| Petko Hristov | |
| Fullname: | Petko Rosenov Hristov |
| Birth Date: | 1999 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Height: | [1] |
| Currentclub: | Spezia |
| Clubnumber: | 55 |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Youthyears1: | 2008–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Levski Sofia |
| Youthyears2: | 2013–2016 |
| Youthclubs2: | Slavia Sofia |
| Youthyears3: | 2017–2018 |
| Youthclubs3: | Fiorentina |
| Years1: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs1: | Slavia Sofia |
| Caps1: | 26 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 2017–2021 |
| Clubs2: | Fiorentina |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs3: | → Ternana (loan) |
| Caps3: | 13 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs4: | → Bisceglie (loan) |
| Caps4: | 25 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs5: | → Pro Vercelli (loan) |
| Caps5: | 33 |
| Goals5: | 2 |
| Years6: | 2021– |
| Clubs6: | Spezia |
| Caps6: | 57 |
| Goals6: | 6 |
| Years7: | 2023 |
| Clubs7: | → Venezia (loan) |
| Caps7: | 12 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015–2016 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 14 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2016–2018 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 15 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2017–2020 |
| Nationalteam3: | Bulgaria U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 18 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2021– |
| Nationalcaps4: | 19 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | 18:02, 1 December 2024 (UTC) |
| Ntupdate: | 20 June 2023 |
Petko Rosenov Hristov (bg|Петко Росенов Христов; born 1 March 1999) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie B club Spezia and the Bulgaria national team.
Hristov started his career in Levski Sofia, before relocating to Slavia Sofia in 2013.[2] He made his senior debut for Slavia in a match of the Europa League against Polish club Zagłębie Lubin on 30 June 2016, coming on as a substitute for Georgi Yomov.[3] A month later he made his Bulgarian First League debut in the opening game of the season against CSKA Sofia.[4] He scored his first goal on 10 September in a 5–2 home win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv. On 1 October Petko was joined by his twin brother Andrea Hristov in the central defense for the very first time against Vereya in the starting line-up.[5]
On 3 April 2017, Hristov signed his first professional contract with the club until 31 July 2020.[6]
On 17 July 2017, Fiorentina confirmed they had signed Hristov on a five-year contract after Firenze Viola, Fiorentina owner, himself liked the player after seeing him in action at the European Under-19 Championship.[7] On 20 August 2017, he was on the bench for the first time in the Serie A match against Inter Milan.[8] He made his unofficial debut for the club against Real Madrid on 24 August coming on as a substitute in added time for the Trofeo Bernabeu game.[9] [10]
On 16 August 2018, Hristov joined Serie C club Ternana on loan until 30 June 2019.[11] He scored his first goal for the club on 4 December 2018 in a league match against Rimini won by Ternana by 3:0.[12]
On 9 August 2019, Hristov joined Serie C club Bisceglie on loan until 30 June 2020.[13]
On 18 September 2020, Hristov joined Serie C club Pro Vercelli on loan until 30 June 2021.
After his good performance for Pro Vercelli in Serie C, on 5 July 2021 Hristov moved to Serie A team Spezia, signing a contract until 2025.[14] He made his debut for the team on 13 August in a Coppa Italia match against Pordenone and compleated his Serie A debut on 23 August in a match against Cagliari.[15]
On 26 January 2023, Hristov was loaned to Venezia for the rest of the 2022–23 season.[16]
Hristov was called up for the Bulgaria U19 team for the 2017 European Under-19 Championship qualification from 22 to 27 March 2017.[17] After a draw and 2 wins the team qualified for the knockout phase which was held in July 2017.[18] Petkov played in all 3 matches from the group stage when Bulgaria were eliminated.
On 5 September 2017, he made his debut for the Bulgaria U21 in a match against Luxembourg U21.[19]
He made his debut for the Bulgaria national football team on 31 March 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland. His twin brother Andrea made his debut in the same game as well.[20]
Petko Hristov has a twin brother, Andrea, who is also a professional footballer.[21]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| First League | 2016–17 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[22] | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |||
| Serie A | 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ternana (loan) | Serie C | 2018–19 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 1 | |||
| Bisceglie (loan) | 2019–20 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 0 | ||||
| Pro Vercelli (loan) | 2020–21 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |||
| Serie A | 2021–22 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 1 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |||
| Venezia (loan) | Serie B | 2022–23 | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 132 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 145 | 5 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2021 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 19 | 0 | ||
Hristov was described from the Italian media as a physically strong defender with great air abilities and being able to read the game which has led him to be compared to legendary Brazilian defender Thiago Silva.[23]