Luka Ivanušec returns to Dinamo after three years: arrives at Maksimir as a free agent
Luka Ivanušec is once again a player of Zagreb's Dinamo, three years after leaving Maksimir for Feyenoord. On 1 September 2026, Dinamo officially announced the return of the 27-year-old attacking midfielder, while the Dutch club confirmed on the same day that it had mutually terminated the contract with the Croatian footballer, which had been due to run until the middle of 2028. This meant that Ivanušec arrived in Zagreb as a free agent, without a traditional transfer fee between the clubs. For him, this marks the beginning of his second spell at Dinamo, the club where, between 2019 and 2023, he established himself as one of the team's more important players and from which he secured a transfer to Rotterdam. In his return spell, he will once again wear number 17, the same number he had when he first joined Dinamo in August 2019.
The return comes after a period in which Ivanušec was unable to establish a long-term role at Feyenoord comparable to the one he had in Zagreb. Feyenoord stated in its official announcement that the mutual termination was intended to give the player an opportunity to find an environment where he would have better prospects of regular playing time. The Dutch club also announced that Ivanušec made 55 official appearances for Feyenoord, scoring four goals and providing seven assists. He spent the previous competitive season on loan at Greek club PAOK from Thessaloniki, with whom he also played in the UEFA Europa League. Dinamo therefore also sees his return as the signing of a player who knows the club well but comes back with additional experience gained in Dutch and Greek football.
Termination with Feyenoord opened the way to Zagreb
Feyenoord signed Ivanušec in the summer of 2023, after four highly successful seasons at Dinamo. He arrived in Rotterdam as a Croatian international with experience of playing in the Champions League and Europa League, but during his time at De Kuip he never permanently established himself as a key member of the team. On 1 September 2026, the club announced that the two sides had mutually agreed to end their cooperation and explicitly stated that the aim of such an outcome was to enable the player to find a new environment with better prospects for playing time. Since his contract still had almost two years to run, the termination was the key prerequisite for a return without a transfer fee. Dinamo then confirmed on the same day that Ivanušec was once again becoming a member of the first team.
Dinamo's official announcement did not state the duration of the new contract. Sportnet and Index, citing their own information, reported that a three-year agreement had been reached with the possibility of extending it for another season, but that detail was not confirmed in the club's announcement. What has been officially confirmed is that Ivanušec is returning to Maksimir three years and one week after his departure and that he will once again play with number 17. In its presentation, Dinamo describes him as a versatile midfielder who can cover several positions, from central and attacking midfield to the wing. It was precisely this tactical adaptability that was one of his more important characteristics during his first spell.
After returning, Ivanušec said that he was happy to be coming back to familiar surroundings and that he wanted to start training and playing with the team as soon as possible. In a statement published by Dinamo, he emphasized that after three years he feels more mature and experienced and believes that he can also help his younger teammates. He added that during his time abroad he followed Dinamo's matches whenever he could and that he knows the current team well. His message was also focused on sporting ambitions: he expects Dinamo to be competitive both in the Croatian league and in European competitions. For the club, such a return is also important because the new player will not need a long period to become familiar with the environment, the pressure for results and the specific expectations associated with playing at Maksimir.
First spell marked by titles and major European matches
Ivanušec first joined Dinamo in August 2019 from Zagreb's Lokomotiva, which is also confirmed by UEFA's transfer overview ahead of the 2019/2020 Champions League season. He made his debut for Dinamo's first team during a period when the club was playing in the Champions League group stage, and the club's official retrospective links his first appearance with the major victory against Atalanta in Zagreb. His first European goal against Shakhtar Donetsk followed. Already in the early phase of his spell, he showed that he could play in several positions in midfield and attack, which enabled him to maintain continuity under different coaches and in different tactical systems. Over four years, he became one of the recognizable players of the generation that brought Dinamo a series of notable results in UEFA competitions.
