The 2023–24 season was the 100th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 63rd competitive season and ninth consecutive in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Super League, the Greek Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League. The season began on 15 August 2023 and finished on 19 May 2024.
Kits
Overview The summer of 2023 found AEK starting as the dominant club in Greece, as they had won the domestic double in their previous season. Matías Almeyda decided to maintain the roster that won the double, with the only players to depart being Georgios Tzavellas and Alexander Fransson. On the other hand, Stavros Pilios, Rodolfo Pizarro and Alexander Callens were acquired, Ezequiel Ponce returned after 4 years, while the transfer of Orbelín Pineda became permanent with a record fee of €6.5 million.
AEK began their competitive obligations in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, where they were drawn against Dinamo Zagreb. On 7 August, one day before the first leg at Nea Filadelfeia, 100 ultras of the Croatian team, joined by Greek ultras, crossed the country without being intercepted by the authorities and attacked the supporters of AEK outside the stadium. During the attack, a 29-year-old fan of AEK, Michalis Katsouris, was fatally stabbed multiple times. The murder of Katsouris would have a lasting impact on the club throughout the season, both on and off the pitch. In the aftermath of these events, UEFA decided not to impose sanctions on the Croatian club, but to postpone the match, which was moved as the second leg of the tie. Thus, on 15 August, just days after the incident, AEK played their first match at Stadion Maksimir. In the stadium there were only supporters of Dinamo, since any movement of fans was strictly prohibited, while the footballers competed with black armbands. After falling 1–0 behind in the first half, AEK later equalized with Steven Zuber. In the final minutes they completed the comeback with a goal by Galanopoulos, who, after scoring, raised his black armband towards the Croatian ultras. In the rematch, despite losing 0–2 in the second half, AEK responded in the final minutes, scoring twice to equalize the match and snatch qualification, which was dedicated to Michalis Katsouris. Since UEFA did not accept any changes to their schedule, AEK traveled to Bosuilstadion three days later to face Royal Antwerp for the play-off round. Despite creating several chances, they were defeated by 1–0, by an early goal from the Belgian champions. In the second leg, at Agia Sophia Stadium, AEK dominated possession for much of the match, but Antwerp withstood the pressure and got away with a 1–2 win, which sent the yellow-blacks to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. There, they were drawn with Ajax, Marseille and Brighton & Hove Albion. Despite the difficult draw, AEK performed well, winning their first match at Falmer Stadium, but didn't get the respective results and lost the qualification to Ajax in the final matchday.
AEK entered the Cup at the round of 16 facing Aris. In the first leg in Athens that took place at an empty stadium due to punishment, Almeyda made an extensive rotation, which resulted in a goalless draw. In the rematch of Thessaloniki, AEK took the lead in the second half, but Aris quickly equalized and the match went to a penalty shoot-out. There, AEK were eliminated with the score of 4–2.
The Championship began with AEK as the main contender for the title. Nevertheless, they often dropped points in matches in which they were expected to win, keeping them away from the top of the table despite remaining close to the leaders. They remained unbeaten against all of their title rivals in the regular season, recording a win and a draw against each of them. Eventually they entered the play-offs in the second place with one point behind PAOK. In the play-offs they moved to the top of the table, completing 13 consecutive derbies without a defeat. However, their streak was broken in a 2–1 defeat at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, where AEK took the lead but conceded two "cheap" goals to Panathinaikos and fell to the second place. Furthermore, in the following matchday against PAOK at home in a similar situation, AEK had a 2–0 lead, but were equalized in the final minutes. The two victories against Aris and a 3–0 win against Panathinaikos that followed brought them very close to the title. Nevertheless, two consecutive defeats to PAOK and Olympiacos gave the advantage to the club of Thessaloniki. On the final matchday AEK were playing against Lamia at home, requiring that PAOK not to win in order to win their second Championship in a row. Eventually, AEK won by 3–0, while PAOK won by 1―0 and were denied the opportunity to win the Championship in their 100-year anniversary.
Management team
Players
Squad information NOTE: The players are the ones that have been announced by the AEK Athens' press release. No edits should be made unless a player's arrival or exit is announced. Updated 31 January 2024, 18:46 UTC+2.
