Mitrovic's Qatari chapter delivers silverware

Mitrovic's Qatari chapter delivers silverware

When Aleksandar Mitrovic left Saudi Arabia in the late summer of 2025, few expected the Serbian striker to assemble one of the most decorated single seasons of his career so quickly. Yet by late April 2026, the forward had two pieces of silverware to his name in Qatar, having scored in both finals that secured them.

His 2025-26 campaign with Al-Rayyan reads like a highlight reel: a debut goal, a domestic cup, a continental trophy, and decisive strikes when the stakes were highest. For a player who had endured an injury-disrupted final stretch at Al-Hilal, the rebound was emphatic.

From Al-Hilal exit to a fresh start in Doha

Mitrovic is no longer an Al-Hilal player. His contract was terminated in September 2025 amid the squad overhaul overseen by manager Simone Inzaghi, who had reshaped the attack around new arrivals. The Serbian, who had been a prolific presence in the Saudi Pro League, found himself surplus to requirements.

The move did not take long to materialise. On 4 September 2025, Al-Rayyan announced his signing, with the deal reported to run until 2028. The Qatar Stars League side had landed one of the most reliable finishers in the region, and the striker wasted little time repaying the faith.

He made his debut on 13 September 2025, marking the occasion with a goal in a 1-1 draw against Qatar SC. It was an early signal that his appetite for scoring had travelled with him across the Gulf.

A QSL Cup decided by the Serbian

The first trophy arrived in the spring. On 15 April 2026, Al-Rayyan met Muaither in the QSL Cup final and ran out 2-0 winners. Mitrovic opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, the kind of clinical finish that has defined his career, and the result handed the club a tangible reward for a season of steady progress.

For Mitrovic, the goal was more than a personal milestone. It underlined the value he brings to a side built around a focal point in attack, a role he has occupied for club and country across more than a decade.

Crowned in the Gulf

Nine days later, the stakes rose again. The AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League final pitted Al-Rayyan against Al Shabab on 24 April 2026, and once more the Serbian delivered when it mattered. He rose to head home in the 78th minute, a textbook centre-forward's goal that helped seal the continental crown.

His contribution to the campaign did not begin in the final. Mitrovic had also found the net in the semi-final, threading his influence through the knockout rounds and ensuring his name was attached to the trophy long before the closing whistle.

• QSL Cup final: scored in the 53rd minute of a 2-0 win over Muaither (15 April 2026).
• Gulf Club Champions League final: 78th-minute header in the win over Al Shabab (24 April 2026).
• Continental run: also on the scoresheet in the semi-final.

Serbia's record marksman

The silverware in Qatar sits alongside a national-team record that few of his compatriots are likely to challenge soon. Mitrovic is Serbia's all-time leading scorer, with 64 goals in 106 caps as of 31 March 2026. He overtook the long-standing benchmark set by Stjepan Bobek, whose 38 goals had stood for generations, back in 2021.

His international scoring has often come in clusters. On 10 June 2025, in a fixture against Andorra that also happened to be his 100th appearance for Serbia, he completed the fourth hat-trick of his international career. Reaching a century of caps and marking it with three goals captured the consistency that has made him indispensable to the national side.

That body of work has unfolded against the backdrop of a demanding period for Serbian football, a subject explored in our look at the national team's recent World Cup miss and Nations League campaign. Mitrovic's goals have repeatedly been the bright spot in difficult windows.

What the season tells us

Two finals, two goals, and two trophies in the space of ten days is a return most strikers would take across a full year. For Mitrovic, it confirmed that the move to Qatar was less a step down and more a fresh stage on which to keep scoring.

The striker remains a central figure in Serbia's plans as the country looks ahead, with the federation having recently named its squad for the next set of qualifiers. Supporters can follow the latest selections in our coverage of the roster for the World Cup 2027 qualifiers, where experienced names continue to anchor the group.

For now, the headline is simple. In a single season in Doha, Aleksandar Mitrovic added two trophies to a career already defined by goals, and reaffirmed his standing as one of the most dependable finishers Serbian football has produced. The wider movement of Serbian talent abroad, from established stars to rising prospects making record-breaking moves, only sharpens the spotlight on what he continues to achieve.