Marko Livaja close to leaving Hajduk: disciplinary case in Bled opens the end of a great era at Poljud
Marko Livaja left Hajduk's preparations in Bled earlier than planned and returned to Split after the club announced that the decision had been made because of a breach of the club's disciplinary regulations and failure to respect the rules during the training camp. According to the official announcement from the Split club, the public will be informed of further decisions in due time, while the club emphasized that Livaja is "pricelessly important" to Hajduk, the supporters and everyone who follows the club. Still, such wording did not soften the weight of the message: the captain and the team's most recognizable player has been removed from the training camp immediately before the start of European obligations and the new domestic season. According to information published by Croatian sports media on June 29, 2026, the club is also considering a scenario in which the forward would be allowed to look for a new environment as a free player, without payment of compensation. That part of the outcome has not yet been confirmed in a new official statement by Hajduk, but several sources state that the relationship between the player and the club leadership has entered its most sensitive phase since Livaja returned to Poljud.
The club confirmed the departure from preparations, but did not publish the details
On Sunday evening, June 28, 2026, Hajduk announced that Marko Livaja was leaving the preparations in Bled earlier than planned. The club statement said that the decision was connected with a breach of the disciplinary regulations and the rules that applied to the team during its stay in Slovenia. The club did not publish a detailed description of the incident, did not state whether an internal procedure had been initiated, and did not specify whether the decision applied only to the preparations or also to Livaja's further status in the first team. Such caution in official communication left room for numerous interpretations, especially because this is a player who for years had an exceptionally strong sporting, symbolic and emotional significance for Hajduk. The official message that the decision was made "with only one interest - Hajduk in first place" shows that the club tried to present the move as an institutional, not a personal decision, but its consequences could be far-reaching for the dressing room, the supporters' atmosphere and the transfer window.
According to Večernji list and tportal, which cite information from Dalmatinski portal, tensions developed after a team gathering during the preparations. Those media outlets state that some players went for a drink after a team-building event and that the club found out about it, after which sporting director Robert Graf, according to the same reports, reacted very strictly. Coach Gonzalo Garcia allegedly sanctioned the involved players the next day with an additional running task, namely running laps, while Livaja, according to unofficial information, reacted heatedly to such a decision. A verbal argument with Garcia and Graf followed, after which it was assessed that the captain had to leave the preparations. Since the club has not presented its own chronology of events, those claims still have the status of media information, and the final description of what happened can be given only by the club or the direct participants.
A scenario without compensation would be an exceptional twist
According to tportal and Jutarnji list, Hajduk is ready to allow Livaja to leave without compensation, that is, to give him the freedom to find a new club on his own. If that scenario is formally confirmed, it would be an exceptional twist because Livaja has a contract with Hajduk until the summer of 2027, which the club announced when the cooperation was extended in 2022. Under normal market circumstances, a player of such status, output and recognizability would be an important transfer asset, especially in the summer transfer window. A decision to let him go without compensation would mean that the club is giving priority to dressing-room stability, discipline and a new sporting framework, even at the cost of losing potential income. Precisely because of that, this situation goes beyond an ordinary internal breach and turns into a test of the way Hajduk wants to manage its most important players in the new period.
Such an outcome would also differ from earlier cases of players whom the club gave the opportunity to look for a new environment because they were not being seriously counted on for the coming season. In Livaja's case, this is not a marginal member of the squad, but the captain, the top scorer of the modern era and a player who in a large part of the public was identified with Hajduk's sporting ambitions. For that reason, a departure without compensation would have a double effect: in sporting terms, it would open a major question of replacing the forward around whom the game had been built for years, and in communication terms, it would send the message that club rules stand above the status of an individual. That is a message many modern clubs want to send at turning points, but in practice it is most difficult to apply precisely to the most important players. According to the available information, Hajduk now finds itself exactly at such a point.
The numbers explain why the departure resonates so strongly
Livaja's significance for Hajduk does not arise only from the supporters' impression, but also from the official numbers. According to the club profile of the player, Marko Livaja has made 202 appearances in the white shirt, scored 104 goals and added 61 assists. On the club's all-time list of official appearances he is in 45th place, and by number of goals he is among the ten best scorers in Hajduk's history. These data explain why every decision about his status is more than a technical squad issue. He is a player who directly shaped results with his output, but also a person whose return in 2021 changed the mood around the club, raised expectations and once again strongly connected the stands with the first team.