No.PlayerNat.Position(s)Date of birth (Age)SignedPrevious clubTransfer feeContract until Goalkeepers 1 Cican Stanković GK 2021 Red Bull Salzburg €1,150,000 2025 30 Georgios Athanasiadis (Vice-captain 4) GK 2019 Asteras Tripolis Free 2025 Defenders 2 Harold Moukoudi CB 2022 Saint-Étienne Free 2026 12 Lazaros Rota RB / RM 2021 Fortuna Sittard Free 2026 17 Stavros Pilios LB / LM 2023 PAS Giannina Free 2027 18 Alexander Callens CB / LB 2023 Girona Free 2024 21 Domagoj Vida CB / RB 2022 Beşiktaş Free 2026 24 Gerasimos Mitoglou CB 2021 Volos €300,000 2026 26 Ehsan Hajsafi LB / LM / LW / AM / CM / DM 2021 Sepahan Free 2025 29 Djibril Sidibé RB / LB / RM / CB 2022 Monaco Free 2024 Midfielders 4 Damian Szymański (Vice-captain) DM / CM / AM 2020 Akhmat Grozny €1,300,000 2027 6 Jens Jønsson DM / CM / CB 2022 Cádiz Free 2026 8 Mijat Gaćinović AM / CM / LM / LW / RM / RW 2022 Hoffenheim €1,000,000 2026 13 Orbelín Pineda AM / CM / LM / LW / RM / RW / SS / DM / RB 2023 Celta de Vigo €6,500,000 2027 19 Niclas Eliasson RM / LM / RW / LW 2022 Nîmes €2,000,000 2027 20 Petros Mantalos AM / LM / CM / LW / SS / RM / RW 2014 Xanthi €500,000 2026 22 Paolo Fernandes AM / RM / LM / RW / LW 2023 Volos €700,000 2027 23 Robert Ljubičić CM / RM / LM / AM / DM / LB 2024 Dinamo Zagreb €4,000,000 2029 25 Konstantinos Galanopoulos (Vice-captain 2) CM / DM 2015 AEK Athens U20 — 2025 70 Rodolfo Pizarro AM / LW / RW / CM / LM / RM 2023 Inter Miami Free 2025 Forwards 5 Nordin Amrabat RW / LW / RM / LM / AM / SS / ST 2021 Al Nassr Free 2024 7 Levi García ST / RW / RM / SS / LW / LM 2020 Beitar Jerusalem €2,600,000 2028 9 Tom van Weert ST / SS 2022 Volos €500,000 2024 10 Steven Zuber (Vice-captain 3) LW / LM / SS / ST / AM / RW / RM 2022 Eintracht Frankfurt €1,600,000 2025 11 Sergio Araujo (Captain) ST / SS / LW / RW 2021 Las Palmas €1,462,500 2024 14 Ezequiel Ponce ST / SS / LW / RW 2023 Elche €3,500,000 2027 53 Theodosis Macheras LW / RW / RM / LM 2020 AEK Athens U19 — 2026 90 Zini ST / SS / LW / LM / RW / RM 2023 1º de Agosto €350,000 2028 Left during Winter Transfer Window 3 Milad Mohammadi LB / LM / LW 2021 Gent Free 2025 From AEK Athens B 39 Panagiotis Ginis GK 2018 AEK Athens U19 — 2024 99 Georgios Theocharis GK 2020 AEK Athens U19 — 2024 37 Vedad Radonja RB / LB / RM / DM 2020 Dinamo Zagreb U19 Free 2025 55 Konstantinos Chrysopoulos CB 2023 Aris €800,000 2028 63 Rockson Yeboah CB 2023 Tehiman United Free 2024 44 Anel Šabanadžović CM / DM 2019 Željezničar €450,000 2023 46 Konstantinos Roukounakis DM / CM 2021 AEK Athens U19 — 2026 96 Jallow Lamarana CM / DM 2023 Elite United Free 2024 97 Judah García AM / LM / LW / CM 2021 NEROCA Free 2024 72 Apostolos Christopoulos ST / SS 2021 AEK Athens U19 — 2024 82 Spyros Skondras LW / LM 2022 Panetolikos Free 2025
Transfers
In
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource13 Celta de Vigo€6,500,00030 June 202714 Elche€3,500,00030 June 202717 PAS GianninaFree transfer30 June 202755 Aris€800,00030 June 202870 Inter MiamiFree transfer30 June 202590 AEK Athens ΒPromotion30 June 2028— Raków CzęstochowaLoan return30 June 2025— BordeauxLoan return30 June 2025— Zorya LuhanskLoan return30 June 2024
Winter
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource23 Dinamo Zagreb€4,000,00030 June 202953 VolosLoan termination30 June 2026
Out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateSource13 Celta de VigoLoan return14 OmoniaEnd of contract31 PendiksporEnd of contract55 AEK Athens Β– Raków Częstochowa€800,000– Bordeaux€1,000,000
Winter
PlayerToFeeDateSource3 Adana DemirsporFree transfer
Loan in
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateUntilOption to buySource18 GironaFree30 June 2024
Loan out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource53 VolosFree30 June 2024— Zorya LuhanskFree30 June 2024
Notes
a. Aris keeps the 50% of the player's rights.
