Nikola Karabatić (born 11 April 1984) is a French Serbo-Croatian born professional handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team.^[1]

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Nikola Karabatić
Karabatić in 2015
Personal information
Born	(1984-04-11) 11 April 1984 (age 40) Niš, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
Nationality	French
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Paris Saint-Germain
Number	44
Senior clubs
Years	Team
2000–2005	Montpellier Handball
2005–2009	THW Kiel
2009–2013	Montpellier Handball
2013	Pays d'Aix
2013–2015	FC Barcelona
2015–	Paris Saint-Germain
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–	France	356	(1293)
Medal record Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team 2020 Tokyo Team 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Championship 2009 Croatia 2011 Sweden 2015 Qatar 2017 France 2023 Poland/Sweden 2005 Tunisia 2019 Germany/Denmark European Championship 2006 Switzerland 2010 Austria 2014 Denmark 2024 Germany 2008 Norway 2018 Croatia

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With the French national handball team, he has won three Olympic gold medals (Summer Olympics of 2008, 2012 and 2020), four World Championship gold medals (2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017) as well as four gold medals in the European Championship (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2024). He also won L'Équipe Champion of Champions in 2011.^[2] He is regarded as one of the greatest players in handball history,^[3] and he was IHF World Player of the Year for a male record-tying three times, in 2007, 2014, and 2016.

Karabatić began his professional career at the top French club Montpellier HB. There he became French champion in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as winner of the EHF Champions League in 2003. He then played for the German club THW Kiel, who became German champions in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won the EHF Champions League in 2007. In the summer of 2009 he left Germany and returned to Montpellier HB, winning three further French champion titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After a quick stay in Pays d'Aix Université Club handball, Aix-en-Provence, between February and June in 2013, he moved to FC Barcelona and then in 2015 he moved to and currently plays for PSG Handball.

He is an Olympic, World and European champion. This makes eleven titles out of 17 medals won, which constitutes an absolute record.

He first became a European champion in the 2006 European Men's Handball Championship, subsequently becoming a bronze medallist in the 2008 edition of the championship (without forgetting 2018). He has received two more bronze medals at the World Championships, in 2005 and 2019. At the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, he was voted into the All-Star Team in which France finished fourth. He was also voted into the All Star Team at the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship.

Nikola was born in Niš, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Croatian father and Serbian mother. Nikola's father Branko Karabatić, who was also a professional handball player, is originally from Vrsine, a village between Trogir and Marina in Croatia.^[4][5][6] In his career, Branko played for the Železničar handball team from Niš, which is where he met his wife Radmila, who is originally from Aleksinac, Serbia.^[7] The family moved to France after Nikola's father got a coaching job there when Nikola was 3+1⁄2 years old. His younger brother, Luka, is also a professional handball player.^[5]

On 30 September 2012, he was involved in match-fixing and was arrested alongside his wife and his brother Luka.^[8][9]

In addition to French, he speaks English, Serbo-Croatian, German and Spanish.^[10]

As of conclusion of 2024 European Men's Handball Championship^[11][12][13]

• List of handballers with 1000 or more international goals