Charlton Athletic never saw the best of player who now rubs shoulders with Real Madrid | OneFootball

The 33-year-old made five appearances between the sticks for the Addicks.

Charlton Athletic never saw the best of Serbian goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic during his time at The Valley.

Dmitrovic joined the Addicks for an undisclosed fee from Hungarian side Ujpest FC in January 2015, having previously come through the ranks at Red Star Belgrade in his homeland.

He was one of a number of players that joined the Addicks from clubs in Roland Duchatelet's 'network', which also included Standard Liege in Belgium, Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany and AD Alcorcon in Spain, following his takeover in 2014.

The goalkeeper only made five appearances for Charlton in the Championship during the second half of the 2014/15 season, before being sent on loan to AD Alcorcon for the remainder of his contract after just six months in SE7.

Therefore, it may come as a surprise to some Charlton supporters that Dmitrovic has gone on to keep more than 50 clean sheets in La Liga, play in the UEFA Champions League, and be selected by Serbia for two FIFA World Cup squads since leaving The Valley.

Marko Dmitrovic failed to make an impact at Charlton

Dmitrovic was signed by Charlton in January 2015, with first-choice goalkeeper Stephen Henderson sidelined due to an injury.

Ben Roberts, who was the Addicks' goalkeeper coach at the time, spoke positively about the Serbian's arrival, as per The News Shopper.

"We have seen a lot of Marko and been scouting him for eight or nine months," Roberts said.

"He is over here to compete for his place and also prepare for the European Under-21 Championship in the summer.

"He has trained for us over the past few days and made a really good impression already, so I'm looking forward to spending some time with him."

Charlton also had Neil Etheridge, who would go on to play in the Premier League for Cardiff City, so Dmitrovic still faced quality competition despite the absence of Henderson, and he was only given an opportunity after second-choice stopper Etheridge conceded five goals against Watford at Vicarage Road.

The Serb made his debut for the Addicks against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, and kept his only clean sheet for the club in a 0-0 draw.

He would go on to concede seven goals in the next three games before Henderson returned from injury, and his only other appearance would be as a half-time substitute away at Cardiff City, which resulted in his only victory despite Charlton going a goal down early in the second half.

Considering Dmitrovic's relatively uninspiring spell at Charlton, not many people would have predicted the career he would go on to have after he was released by the Addicks in 2016.

Marko Dmitrovic has succeeded since leaving The Valley

Dmitrovic signed for Spanish second-tier outfit AD Alcorcon permanently in July 2016 after impressing during his loan spell from Charlton, before joining SD Eibar in La Liga the following summer.

Remarkably, he scored a penalty in La Liga for SD Eibar against Atlético Madrid during the 2020/21 season, sending Jan Oblak the wrong way, and kept 34 clean sheets during his time at the club.

He later joined Sevilla on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, and featured for them in the UEFA Champions League, before appearing on the bench in a final as his side won the UEFA Europa League in 2023.

Dmitrovic has also played in the Spanish top flight for Leganes, while he currently turns out for Espanyol, having joined the club in the summer of 2025.

The 33-year-old has earned 19 caps for Serbia during his career, and was included in their squads for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

When Charlton supporters watched Dmitrovic concede in a 1-1 draw at home against Rotherham United in January 2015, it would have been difficult to believe that he would go on to play against players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.