The 2020/2021 season holds a special place in that period, when Dinamo reached the Europa League quarter-finals. Ivanušec played all 120 minutes in the second leg of the round of 16 against Tottenham, a match in which the Zagreb side overturned a 0:2 defeat from London with a 3:0 victory after extra time. UEFA's documentation of that tie confirms his appearance in the team that produced one of the most memorable European comebacks in the club's history. Dinamo also eliminated Krasnodar in the same European campaign, while the club's retrospective credits Ivanušec with an assist during that stage of the competition. Matches like these strengthened his reputation as a player capable of responding to a high level of intensity and tactical demands.
He was also important in the 2022/2023 season, when Dinamo once again played in the Champions League group stage. UEFA's official record confirms that he was in the starting line-up in the 1:0 victory against Chelsea in Zagreb on 6 September 2022, a result that strongly resonated across European football at the time. In its current announcement of his return, Dinamo names Ivanušec as one of the players who marked that victory. His final official appearance before leaving in 2023 also carried European significance: Dinamo defeated Sparta Prague 3:1 in the first leg of the Europa League play-off, and Ivanušec was among the scorers. Shortly afterwards, he continued his career at Feyenoord.
According to Dinamo's official data, Ivanušec made 175 competitive appearances and scored 37 goals during his first spell. When friendly matches are included, the club's statistics list 190 appearances and 40 goals. In each of his four seasons in Zagreb he won the Croatian league title, adding one Croatian Cup and two Croatian Super Cups to that collection. In two seasons he played with Dinamo in the Champions League, while on two other occasions he continued playing European matches with the club after the winter break. Such a record explains why his return is not a conventional signing of a new player, but rather the return of a footballer who already has extensive experience of the most important domestic and international matches in a Dinamo shirt.
Feyenoord brought him trophies, but not a permanent role
His spell in the Netherlands was not without success. Dinamo states in its announcement that Ivanušec finished as Dutch league runner-up with Feyenoord, won the national cup and Super Cup, and played in the Champions League twice. Feyenoord specifically confirms that the Croatian attacker was part of the team that won the KNVB Cup in the 2023/2024 season. However, the Dutch club's statistics show that his role over three years did not develop into a permanent place in the starting line-up. A total of 55 official appearances, with four goals and seven assists, was enough for a series of significant matches, but not for the continuity he had previously enjoyed at Dinamo.
The loan spell at PAOK during the 2025/2026 season was an attempt to regain more regular playing time through a change of environment. UEFA documentation confirms that Ivanušec was part of PAOK's Europa League squad, a competition in which the Greek club reached the knockout play-offs. After the loan ended, he returned to Rotterdam, but at the beginning of September 2026 Feyenoord clearly announced that it would allow him to leave so that he could find an environment with better prospects for playing time. Such a development gave Dinamo an opportunity to bring the player back without negotiations over a transfer fee. For Ivanušec, on the other hand, returning to Zagreb is an opportunity to rebuild his competitive rhythm and the role he had before moving abroad within a familiar system.
His Dutch and Greek spells also change the profile of the player returning to Dinamo. In the summer of 2019, he arrived as a young Croatian talent from Lokomotiva, whereas he now returns as a 27-year-old with experience from three different leagues, two additional dressing rooms and new European appearances. That does not automatically guarantee a return to the form of his best seasons in Zagreb, but it broadens the range of experience he can offer the team. In its official presentation, Dinamo highlighted precisely his maturity and versatility as important elements of his second spell. Ivanušec himself also emphasized that he wants to help younger players, suggesting that greater responsibility is expected from him beyond simply goals and assists.
Number 17 and a return to a familiar tactical role
One of the symbolic details of the return is number 17. Dinamo confirmed that Ivanušec will once again wear the same number with which he began his first spell at the club. Although it is a detail with no direct impact on results, in this case it additionally emphasizes the continuity between the two periods of his career. A much more important question is in which position Dinamo will use him most. In its official text, the club recalls him as a player who previously played as a central midfielder, winger and attacking midfielder, so his arrival gives the coach the possibility of various solutions depending on the opponent and the structure of the team.
