Szalai started his career in his hometown of Budapest, playing for Budapest Honvéd FC and Újpest FC. In 2004, he moved to Germany to complete his development, spending two years at the youth academy of VfB Stuttgart.
In his second season in the Segunda División B – the only tier in which he competed during his spell in Spain – he scored 16 goals in 37 games, but the side could only rank sixth, thus missing out on the playoffs.[5]
Szalai scored his first goal for Mainz in a 1–0 home win over Borussia Dortmund on 10 April 2010.[8] He netted his second against FC Bayern Munich on 25 September in a 2–1 away victory, with a powerful shot into the top corner in what was the Rhineland-Palatinate club's sixth consecutive win of the season, in an eventual run of seven.[9] On 29 January 2011, at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the player sustained a knee injury – cruciate ligament – which sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign.[10]
On 22 January 2012, Szalai returned to action with Mainz after his injury, playing the second half of a 3–2 defeat at Leverkusen.[11] On 1 August he signed a contract extension with the club running until June 2015[12][13] and, on 27 October, scored his first hat-trick for the team in a 3–0 home defeat of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.[14]
On 27 June 2013, Szalai signed a four-year contract with Schalke.[17] After making his official debut against amateurs FC Nöttingen in the first round of the DFB-Pokal,[18] he played his first league match against Hamburger SV, scoring the hosts' last goal in a 3–3 draw after a shot from Christian Clemens was poorly handled by René Adler.[19]
Szalai was instrumental in helping his team reach the group stage of the Champions League. After a 1–1 draw in the first leg against PAOK FC[20] he grabbed a brace in the second match in Thessaloniki (3–2 win), and played the full 90 minutes on both occasions.[21]
Hoffenheim
On 3 July 2014, Szalai was transferred to Hoffenheim for €6 million. Alexander Rosen, the sporting director, said that he fitted into the club's style.[22] He made his debut for his new team against Augsburg, opened the scoring in a 2–0 home win[23] and was voted "Player of the Day" on the Bundesliga website.[24]
Szalai was sent off for the first time in his career on 22 November 2014 after committing a foul on Dante in the 90th minute of the league fixture against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena,[25] being banned for two matches by the German Football Association.[26] On 12 December, he replaced Anthony Modeste at the hour-mark of a home game with Eintracht Frankfurt; he scored the 2–2 equaliser three minutes later, and in the 87th he provided an assist with his ankle for Roberto Firmino's winner.[27]
On 4 January 2016, after being linked to a host of clubs,[28] Szalai continued in Germany by being loaned out to Hannover 96 for the remainder of the campaign.[29]
Return to Mainz
On 27 August 2019, Szalai rejoined Mainz on a free transfer and a two-year contract.[30] Mainly a reserve in his second spell at the Mewa Arena, he netted only four times in all competitions.[31]
On 29 February 2012, Szalai returned to the national team setup after his one-year injury with a goal against Bulgaria, in a friendly draw in Győr.[41] On 7 September, in the nation's first 2014 FIFA World Cupqualifier, he netted the third for the visitors in an eventual 5–0 win in Andorra.[42]
On 16 October 2012, Szalai helped hosts Hungary battle back to beat Turkey 3–1, scoring the second after an assist from Tamás Kádár.[43][44]
Telki press conference
After an 8–1 defeat in the Netherlands for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, Szalai took part in a press conference where he gave poignant answers about what he thought the reasons behind the long-term underachievement of the national side were.[45][46] Subsequently, he found himself on the international wilderness.[47]
On 13 November 2013, Attila Pintér, manager of Hungarian League club Győri ETO FC, reacted to Szalai's statements and doubted his honesty. The coach claimed that the player said in an interview before the loss in Amsterdam that he did not have any problems with Hungary boss Sándor Egervári, further disapproving of him for his irresponsibility of criticising the Hungarian coaches even though he did not know them.[48]
Hungary played its first match of 2014 on 5 March, and Szalai was left out. In an interview with Nemzeti Sport, he said that he could not comment on his future with the national team since he was not invited and he did not have the option to decide whether to join or not.[49]
Retirement
On 28 August 2014, Pintér selected his list for the Euro 2016 qualifier against Northern Ireland at the Groupama Arena on 7 September, and Szalai was not on it.[50] On 4 September, he posted an announcement on his Facebook profile saying that he did not want to play for his country as long as Pintér was in charge,[51] and thus became the second Hungarian footballer in 20 years to renounce to the national side after Szabolcs Huszti in 2007.[52]
On 18 September 2014, Pál Dárdai was appointed as Hungary's interim manager.[53][54] Eight days later, Szalai announced his return to the national team as the new coach stated the player was one of the side's "leading personalities".[55]
On 11 October 2014, Szalai marked his return by featuring the full 90 minutes in Romania in a 1–1 draw for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.[56] Three days later, for the same competition, he scored the game's only goal for an away win over the Faroe Islands in Tórshavn.[57] After the victorious qualifying play-off match against Norway, he was recorded on video attending a bar in Budapest where fans were celebrating, and after giving a rousing speech about how they suffered the most during the unsuccessful period of Hungarian football, bought 200 shots of pálinka for the people present;[58] the next day, he jokingly noted in a Facebook comment that he did not remember giving a speech.[59]
Szalai was selected for Hungary's Euro 2016 squad.[60] He started and scored the opening goal in their first game in the tournament, a 2–0 defeat of Austria in Bordeaux[61] which marked his first after a 40-match dry spell that lasted over a year;[62] shortly before this happened, the Hungarian fans were chanting the name of fellow striker Dániel Böde, demanding a substitution.[63]
Szalai announced his retirement for the second time on 21 September 2022, his last match being in the UEFA Nations League against Italy.[67] In October 2024, he joined Marco Rossi's coaching staff at the national team.[68] His first game was a 1–1 home draw against the Netherlands in the Nations League,[69] with player Zsolt Nagy having previously commented that Szalai's addition could be a motivating factor.[70]
In the first half of the reverse Nations League fixture against Netherlands on 16 November 2024, Szalai collapsed on the bench and was subsequently hospitalised.[71][72][73][74] The following day, as his condition had stabilised, he was released.[75][76]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[77][78][79]
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