BIOGRAPHY
Nikola Karabatic finally retired from his long and glorious handball career in 2024, in front of a home crowd at the Paris Olympic Games. Although he did not go out in the blaze of golden glory many had hoped — with France losing in the quarter-finals — it was fitting that Karabatic’s journey should end at home.
Karabatic was born in the former Yugoslavia in what is now Serbia, and moved to France with his parents as a small child when his handballer father Branko was appointed as a coach in France. He joined Montpellier Handball in 2000 as a teenager, and made his debut for the team in 2001. It was with Montpellier that Karabatic won his first of three EHF Champions League titles, in 2003; he went on to win the trophy again with Kiel in 2007 and with Barcelona in 2015.
The majority of Karabatic’s club career was spent in France, latterly with Paris Saint-Germain, and he won a total of 16 French championships, plus the German Bundesliga four times and the Spanish Liga Asobal twice.
While his club career was long and successful it will be for his achievements for the French national team that Karabatic will be remembered. He finished his career having played 365 matches, scoring 1,303 goals, and winning 11 major titles — three Olympic gold medals, four World Championship and four European titles.
He was named MVP of the EHF EURO in 2008 and 2014, and of the World Championship in 2011 and 2017. Karabatic was additionally named to the EHF EURO All-star Team in 2004 and 2010, and was the tournament’s top scorer in 2008; he received three All-star Team nods at the World Championship; and was the best centre back at the Olympic Games in both 2010 and 2016.
Karabatic was also named IHF World Player of the Year three times, in 2007, 2014 and 2016, and nominated several times for the award. Alongside Mikkel Hansen he is the only male player to have won the award three times.
