Ante Budimir

Ante Budimir did not follow the usual route through a big academy. He came up through NK Radnik Velika Gorica, had a short spell at LASK, and made his senior debut at HNK Gorica before working his way up through Inter Zaprešić and Lokomotiva Zagreb. A move to FC St. Pauli in Germany followed, but it was a loan to FC Crotone that turned his career around, with 16 goals in Serie B persuading the Italian club to make the move permanent. Osasuna took him on loan in 2020 and made the transfer permanent the following year for €8 million.

At Osasuna, Budimir became the club's all-time leading foreign goalscorer, with 60 goals, and its all-time leading scorer in La Liga, surpassing the record previously held by Sabino Andonegui. He was named Osasuna's Player of the Season for 2023–24, having also picked up the Player of the Month award five times that campaign, and reached the final of the Copa del Rey with the club in 2023. He finished third in the Pichichi Trophy standings in 2024–25, with 21 goals.

His form led to a first Croatia cap in October 2020 against Switzerland, and he has since gone on to earn 41 caps and 7 goals for the national team, including a place in the squad that won the 2023 UEFA Nations League. In November 2023, Budimir was awarded the Order of the Croatian Star with the Face of Franjo Bučara.