# Rey Manaj
**Rey Manaj** (Albanian: Rei Manaj; full name Rey Aldo Manaj, born 1997 in Lushnjë, Albania) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Turkish club [Sivasspor](https://www.edgepedia.org/sivasspor) and the Albania national team[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj). A right-footed center-forward of 1.82 m, he has played for clubs in Italy, Spain, England, Turkey, and the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates), and he scored on his Albania debut after 12 seconds on the pitch[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj) • [2](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Inter/13-11-2015/manaj-albania-inter-gol-record-12-secondi-primo-pallone-toccato-130910970296.shtml).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1997, Lushnjë, Albania; 1.82 m, right-footed[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj) |
| Position | Centre-forward (striker); shirt number 9 at Sivasspor, number 7 for Albania[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj) • [3](https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/teams/players/250080439--rey-manaj/) |
| Breakthrough sale | Sold to Inter Milan on 14 July 2015 for €1 million on a five-year contract[4](https://www.bola.net/profile/rey_manaj/) |
| Record debut goal | Scored with his first touch, 12 seconds after coming on, against Kosovo on his Albania debut in November 2015[2](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Inter/13-11-2015/manaj-albania-inter-gol-record-12-secondi-primo-pallone-toccato-130910970296.shtml) |
| Barcelona spell | Joined Barça B in January 2020; top scorer of the B side with 14 goals in 22 matches in 2020-21[5](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/2240356/agreement-with-spezia-calcio-for-the-loan-of-rey-manaj) |
| Watford low point | July 2022 to February 2023: 7 appearances, 1 goal in 274 competitive minutes; contract ended by mutual consent[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024) |
| 2023-24 revival | 22 competitive goals for Sivasspor, 18 in the Süper Lig, a club top-flight record, worth 38% of the team's goals[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024) |
| Albania record | 44 FIFA matches and 10 goals for the national team[7](https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/61398/Rey_Manaj.html) |
## Youth career and Inter Milan
Manaj came through Italian youth football with Piacenza before moving to the Cremonese academy in 2012, and he made his senior debut for Cremonese on 7 September 2014 at age 17, playing the final 14 minutes of a 2-1 away win over Mantova[8](https://cronicaglobal.elespanol.com/culemania/culemaniacos/20200214/quien-rey-manaj-nuevo-delantero-del-barca/467453283_0.html) • [4](https://www.bola.net/profile/rey_manaj/). After speculation linking him with Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Roma, Inter Milan bought him on 14 July 2015 for €1 million on a five-year contract, sending two players, Fabio Eguelfi and Francesco Forte, to Cremonese as part of the deal[4](https://www.bola.net/profile/rey_manaj/).
At Inter he was attached to the first team from the start and made his [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a) debut as a late substitute against Atalanta, with his first start coming in the TIM Cup against Cagliari[9](https://www.inter.it/it/notizie/2016-06-8-best-moments-la-stagione-di-rei-manaj). His most successful period that season came with the Primavera (under-19) side, winning the Primavera TIM Cup with a double against Lazio in the semifinal and the decisive goal in the final against Juventus at [San Siro](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-siro)[9](https://www.inter.it/it/notizie/2016-06-8-best-moments-la-stagione-di-rei-manaj). He then went on a series of loans: Pescara (July 2016 to January 2017), Pisa (January to June 2017), Granada in Spain (August 2017 to June 2018), and Albacete (July 2018 to June 2019)[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj). At Albacete he was the club's top scorer with 4 goals when, in October 2018, he signed a contract that would transfer his rights from Inter to Albacete at the end of the season[10](https://as.com/futbol/2018/10/03/segunda/1538568316_411170.html).
## Barcelona and Spezia
Manaj joined [FC Barcelona](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-barcelona) in January 2020 for the Barça B squad, after spells with Granada and Albacete in Spain[5](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/2240356/agreement-with-spezia-calcio-for-the-loan-of-rey-manaj). In 2020-21 he was the B side's top scorer with 14 goals in 22 matches, and in preseason he was the first team's top scorer, including a hat trick on his debut in a friendly against Nàstic; across the preseason he recorded 4 goals in 117 minutes for Barça[5](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/2240356/agreement-with-spezia-calcio-for-the-loan-of-rey-manaj). He never made a competitive first-team appearance, and in August 2021 Barcelona loaned him to Spezia Calcio of Serie A for €300,000 until 30 June 2022, with Spezia paying his wages and holding a purchase option of €2.7 million[5](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/2240356/agreement-with-spezia-calcio-for-the-loan-of-rey-manaj). He scored 5 goals in 30 appearances for Spezia[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj).
