Levski Sofia Talented Mihaylov started as a youngster with home country top team
Levski Sofia, making his full 90 minutes debut at the age of just 17 in the UEFA cup match against Auxerre. He nevertheless was not popular with their fans. Mihaylov's poor performances in some matches, particularly his blunder in the
Champions League game against
Werder Bremen on 31 October 2006, provoked a negative campaign among Levski supporters who associated his career with protection from his influential father.
Liverpool In June 2007, he almost joined
ACF Fiorentina, but was instead transferred to Liverpool on a three-year contract, with an option for a further two years. Mihaylov was acquired by Liverpool as a talent, who might become their first team keeper in the future, as at that time Liverpool's first choice keeper was
Pepe Reina, with
Charles Itandje as back up. By 14 July it became clear that the transfer had hit a problem; Mihaylov would not qualify for a British work permit. Mihaylov played the full 90 minutes in the return leg and was not at fault for the
Portuguese side's
last-minute equalizing goal, which allowed
Sporting CP to advance on the
away goals rule. FC Twente had become impressed with Mihaylov, not only his talent, but also his progress convinced them. And after several years of being loaned out to Twente, on 5 February 2010 he officially was transferred for a fee of €1.8 million from
Liverpool to Twente. He signed a contract for three years with the Dutch club. In the 2010–11 season, he established himself as the starting goalkeeper for Twente. Having played in the Champions League, Mihaylov impressed with great appearances in the competition that season, among others by stopping a penalty-shot. In the Champions League FC Twente drew to play against his "nightmare" club
Werder Bremen, as it were mentioned by the Bulgarian media. He only conceded one goal in the two matches played against Werder. With further appearances against
Tottenham Hotspur and the previous year's
Champions League winner
Inter Milan in the group, Twente managed on their debut in the Champions League nevertheless to end at third place, allowing continuation in the
UEFA Europa League. Twente was defeated in the quarterfinals by
Villarreal, after having defeated
Rubin Kazan and
Zenit Saint Petersburg. Mihaylov was quoted saying that Liverpool now had retained an option to buy him back from Twente, as he had played enough games for his native country's national team to qualify for a work permit. On 23 December 2011, Mihaylov attended a ceremony in
Sofia, where he was honoured with the
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award (
Stiliyan Petrov and
Dimitar Berbatov came second and third respectively). The last Bulgarian goalkeeper to have received this distinction is his father
Borislav. He made his debut in a 3–0 home win over
Kemer Tekirovaspor in the
Turkish Cup on 29 September. His
Süper Lig debut came on 22 November, in a 2–2 away draw against
Akhisar Belediyespor. On 27 December, Mihaylov played his second league game in a 1–0 loss against
Fenerbahçe at
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, in which he saved a penalty from
Diego.
Omonia In December 2017, Mihaylov signed a contract with
Cypriot club
Omonia until the end of the season.
Return to Levski Sofia On 26 November 2018, Mihaylov returned to Levski Sofia, signing a contract till the end of the season with an option to be extended for two more years. He quickly became the first choice goalkeeper, but lost his status shortly after the arrival of
Milan Mijatović. He regained his place for the first half of season 2020-21 due to Mijatović's departure in the summer of 2020. == International career ==