Early years and Stuttgart Szalai started his career in his hometown of
Budapest, playing for
Budapest Honvéd FC and
Újpest FC. In 2004, he moved to Germany to complete his development, spending two years at the youth academy of
VfB Stuttgart. Szalai made his senior debut in the
2006–07 season, playing with
the reserves in
Regionalliga Süd.
Real Madrid Castilla In August 2007, Szalai was transferred to
Real Madrid Castilla, the
reserve team of
Real Madrid, for approximately €500.000. In his
second season in the
Segunda División B – the only tier in which he competed during his spell in Spain – he scored 16 goals in 37 games, but the side could only rank sixth, thus missing out on
the playoffs.
Mainz On 9 January 2010, Real Madrid loaned Szalai to
1. FSV Mainz 05 until June. He made his
Bundesliga debut seven days later, coming on as a 63rd-minute
substitute in a 4–2 away loss against
Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Szalai scored his first goal for Mainz in a 1–0 home win over
Borussia Dortmund on 10 April 2010. He netted his second against
FC Bayern Munich on 25 September in a 2–1 away victory, with a powerful shot into the top corner in what was the
Rhineland-Palatinate club's sixth consecutive win of
the season, in an eventual run of seven. On 29 January 2011, at
1. FC Kaiserslautern, the player sustained a
knee injury –
cruciate ligament – which sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign. On 22 January 2012, Szalai returned to action with Mainz after his injury, playing the second half of a 3–2 defeat at Leverkusen. On 1 August he signed a contract extension with the club running until June 2015 and, on 27 October, scored his first
hat-trick for the team in a 3–0 home defeat of
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. On 10 February 2013, Szalai scored his 12th goal of
the campaign against
FC Augsburg, thereby becoming the most productive Hungarian goalscorer in a single German top-division season, surpassing both
Lajos Détári and
Vasile Miriuță, whom netted 11 for
Eintracht Frankfurt in
1987–88 and
FC Energie Cottbus in
2000–01 respectively. On 15 April,
Sky Sports published an article on the player where
Horst Heldt,
general manager of
FC Schalke 04, reportedly showed interest in signing him, pending the club's
qualification for the
UEFA Champions League in order to fund the transfer.
Schalke 04 On 27 June 2013, Szalai signed a four-year contract with Schalke. After making his official debut against amateurs
FC Nöttingen in the
first round of the
DFB-Pokal, he played his first league match against
Hamburger SV, scoring the hosts' last goal in a 3–3 draw after a shot from
Christian Clemens was poorly handled by
René Adler. Szalai was instrumental in helping his team reach the group stage of the Champions League. After a 1–1 draw in the first leg against
PAOK FC he grabbed a brace in the second match in
Thessaloniki (3–2 win), and played the full 90 minutes on both occasions.
Hoffenheim in 2019 On 3 July 2014, Szalai was transferred to Hoffenheim for €6 million. Sporting director Alexander Rosen said that he fitted into the club's style. He made his debut for his new team against Augsburg, opened the scoring in a 2–0 home win and was voted "Player of the Day" on the Bundesliga website. Szalai was
sent off for the first time in his career on 22 November 2014 after committing a foul on
Dante in the 90th minute of the league fixture against Bayern Munich at the
Allianz Arena, being banned for two matches by the
German Football Association. On 12 December, he replaced
Anthony Modeste at the hour-mark of a home game with
Eintracht Frankfurt; he scored the 2–2 equaliser three minutes later, and in the 87th he provided an
assist with his ankle for
Roberto Firmino's winner. On 4 January 2016, after being linked to a host of clubs, Szalai continued in Germany by being loaned out to
Hannover 96 for the remainder of
the campaign.
Return to Mainz On 27 August 2019, Szalai rejoined Mainz on a
free transfer and a two-year contract. Mainly a reserve in his second spell at the
Mewa Arena, he netted only four times in all competitions.
Basel On 16 February 2022, Szalai joined
FC Basel until June 2023 after severing his ties with Mainz. He scored on his
Swiss Super League debut three days later, in a 3–0 home victory against
FC Lausanne-Sport. Szalai's contract was terminated by mutual consent on 29 January 2023. In July, he announced his retirement aged 35. ==International career==