Viktor Einar Gyokeres was born in Stockholm, Sweden on June 4th, 1998.
Aged five he joined IFK Aspudden-Tellus, a small community club situated just a mile from his family home, and it was there where he first developed into a centre-forward, though he was initially admired more for his work ethic, less so his talent.
That began to change aged 11, the young Gyokeres starting to fill out and furthermore learning how to use his superior size to outmuscle defenders. A few long-range screamers later he gained the attention of a scout, working for IF Brommapojkarna. BP – as they are thankfully otherwise known – played at the highest level of Swedish football, in the Allsvenskan.
Famed for its youth academy, that had previously brought through a raft of internationals, BP took a chance on this gangly kid, whose technical ability was unquestionably limited, but who always seemed to score.
Indeed, Gyokeres was obsessed with scoring, laser-focused on finding the back of the net. By the time he turned 14 – now 6ft 2 and imposing - people were talking about him, not just in Sweden but across Scandinavia. He was the star of BP’s academy.
Even at this level, it all seemed a far cry from where his journey began, playing on gravel in summer months for Aspudden-Tellus, then indoor futsal through the freezing cold Swedish winters. The teenage Gyokeres began to dream big.
Fast-forward a decade and more and that dream has manifested and then some. This summer the striker transferred to Arsenal for £63.5m. He is now renowned as a forward of genuine note. And he still scores lots of goals.
How much is Viktor Gyokeres worth?
It will not surprise to learn that Gyokeres was the highest paid player at Sporting, earning almost four times more than the club average. Before bonuses, the forward took home £180,000 a week.
It’s worth noting that the player waived £1.7m in wages owed to him to push through his move to North London.
What may surprise is that a bumper five-year deal with an elite Premier League club has not seen his earnings skyrocket further. Instead, there is only an incremental rise to £200,000 a week. This makes him the fifth highest earner at Arsenal, behind Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.
Still, £10,400,000 a year is not to be sniffed at, nor is a recently signed boot deal with Adidas that is set to harvest him more millions.
Presently though, in the here and now, Viktor Gyokeres’ net worth is estimated at £8m.
Early Career
Having come through the ranks at BP, the forward made his full debut in late August, 2015, scoring twice in a cup game. Sixteen and still raw, league opportunities were few and far between that year, increasing in volume the following season when BP dropped to the second tier.
Seventeen goals and eight assists in that division saw him established as his team’s number nine, and when he again fired on all cylinders the season after it was enough to convince Brighton and Hove Albion to make a move.
Arguably playing for Brighton’s Under 23s was a step down for the player, though it was several steps nearer to his dream destination. So Gyokeres duly got his head down, scored goals. Impressed, if only in front of a few hundred fans at a time.
Alas, the Brighton of 2018 was different to the successful club we know of today. Perennial strugglers in the top-flight they couldn’t afford to blood a youngster, with all the mistakes and anonymous displays that came with that.
So it was that Gyokeres was loaned out, first to St Pauli, then Swansea City. After failing to convert in 11 attempts for the Swans, the youngster then made a temporary switch to Coventry in January 2021.
Coventry City
A string of notable performances saw the Sky Blues seek to make the move permanent in the summer of 2021, though goals were still in short supply. In his opening six months it amounted to just three league strikes in 19 outings, even if most were as sub.
Having secured the 23-year-old on a three-year deal however, across the following campaign the club had their faith rewarded handsomely. Gyokeres ignited in the Championship, firing 17 in 45 appearances.
The season after it got even better, the striker winning the Player of the Month twiceover and finishing as the league’s highest goalscorer.
His 21 goals almost saw Coventry defy the football betting and gain promotion to the top-flight. Naturally, such prolificacy placed the player on a number of club’s short-lists for their summer shopping sprees.
Ultimately, it was Sporting of Portugal who prevailed, shelling out a club record fee of €24m for his services.
Sporting & Move to Arsenal
If Gyokeres ignited in the Championship, he exploded in the Primeira Liga.
Across two seasons under Ruben Amorim, the striker fired a remarkable 97 goals in 102 outings across all competitions, making him one of the most feared marksmen in Europe.
Almost inevitably such an astonishing goal-haul brought silverware to Sporting, a giant that had previously fallen on lean times. In both campaigns, with Gyokeres as their focal point, the Lions won the league as well as lifting the Taca de Portugal for good measure.
They additionally enjoyed some memorable evenings in the Champions League, reaching the Round of 16 in 2024 before thumping Manchester City at the Estadio Jose Alvalade a year later.
Gyokeres meanwhile achieved several meaningful individual honours, not least finishing both seasons as the league’s highest goalscorer and scooping the Player of the Year merit each time too.
On the international scene, a highlight included bagging four goals in a single game vs Azerbaijan.
By now, several leading clubs sought the striker, though Arsenal always seemed to front the queue. After one failed attempt, then another, the Gunners returned with an offer that Sporting finally accepted in July 2025.
Just two games in and he scored twice against Leeds, his first goals in the Premier League. What’s the betting there are plenty more to come?
