Dávid Hancko

Dávid Hancko's path to Atlético Madrid began far from the top flight, with a broken pair of legs at sixteen or seventeen threatening to end his career before it started. He recovered to work his way back through Žilina's reserve side, scoring 11 goals in 45 matches there before finally making his senior debut for the club in 2016.

The move to Fiorentina in 2018 was not successful — five league appearances told their own story — and it was a loan to Sparta Prague that helped him regain form. He helped Sparta win the Czech Cup in his first season there, and once the move was made permanent he added a Czech First League title in 2022–23. Feyenoord then took him to the Eredivisie, where he won the league in his first season, followed by the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruyff Shield, while also being named to the Eredivisie Team of the Month on three separate occasions.

Atlético Madrid announced his signing from Feyenoord in July 2025, with the fee reported at around €30 million plus add-ons, and Hancko signed a contract running until 2030.

For Slovakia, he made his debut as an 80th-minute substitute against the Czech Republic in 2018 and has since become a regular fixture, starting in every group match at Euro 2024 after also being part of the squad at Euro 2020. Slovakia did not make it to the 2022 World Cup. Hancko was given the Peter Dubovský Award in 2018.