CSKA Sofia in November 2010 Born in
Elin Pelin,
Sofia Province, Tonev was raised in
CSKA Sofia's youth teams. He made his first team debut in a 3–1 league win over
Belasitsa Petrich on 8 March 2008, coming on as a substitute for
Chigozie Udoji. Tonev got his chance in CSKA's first team after the sale of many players in the summer of 2008. He played in the club's first fixture in the 2008–09 season against
Litex Lovech on 3 August 2008. His team won the game and won the
Bulgarian Supercup for the third time. After
Lyuboslav Penev replaced
Dimitar Penev as head coach of
CSKA Sofia, Tonev appeared in the match groups more often and often came in as a substitute for his team. On 22 April 2009, Tonev scored his first 2 goals for CSKA, securing a brace in the 4–1 away win against
Vihren Sandanski. He was loaned to
OFC Sliven 2000 for the 2009–10 season, where he was likely to receive more chances to play. He was recalled from his loan to the team from
Sliven for the 2010–11 season.
Lech Poznań On 16 June 2011 Tonev signed with
Polish Ekstraklasa club
Lech Poznań. He made his debut on 29 July 2011, coming on in 75th minute, replacing
Jakub Wilk in a game against
ŁKS Łódź.
Lech Poznań won the game 5–0. On 26 July 2012, Tonev scored his first ever European goal, netting the only goal in a 1–0 home victory over
Azerbaijani club
Khazar Lankaran in the second qualifying round of
Europa League. On 25 August, Tonev netted his first
Ekstraklasa goal of the
2012–13 season as he scored a 25-yard winning strike in a 2–1 away victory over
Polonia Warsaw.
Aston Villa On 7 June 2013, Tonev signed for
Aston Villa as their first signing of the pre-season. He was recommended by former international teammate
Stiliyan Petrov, a development coach at the club. He made his debut on 13 August, replacing
Karim El Ahmadi for the final eight minutes of a 2–1 defeat away to
Chelsea, making 17
Premier League appearances in total throughout the season.
Celtic On 11 August 2014, Tonev moved to Scottish champions
Celtic on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy. He made his debut on 13 September, starting in a 2–1 home win over
Aberdeen. Aberdeen full-back
Shay Logan accused Tonev of having racially abused him during this match; Tonev denies the allegations. On 30 October 2014, Tonev was given a seven-match ban for "using abusive language of a racist nature". Celtic confirmed that they would appeal the decision, as they believe him to be innocent. Tonev then lost his appeal and Celtic decided not to take the matter any further.
Frosinone On 27 August 2015, Tonev joined
Serie A newcomers
Frosinone on a permanent deal. He played his first game three days later, coming on as a substitute for
Luca Paganini in a 2–0 loss against
Atalanta at
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.
Crotone On 16 July 2016, Tonev joined
Serie A newcomers
Crotone. He scored his first goal for the club in a 0–1 away win over
Pescara on 7 May 2017.
Retirement Tonev announced his retirement from football in March 2022, 20 months after his last official game and started his own construction business. == International career ==