During Dinamo's best periods, Ivanušec's value was not limited only to his finishing. He could receive the ball between the opposition's lines, connect midfield and attack, move from a wide position towards the centre or participate in pressing after possession was lost. Returning to an environment where such qualities are already known may shorten the adaptation period, but his actual role will depend on his physical condition, form and competition for a place in the team. After a period of less stable playing time abroad, the most important sporting task will be to re-establish continuity of matches at a high level. Only then will it be possible to assess how close he is to the version of the player who earned a transfer to Feyenoord in 2023.
The return also has an international dimension. In its announcement regarding the transfer, the Croatian Football Federation states that Ivanušec has made 22 appearances and scored two goals for the Croatian senior national team. Since he is a player who has already been part of the national-team squad on the big stage, regular club appearances could once again increase his visibility in the competition for a call-up. However, a possible return to a more stable role with the national team will primarily depend on his performances after joining Dinamo, the competition in attacking positions and the decisions of the national-team coach. In that sense, a second spell at Maksimir is not only a return to a familiar club for Ivanušec, but also an important phase of his career during the years generally regarded in football as the peak of a player's maturity.
Dinamo gained a familiar face with European experience
For Dinamo, this deal carries a different type of risk from the transfer of a player arriving at the club for the first time. Ivanušec knows the dressing room, the stadium, the demands of the Croatian league and the way pressure increases in European qualifiers and major matches. At the same time, the past three years have brought enough changes that the return cannot be viewed as a simple continuation of the story interrupted in 2023. The player must once again earn his status on the pitch, while the club must assess in which position and role he can offer the most. His previous statistics at Dinamo provide a strong reference point, but not an automatic guarantee that his second spell will follow the same course.
The financial aspect is also important. Since Feyenoord officially terminated its contract with Ivanušec, Dinamo was able to register him as a free agent, without negotiations over a transfer fee with the Dutch club. On the other hand, details of his new contract, including salary and possible bonuses, were not published in Dinamo's official confirmation. Croatian media report a three-year contract with an option for an additional season, but that information should be distinguished from what the clubs officially confirmed. In the publicly available announcements from Dinamo and Feyenoord, the key facts are the return to Zagreb, the prior mutual termination in Rotterdam and the fact that the contract in the Netherlands had originally been valid until the middle of 2028.
For Dinamo supporters, the return also carries strong sporting symbolism because a player associated with a series of European nights that marked the club's previous period is coming back. For Ivanušec himself, however, what follows from September 2026 will be more important: training sessions, the fight for a place in the squad and the attempt to restore continuity. Dinamo presented him as a more experienced player who is still entering the best years of his career, while he said that he knows the team well and believes in its potential in Croatia and Europe. After three years in Rotterdam and Thessaloniki, his professional path thus returns once again to Zagreb, the place from which he set out for Dutch football in 2023.
Sources:
- GNK Dinamo Zagreb – official confirmation of Luka Ivanušec's return, shirt number, statistics from his first spell, trophies and player statement (link)
- Feyenoord – official confirmation of the mutual termination of the contract, duration of the previous contract and Ivanušec's statistics at the club (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – confirmation of the return to Dinamo and information on appearances and goals for the Croatian national team (link)
- UEFA – information on Ivanušec's move from Lokomotiva to Dinamo in 2019 and the context of Dinamo's European appearances (link)
- UEFA – official information on Dinamo's victory against Chelsea and Ivanušec's appearance in the starting line-up (link)
- UEFA – information on PAOK's 2025/2026 Europa League season and Ivanušec's appearances in the European competition (link)
- Sportnet – information about an alleged three-year contract with an extension option, with a note that the duration was not published in Dinamo's official confirmation (link)