54 Facts About Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Serie A club Inter Milan.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan won the FA Community Shield, and scored the winner to win the UEFA Europa League title.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was a member of the senior side in his native country from 2007 until his international retirement in 2022.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is Armenia's all-time top goalscorer, scoring 32 goals in 95 matches, as well as registering their first hat-trick.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been named Armenian Footballer of the Year ten times, being awarded the distinction every year since 2009.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was voted the CIS Footballer of the Year in 2012 and 2013, making him the first Armenian footballer to be named the best player from post-Soviet countries.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was born on 21 January 1989 in the Soviet Armenian capital Yerevan to Marina Taschyan and Hamlet Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's father was a prominent striker for FC Ararat Yerevan during the 1980s, who died of a brain tumor at age 33 when Henrikh was seven years old.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Henrikh Mkhitaryan family moved to France, where Hamlet Henrikh Mkhitaryan played for the now defunct ASOA Valence and helped them to be promoted to the second division.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan always wanted to become a football player and began to follow in his father's footsteps.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan graduated from the Institute of Physical Culture in Armenia.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan studied economics at the Yerevan branch of the St Petersburg Institute.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan returned to Pyunik in 2004, then manager Mihai Stoichita insisted on his return to Armenia.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined the FC Pyunik youth system in 1995 and received his first salary at the age of 15.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was later promoted to the first team of FC Pyunik, making his professional debut in 2006 at the age of 17.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan last played for the club in the 2009 season.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan seizes control at the crucial moment and scores for fun.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan made 37 league appearances during his time at Metalurh, scoring 12 goals.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for the club in this match.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the only goal in a cup victory over Metalurh Zaporizhya on 11 April 2012.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored 11 goals in 37 matches, including 10 goals in 26 league matches.

On 16 March 2013, Henrikh Mkhitaryan played his 100th game in the Ukrainian Premier League in a match against Chornomorets Odesa.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan finished the season with 25 league goals, and the attacking midfielder was praised for his technique and dedication.

On 5 July 2013, it was reported that Borussia Dortmund had succeeded in talks with Shakhtar and Henrikh Mkhitaryan was on his way to Germany for a medical test.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan couldn't take part and wasn't listed in the squad at the 2013 DFL-Supercup which his club won due to an injury he received on a friendly game before that.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan finished his season with nine goals and ten assists in the Bundesliga and was included in the WhoScored Bundesliga Team of the Season.

In September 2014, Henrikh Mkhitaryan suffered an injury that sidelined him for a month and on 13 December 2014 he was injured again.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan finished the league as the assist leader with 15 assists.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan became the first Armenian to join a Premier League club.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan made his first Premier League start for Manchester United in the Manchester derby on 10 September 2016, but he was substituted at half-time.

On 8 December 2016, Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for the club, away against Zorya Luhansk, in Manchester United's last group match of the Europa League.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan returned from this injury two matches later, coming off the bench to score United's third goal against Sunderland, a scorpion kick which he described as being the best goal he had ever scored; however, replays after the goal suggested Mkhitaryan was in an offside position when the ball was played to him.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan returned for the following match against Brighton and Hove Albion but then faced a five Premier League match absence from the squad.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was at the centre of a controversy ahead of the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final in Baku, Azerbaijan between Arsenal and Chelsea; Armenia and Azerbaijan do not have international relations and people of Armenian descent are forbidden entry to Azerbaijan without prior formal authorisation.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was promised guarantees of security, but did not travel over safety fears.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan then scored two games later against SPAL on 12 December 2019, sending Roma up to fourth place in the Serie A table.

In January 2020, Henrikh Mkhitaryan suffered a second injury of the season to his thigh muscle putting him out for a further month.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan later scored in back to back victories over Lecce and Cagliari.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan signed for Serie A club Inter Milan on 2 July 2022.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan debuted for the Armenia national team in an away friendly match against Panama on 14 January 2007.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored six goals for Armenia in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B, thus becoming top goalscorer in that group.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an attacking midfielder, who is capable of playing as a second striker or as a winger.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan excels playing in a central role, just behind the strikers, where he often looks to link up with his teammates in and around the penalty area.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is known for his ability to draw away opposing defenders and, in turn, create space for his teammates to exploit, leading to goal scoring opportunities, courtesy of his offensive movement, technique, and vision.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been praised for his precise passing, dribbling ability, creativity, ball control and work rate, as well as his eye for the final pass; his skill and trickery on the ball enables him to beat defenders in one on one situations.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has pace, skill, a rocket of a shot and the ability to arrive in the box like Frank Lampard.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a polyglot, who speaks eight languages: Armenian, French, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian and German.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan learned the first three languages in his childhood, while the latter four he picked up playing in Ukraine, England, Italy, and Germany.

In June 2019, Henrikh Mkhitaryan married Betty Vardanyan at the monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, near Venice, Italy.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the granddaughter of Hrant Vardanyan, the founder of Grand Holding, Armenia's main cigarettes and candy producer.

In 2012, by the decision of the Yerevan City Council, and in connection with the city's 2,794th anniversary, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was awarded with the "Honorary Citizen of Yerevan" title, for his great success in football and his brilliant achievements in sports.

In December 2011, Henrikh Mkhitaryan visited Stepanakert, capital of the disputed territory, and donated gifts to the families of fallen soldiers.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was awarded the NKR Prime Minister's medal.

In September 2020, amid the Nagorno-Karabakh war, Henrikh Mkhitaryan called for international action to stop Azerbaijan from shelling civilian areas of Artsakh and urged international community to recognize Artsakh's independence.