Contract renewals
PlayerDateFormer Exp. DateNew Exp. DateSource5 30 June 202330 June 20247 30 June 202530 June 202820 30 June 202430 June 202621 30 June 202430 June 202625 30 June 202430 June 2025
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure Summer: €10,800,000
Winter: €4,000,000
Total: €14,800,000
Income Summer: €1,800,000
Winter: €0
Total: €1,800,000
Net Totals Summer: €9,000,000
Winter: €4,000,000
Total: €13,000,000
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Overall record
Super League Greece
Regular season
League table
Results summary
Results by Matchday
Matches
Play-off round
Table
Results summary
Results by Matchday
Matches
Greek Cup
AEK Athens entered the Greek Cup at the round of 16.
Round of 16
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 24 July 2023.
Play-off round The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023.
UEFA Europa League
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023.
Matches
Statistics
Squad statistics
! colspan="15" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers
! colspan="15" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="15" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="15" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards
! colspan="15" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Winter Transfer Window
! colspan="15" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| From AEK Athens B
Goalscorers
The list is sorted by competition order when total goals are equal, then by position and then by squad number. RankPlayerSuper LeagueSuper League Play-offsGreek CupChampions LeagueEuropa LeagueTotal11411 4 0 0 1162711 2 0 0 114310 6 1 0 1 0819 5 3 0 0 0821 4 2 0 1 1865 4 2 0 0 0678 2 1 1 0 15813 2 1 0 0 14923 2 1 0 0 0311 1 0 0 2 031112 2 0 0 0 026 2 0 0 0 0218 1 1 0 0 024 1 1 0 0 0229 0 1 0 0 12162 1 0 0 0 013 1 0 0 0 0120 1 0 0 0 019 1 0 0 0 0125 0 0 0 1 01Own goals 2 0 0 0 02Totals6020 1 5 692
Hat-tricks Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored. PlayerAgainst Result Date Competition Source Ezequiel Ponce Atromitos 5–0 (A) 21 January 2024 Super League
Assists
The list is sorted by competition order when total assists are equal, then by position and then by squad number. RankPlayerSuper LeagueSuper League Play-offsGreek CupChampions LeagueEuropa LeagueTotal119 7 2 0 1 111220 6 1 0 0 185 6 1 0 0 1847 2 1 0 1 1554 4 0 0 0 0410 4 0 0 0 04713 2 1 0 0 0326 1 1 0 0 13917 2 0 0 0 021025 1 0 0 0 018 1 0 0 0 0121 0 1 0 0 0112 0 1 0 0 0170 0 0 0 1 01Totals36 9 0 3 553
Clean sheets
The list is sorted by competition order when total clean sheets are equal and then by squad number. Clean sheets in games where both goalkeepers participated are awarded to the goalkeeper who started the game. Goalkeepers with no appearances are not included. RankPlayerSuper LeagueSuper League Play-offsGreek CupChampions LeagueEuropa LeagueTotal11 9 1 0 0 010230 1 4 1 0 05Totals10 5 1 0 016
Disciplinary record