Early career Džeko began his career at
Željezničar, playing as a midfielder between 2003 and 2005, but with little success playing in that position. He was regarded as too tall, and with poor technical abilities. Džeko's coach at the time though,
Jiří Plíšek, saw his potential and when Plíšek returned home, he advised
Teplice to buy him. Željezničar accepted a bid of just €25,000 for Džeko, one of Željezničar's directors saying years later, "[we] thought we won the lottery". Džeko had a
loan spell with
Ústí nad Labem in 2005, during which he scored six goals in 15 games. Later that year, he moved back to Teplice, staying there until 2007. With 13 goals in 30 games, he was the second-top goalscorer of the
Czech League in the
2006–07 season. Due to his performances,
VfL Wolfsburg manager
Felix Magath signed him for €4 million.
VfL Wolfsburg title with
VfL Wolfsburg After moving to Wolfsburg, Džeko scored five goals and recorded three assists in his first 11 games: he was named by
Sportal as the best striker in the first half of the 2007–08
Bundesliga season. During his first season in Germany, Wolfsburg finished in fifth place, qualifying for a
UEFA Cup spot for the following season. Džeko finished the
2007–08 season with eight goals and seven assists in 17 games started. After Wolfsburg acquired fellow Bosnian international
Zvjezdan Misimović in July 2008, Džeko's performances improved significantly. During the first half of the
2008–09 Bundesliga season Džeko scored five goals and added seven assists, but after the winter break he added 21 goals and three more assists. This upturn was especially visible during their ten-game winning streak from 7 February to 26 April, in which he scored 11 goals and added an assist. In May 2009 Džeko scored a
hat-trick against
Hoffenheim, and did so again two weeks later against
Hannover 96, contributing 26 goals and 10 assists overall in 32 league matches. His goal tally was second only to teammate
Grafite, with whom he formed the most successful strike duo in Bundesliga history; Misimović, the team's main assist and key pass provider, himself broke a longstanding Bundesliga record for assists by setting up 20 goals, Wolfsburg ended the season as
Bundesliga champions for the first time in the club's history; they finished two points clear of
Bayern Munich, the key match being the meeting between them on the 26th matchday which finished 5–1, Džeko and Grafite scoring two goals each in an impressive performance (the latter added his second and the team's fifth with a memorable dribble and
backheel). and retained the position for the rest of the season to take the title. Despite attracting interest from
A.C. Milan Džeko decided to stay, renewing his contract until June 2013. He scored his first
UEFA Champions League goal on 30 September 2009 against
Manchester United in a 2–1 defeat at
Old Trafford. He was one of 30 players nominated for the
2009 Ballon d'Or. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in the
2009–10 season with 22 goals. On 28 August 2010, Džeko became the top league scorer in Wolfsburg's history with 59 goals in 96 appearances, surpassing
Diego Klimowicz who scored 57 in 149 games. At the winter break stage of the
2010–11 Bundesliga season, Džeko had scored 10 goals in 17 matches.
Manchester City After heavy speculation,
Roberto Mancini, manager of
Manchester City, confirmed on 3 January 2011 that a fee of £27 million (€32 million) had been agreed with Wolfsburg for Džeko, which was City's second highest transfer figure, after
Robinho's £32.5 million (€42.5 million) move from
Real Madrid in 2008. The transfer fee was the sixth highest in the
Premier League history at the time. Also, the sum broke the Bundesliga record departure transfer fee, Bosnian record transfer fee, as well as that of any player from
former Yugoslavia at the time. The previous ex-Yugoslav record stood for more than a decade – the transfer fee paid by Real Madrid to
Fenerbahçe for
Elvir Baljić in 1999 (€26 million). In August 2014 he signed a new four-year deal with the club, taking his contract up to 2018.