## Watford and the 2022-23 low point
Watford signed Manaj on a permanent deal from Barcelona in July 2022, intending him as the striker to fire the club back to the Premier League; he was only the second player Watford had ever signed from Barcelona, after [Gerard Deulofeu](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerard-deulofeu)[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024). Injuries limited him to 7 appearances and 1 goal, scored across 274 competitive minutes, and even that goal was attributed to him only after a slight deflection off his boot[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024). His final appearance came in December 2022 against Hull City, when he lasted 18 minutes off the bench before being injured again[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024).
## Sivasspor and revival in Turkey
Manaj joined Sivasspor as a free agent in August 2023[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj). After going scoreless in his first five appearances, he opened his account in a 3-2 league win over Pendikspor on 7 October, and finished 2023-24 with 22 competitive goals, 18 of them in the [Süper Lig](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-lig)[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024). The 18 league goals were the most ever scored by a Sivasspor player in a top-flight season, and only [Mauro Icardi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mauro-icardi) (25) and Edin Dzeko (21) scored more in the league that year[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024). His goals carried an unusually large share of the team's output: no player in the Süper Lig scored a higher proportion of his team's goals (38%), and his goals were worth more points to Sivasspor than any other player's were to theirs[6](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024).
After a half-season with Sharjah Cultural Club in the [UAE Pro League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uae-pro-league) from July 2025 to January 2026, he returned to Sivasspor on a free transfer in February 2026, on a contract running to 30 June 2029[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj).
## International career
Manaj debuted for Albania in November 2015 against Kosovo as a substitute and scored with a header 12 seconds after entering, his first touch of the game, setting records as the fastest goal by an Albanian international substitute and as Albania's youngest international goalscorer[2](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Inter/13-11-2015/manaj-albania-inter-gol-record-12-secondi-primo-pallone-toccato-130910970296.shtml) • [4](https://www.bola.net/profile/rey_manaj/). He had earlier represented Albania U19 and Albania U21, scoring 6 goals in 8 U21 matches[1](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj).
In the Italy match his late chipped shot deflected just wide off goalkeeper [Gianluigi Donnarumma](https://www.edgepedia.org/gianluigi-donnarumma) as Albania pressed for an equalizer[12](https://pynr.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/17-VJA-12-PAGES-PDF.compressed-1.pdf). As of the 2026 season he had 44 FIFA matches and 10 goals for Albania[7](https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/61398/Rey_Manaj.html).
## References
1. [Rey Manaj, FotMob](https://www.fotmob.com/players/566753/rey-manaj)
2. [Manaj, gol da record all'esordio con l'Albania, La Gazzetta dello Sport (13 November 2015)](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Inter/13-11-2015/manaj-albania-inter-gol-record-12-secondi-primo-pallone-toccato-130910970296.shtml)
3. [Rei Manaj, UEFA European Qualifiers](https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/teams/players/250080439--rey-manaj/)
4. [Profil Terbaru Rey Manaj, Bola.net](https://www.bola.net/profile/rey_manaj/)
5. [Agreement with Spezia Calcio for the loan of Rey Manaj, FC Barcelona (31 August 2021)](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/2240356/agreement-with-spezia-calcio-for-the-loan-of-rey-manaj)
6. [From Zero to Hero: Rey Manaj Heads Into Euro 2024 a Man Transformed, Opta Analyst (4 June 2024)](https://theanalyst.com/articles/rey-manaj-albania-euro-2024)
7. [Rey Manaj, National Football Teams](https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/61398/Rey_Manaj.html)
8. [¿Quién es Rey Manaj, el nuevo delantero del Barça B?, Cronica Global (14 February 2020)](https://cronicaglobal.elespanol.com/culemania/culemaniacos/20200214/quien-rey-manaj-nuevo-delantero-del-barca/467453283_0.html)
9. [Best moments: la stagione di Rei Manaj, Inter.it (8 June 2016)](https://www.inter.it/it/notizie/2016-06-8-best-moments-la-stagione-di-rei-manaj)
10. [Rey Manaj será propiedad del Albacete a final de temporada, AS (3 October 2018)](https://as.com/futbol/2018/10/03/segunda/1538568316_411170.html)
11. [Albania v Spain, Euro 2024 tactical line-ups, UEFA](https://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/EURO/2024/2036187_LU.pdf)
12. [Italy concedes goal after 23 seconds but recovers to beat Albania 2-1 at Euro 2024, The Pioneer (June 2024)](https://pynr.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/17-VJA-12-PAGES-PDF.compressed-1.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of continental Europe › Balkan footballers of other nationalities*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license