2014 for a reported fee of €100,000. He was the club's top goalscorer during the 2014–15 campaign, netting 13 times in all competitions before joining Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir for a €1.8 million fee in 2015.
An Albanian international, Cikalleshi with 12 goals scored, is his country's joint active player top goalscorer along Armando Sadiku and 4th in the overall ranking. At youth level, he represented Albania under-21 with whom he made 4 appearances and scored 1 goal. He was first called up to the Albania national team by Gianni De Biasi and he made his debut on 31 May 2014 against Romania and he has been a regular member of the national side, earning over 50 caps and was also part of UEFA Euro 2016 squad.