2010–11 season with
Manchester City Following his medical examination in London, he travelled to Manchester on 5 January, and on 7 January, Džeko was confirmed as a Manchester City player, joining the club on a four-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut for the club in a 4–3 win over
Wolverhampton Wanderers on 15 January in which he set up
Yaya Touré for the third goal of the match. Džeko marked his
FA Cup debut on 30 January 2011 with the equalising goal in Manchester City's fourth round match against
Notts County which ended in a 1–1 draw. In the replay on 20 February, Džeko again scored, helping Manchester City progress to the next round with a 5–0. Džeko scored twice against
Aris Thessaloniki within four and a half minutes at the
Etihad Stadium in the second leg of the last 32 of the
UEFA Europa League on 24 February 2011. On 25 April 2011, Džeko scored his first Premier League goal with a right footed finish against
Blackburn Rovers at
Ewood Park. This was the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win for Manchester City His last goal was against
Bolton Wanderers on the final day of the season and guaranteed City third place in the
Premier League over
Arsenal and automatic qualification into the group stage of the
2011–12 UEFA Champions League. On 14 May 2011, Džeko was an unused substitute in Manchester City's 1–0 win over
Stoke City the
2011 FA Cup Final, winning his first trophy with the club.
2011–12 season Džeko started his second season with City by scoring the team's second goal in a
2–3 defeat against
Manchester United in the
FA Community Shield. In his third
Premier League game of this season, Džeko
scored four goals against
Tottenham. His tally of six league goals in three games won him the
Premier League Player of the Month award for August. Further on, he grabbed some important goals such as a header against
Wigan Athletic that sealed a 1–0 win for City and extended their lead over title rivals Manchester United to three points, and a goal that put Manchester City 2–0 up against
Porto in the
Europa League, as they won 6–1 on aggregate. He also scored a headed goal against Blackburn Rovers, which put Manchester City 3–0 up, and sealed the game, this subsequently maintained City's narrow two-point margin over Manchester United. Bosnia and Herzegovina national manager
Safet Sušić urged Džeko to leave City at the end of the season because of lack of first-team football towards the end of the season, with the likes of
Juventus and
Bayern Munich interested. On the final day of the season, Džeko scored a 92nd-minute equaliser before
Sergio Agüero scored in the 94th minute to beat
Queens Park Rangers 3–2 and secure the
Premier League title, the club's first in 44 years.
2012–13 season , Džeko and
David Silva with Manchester City in 2013 Džeko began the new
2012–13 season with an equalising goal against
Southampton in a 3–2 win. He scored another goal against Queens Park Rangers taking his tally to two goals in the opening three games. He then scored the first goal of City's
Champions League campaign against
Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu. On 29 September, he scored an 87th-minute winner away at
Fulham, one minute after appearing as a substitute. On 20 October, he came off the bench in the 79th minute to score a minute later. He scored a second goal two minutes into stoppage time to seal a comeback win for 10-man City against
West Bromwich. On 11 November, Džeko scored another late winning goal as a substitute with a left-footed volley in the 88th minute against Tottenham Hotspur. On 29 December 2012, he scored two goals against
Norwich City in a 4–3 victory. He finished the season with 14 goals in the
Premier League and 15 overall.
2013–14 season On the opening day of the
2013–14 Premier League season, Džeko was selected to start by a new manager
Manuel Pellegrini against
Newcastle United at the
City of Manchester Stadium. He scored his first goal in a 3–2 defeat at
Cardiff City. Džeko scored his 50th goal in England with an only goal of the game against
Crystal Palace on 28 December 2013. On 25 March 2014, Džeko scored twice in a 3–0
Manchester Derby win against Manchester United. His first goal came after just 43 seconds, making it the fastest away goal scored at
Old Trafford in Premier League history. On 27 April, he scored City's first goal of a 2–0 defeat of Crystal Palace at
Selhurst Park, closing the gap on league leaders Liverpool to three points with a game in hand. He scored a brace in City's match at
Everton on 3 May, helping City to a 3–2 win and lift the club to the top of the table with two matches left. His second goal of the game was Man City 150th goal in all competitions. In City's penultimate game of the season against
Aston Villa, Džeko scored two second-half goals as City won 4–0, ensuring that the club would be crowned champions with a draw against
West Ham United at home on the final day, which City eventually won.
