| Mathias Ross | |
| Full Name: | Mathias Ross Jensen |
| Birth Date: | 2001 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Aalborg, Denmark |
| Height: | 1.90 m |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | Sparta Prague (on loan from Galatasaray) |
| Clubnumber: | 5 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Aalborg KFUM |
| Youthyears2: | 2013–2018 |
| Youthclubs2: | AaB |
| Years1: | 2018–2022 |
| Clubs1: | AaB |
| Caps1: | 92 |
| Goals1: | 4 |
| Years2: | 2022– |
| Clubs2: | Galatasaray |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs3: | → NEC (loan) |
| Caps3: | 21 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2024– |
| Clubs4: | → Sparta Prague (loan) |
| Caps4: | 4 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017–2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | Denmark U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2018–2020 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 17 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2021 |
| Nationalteam3: | Denmark U20 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2021–2022 |
| Nationalteam4: | Denmark U21 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 22 July 2024 |
Mathias Ross Jensen (born 15 January 2001) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Czech club Sparta Prague, on loan from Galatasaray. He is the older brother of Oliver Ross.
Growing up in the Hasseris district of Aalborg, Ross started his football career as a 10-year-old at Aalborg KFUM.[1] At under-13 level he joined the AaB youth academy.[2] [3] In his first year as a U17 player, other centre-backs were preferred ahead of Ross, which meant that he mainly appeared on the reserve team or as a substitute striker in the final minutes. In his second U17 year, however, he became a regular player for the team in the U17 league. AaB U17 finished the 2017–18 season in third place in the league table,[4] and in June 2018 he was named U17 Player of the Year in AaB.
Ross made his professional debut for the AaB first team on 2 September 2018, when he came on as a substitute after 27 minutes for an injured Jakob Blåbjerg in a 2–2 draw against Randers FC.[5] At the time of the substitution, AaB were behind 2–1, and newspaper Tipsbladet described Ross' debut as "excellent". A month later, in October 2018, he was permanently promoted to AaB's first team squad.[6] During the regular season he was used three times, but from the relegation round he established himself as a starter in the first team. AaB eventually qualified for the play-offs to participate in the first qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League, where they were, eliminated in the first round against AGF.
In January 2019, Ross signed a contract extension keeping him in AaB until 2023.
On 8 September 2022, Ross signed a four-year contract with Galatasaray.[7] It was announced that a transfer fee of €1,750,000 would be paid to the player's former team, AaB.[8]
Ross became the champion in the Süper Lig in the 2022–23 season with Galatasaray. Defeating Ankaragücü 4–1 away in the match played on 30 May 2023, Galatasaray secured the lead with two weeks before the end and won the 23rd championship in its history.[9]
On 21 July 2023, Ross was loaned out to the Eredivisie club NEC for one season.[10] Accordingly, NEC Nijmegen would pay a temporary transfer fee of €250,000 to Galatasaray.[11]
On July 16, 2024, it was confirmed that Ross joined Sparta Prague, which had Ross' former AaB manager, Lars Friis, as manager, on a loan deal for the 2024-25 season, with a purchase option of around €1.2 million.[12] [13]
Ross made his international debut on 7 October 2017 as part of the Denmark under-17 team, when he was part of the starting lineup and played 90 minutes in a 3–4 defeat to Germany in a friendly match.[14] He went from being a peripheral player under the auspices of the Danish Football Association (DBU) to being team captain in the last match during the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[15] He made 11 appearances for the national under-17 team.[16]
Ross made his first appearance for the Denmark under-19 team on 7 September 2018, and soon established himself as a starter.
Galatasaray
NEC