2014–15 season On 17 August 2014, Džeko assisted
David Silva for Manchester City's first goal of the
2014–15 season in a 2–0 defeat of Newcastle United. On 20 August, Džeko signed a new four-year contract with the club, tying him to Manchester City until 2018. On 24 September, Džeko scored his first two goals of the season as Manchester City beat
Sheffield Wednesday 7–0 in the third round of the
Football League Cup. On 27 September, he again scored twice in Manchester City's 4–2 win away to Hull City to record his first goals of the
Premier League season. On 21 February 2015, Džeko ended a run of 15 matches without a goal by scoring Manchester City's third goal in a 5–0 home victory against Newcastle United.
Roma After months of speculation during the 2015 summer transfer market, Džeko officially signed for
Serie A outfit
Roma on 12 August 2015, on a €4 million loan with an €11 million option to buy that would become mandatory after certain performance related goals were met. These clauses were activated on 1 October 2015, making Džeko a permanent member of Roma.
2015–16 season He made his
Serie A debut ten days after his move from Manchester City, playing the entirety of a 1–1 draw at
Hellas Verona, and in his second appearance on 30 August, he scored the winning goal in the 79th minute to defeat reigning champions
Juventus 2–1 at the
Stadio Olimpico. On 21 February 2016, he scored his first
brace for Roma, scoring the first and last goals in a 5–0 win over
Palermo.
2016–17 season After a relatively disappointing first season with the club, in which Džeko scored only 8 Serie A and 10 goals in all competitions for Roma, he started the
2016–17 season with 12 goals in 15 games, 17 goals in 20 overall, thus equaling the start of the season that
Gabriel Batistuta had, in which he won the league title with Roma. On 24 November 2016, he scored a
hat-trick in the Europa League, in a 4–1 win over
Viktoria Plzeň. On 16 February 2017, he also scored a hat-trick in the first leg of a Europa League match against
Villarreal, which Roma won 4–0. On 12 March 2017, he became the fourth Roma player to reach 30 goals in all competitions in a season. On 1 April 2017, Džeko became the first Roma player ever to reach 33 goals in a season in all competitions, surpassing the previous record of 32 goals jointly held by
Rodolfo Volk and
Francesco Totti. He ended the season with a tally of 39 goals in all competitions of which his 29 goals in Serie A made him the
Capocannoniere for that season becoming the first Bosnian player to do so.
2017–18 season Džeko started his third season at the Roman club with six goals in first five league games. He scored his first goal of the season against
Inter Milan on 26 August 2017, which Roma lost 1–3. In the next two games, he scored two braces, against
Verona and
Benevento. He continued his goalscoring form by opening the score against
A.C. Milan on 1 October, in a 2–0 win away at
San Siro. On 9 October, Džeko was one of 30 players to be nominated for the
2017 Ballon d'Or prize by French newspaper
France Football. Džeko then scored a brace against
Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge on 19 October. The game ended in a 3–3 draw. His next big game of the season came against
Napoli, in which he scored a brace and helped his team to a 4–2 victory. Džeko also helped Roma reach
UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by scoring the winning goal against
Shakhtar Donetsk. Džeko was instrumental in Roma's qualification to
UEFA Champions League semi-finals, their first in over 30 years. He scored in both quarter-final legs against
Barcelona, which Roma won on away goals. In the semi-finals, Džeko scored in both legs, but it wasn't enough, as Roma were eventually eliminated by
Liverpool 6–7 on aggregate. Džeko ended the season with 24 goals, 16 of which he scored in Serie A, making him club's best goalscorer in the league and joint sixth overall. He also added 8 goals in Champions League, which meant he ended as competition's fifth best goalscorer.
2018–19 season against
CSKA Moscow in November 2018 Džeko started his fourth season with Roma by scoring a winning goal away at
Torino on 19 August. Džeko scored his first
UEFA Champions League hat-trick on 2 October when he again put three past
Viktoria Plzeň, in the
2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage. He became the first Bosnian to score a hat-trick in the top European club competition. On 13 April 2019, Džeko scored his 8th goal in the league against
Udinese in the 68th minute, giving Roma a win. He scored his 9th league goal for Roma on 12 May 2019, in a 2–0 home win against league champions
Juventus in the 90+3rd minute.
2019–20 season During pre-season of the
2019–20 season, Džeko extended his contract with Roma until June 2022 on 16 August 2019. He scored his first official goal for the club in the new season on 25 August 2019, in a 3–3 home league draw against
Genoa. On 22 September 2019, Džeko scored a 93rd minute goal in Roma's 1–2 away league win over
Bologna. In a game against
Cagliari on 6 October 2019, Džeko fractured his
zygomatic bone (cheekbone), needing to go get
surgery and afterwards wear a protective mask in some of his first games after the recovery. He scored his 5th goal in the season for Roma in the club's 2–1 home league win against
Milan on 27 October 2019. With a goal in a
UEFA Europa League game against
Wolfsberg on 12 December 2019, which Roma drew 2–2, Džeko helped his team qualify for the
last 16 of the
2019–20 UEFA Europa League season. He made his 200th appearance for the club in Roma's 3–1 home league win against
S.P.A.L. on 15 December 2019.
Inter Milan 2021–22 season On 14 August 2021, Džeko joined
Serie A club
Inter Milan, but without being officially introduced he played a
friendly match against Ukrainian club
Dynamo Kyiv after being named in the starting line-up, and scored his side's second goal during a 3–0 home win. Later that day, Inter announced that he had signed a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Genoa. In his first season with the club, he scored 13 goals in 36 Serie A matches, and totally 17 goals and assisted 10 more in all competitions in 49 matches.
2022–23 season On 4 January 2023, Džeko scored the only goal of the match against championship leaders Napoli, giving them their first league defeat for the 2022–23 season. Fourteen days later, he scored in the 3–0 win over Milan in the
2022 Supercoppa Italiana and was named Man of the Match; with this goal he became the oldest goalscorer (36 years and 307 days) of the competition, breaking the previous record set by
Cristiano Ronaldo (35 years and 350 days) in
2020. On 10 May 2023, Džeko scored a volley in a 2–0 win over Milan in the
Champions League semifinals, and in doing so at the age of 37 years and 54 days, he became the second oldest player to score in the semifinals of the UCL, after
Ryan Giggs (37 years and 148 days in April 2011). On 3 June 2023, Džeko played his 100th Inter match in all competitions in a 1–0 away win over
Torino in the last matchday of Serie A. On 10 June, he was in the starting eleven in Inter's
UEFA Champions League final against his former side Manchester City. Džeko was substituted for
Romelu Lukaku in the 57th minute. City eventually beat Inter 1–0 at the
Atatürk Olympic Stadium in
Istanbul to win the Champions League. Later that month, it was confirmed that Džeko would leave the club after two seasons, during which he won four trophies, scored 31 goals and assisted 15 more in all competitions.
Fenerbahçe 2023–24 season On 22 June 2023,
Süper Lig side
Fenerbahçe announced that Džeko arrived in Istanbul to complete his transfer to Turkey. He signed a two-year contract on the same day. A month later, on 26 July, he made his debut for the club as the captain, in which he scored a goal and provided two assists in their 5–0 win over
Zimbru Chișinău in the
Europa Conference League second qualifying round, becoming at 37 years Fenerbahçe oldest player and goalscorer in European competitions. On 13 August, he made his Süper Lig debut against
Gaziantep at the
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win for Fenerbahce. On 29 October, he scored his first Süper Lig hat-trick in a 5–0 away win against
Pendikspor. He concluded his debut season as Fenerbahçe's top scorer with 21 goals, ranking second in the league, just behind
Mauro Icardi.
2024–25 season In his second season with the club, he made a very strong start with new coach
José Mourinho. On 23 July 2024, he made his season debut against
Lugano in an
UEFA Europa League second qualifying round away game, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–3 win for Fenerbahçe.
Fiorentina On 19 June 2025, Džeko returned to Serie A, joining
Fiorentina on a one-year deal with an option to extend for a second season. On 23 October 2025, he scored Fiorentina's second goal in a 3–0 win at
Rapid Wien, aged 39 years and 220 days, becoming the oldest scorer in
UEFA Conference League history.
Schalke 04 On 22 January 2026, German
2. Bundesliga side
Schalke 04 confirmed that they signed Džeko until the end of the season. Three days later, he made his debut as a substitute, scoring a goal in a 2–2 draw with
Kaiserslautern, becoming the oldest player to score in the 2. Bundesliga, aged 39 years and 314 days, breaking the previous record of
Helmut Haller. ==International career==