His individual level has also been confirmed outside the club framework. According to the announcement by SuperSport HNL and the Croatian Football Federation on the awards for the 2024/2025 season, Livaja won the award for top scorer with 19 goals, was also linked with the award for best goal of the season, and in the selections he was among the league's most prominent individuals. Hajduk's official announcement from May 2025 additionally emphasized that Livaja was the first player in the history of the elite tier of the Croatian championship to be the competition's top scorer three times. Such achievements give additional weight to the current case, because a potential departure would not mean only a change in the dressing room, but also the loss of a player who for years set the standard of attacking production in the league. In that case, Hajduk would have to find a new solution very quickly for goals, creativity and authority in the final third of the pitch.
Garcia and Graf are trying to impose a new framework
The current context is additionally important because Hajduk is going through a period in which the new sporting structure is trying to set a clearer working model. Gonzalo Garcia is leading the team during preparations, and Robert Graf was officially appointed sporting director in April 2026, after arriving from Polish football. According to Hajduk's announcement on his appointment, Graf took over the role after mutually terminating his contract with LKS Lodz, where he served as vice president for sport. In such an environment, the question of discipline during preparations has a broader meaning than one incident. The new sporting director and coach are clearly trying to establish rules of conduct and a hierarchy in which decisions of the coaching staff are not questioned in front of the rest of the team.
For a club that in recent years has often lived between great ambitions, strong supporter energy and sporting disappointments, the establishment of firm internal rules can be an attempt to create a different culture. But that attempt becomes extremely sensitive when it collides with a player of Livaja's status. In modern professional football, coaches and sporting directors often emphasize that discipline is not directed against an individual, but toward creating equal criteria for all members of the dressing room. At the same time, teams rarely remain emotionally untouched when such decisions are made about the captain and the most popular player. That is why the reaction of the rest of the squad, the way of communicating with supporters and any explanation of the next steps will be crucial for whether the case will be understood as a necessary cut or as the beginning of a deeper crisis.
The preparations were interrupted at an awkward moment
Hajduk began the central part of preparations for the new season in Slovenia, and according to the club announcement of June 22, 2026, coach Garcia took 24 players to Bled, including Livaja. The club had earlier stated that the team would stay in Bled until July 1 and that the first official match in the 1st qualifying round for the Europa League was scheduled for July 9. The club's official website then announced that Hajduk would play against Žilina in that European round, with the first match at Poljud on July 9 and the return leg in Slovakia on July 16. This means that the disciplinary case occurred at a moment when the coaching staff had very little time to stabilize the game, practice new ideas and finally shape the squad. Any shock in the dressing room at that stage of preparations can have a direct effect on planning the start of the season.
In sporting terms, a possible departure of Livaja would open a series of urgent questions. Hajduk would have to decide whether it will look for a direct replacement for the forward, whether the existing squad will redistribute responsibility in attack, or whether it will change the way it plays. Livaja was not only the final finisher; he often took the ball between the lines, dropped deep to receive passes, opened space for teammates and decided matches that had no clear rhythm from set pieces or individual moves. Losing such a profile changes the mechanics of the team, especially in European qualifiers in which one detail can decide a two-legged tie. Precisely for that reason, the club's sporting reaction will be just as important as the disciplinary decision that triggered the crisis.
The supporter and market impact could be great
For many Hajduk supporters, Livaja was more than a forward. His return to Poljud created the feeling that the club could attract a player who chose emotional and sporting connection over an easier market path. In the years that followed he became the face of the team, the captain and the player whose goals often carried the greatest symbolic value. For that reason, the current case cannot remain only within the framework of professional discipline, however much the club has the right to insist on rules. Supporters' reactions, comments by sports media and debates about whether the club acted correctly will show how deeply Livaja's status is rooted in the identity of modern Hajduk. In such situations, sporting results often become the fastest way to calm tensions, but also the fastest trigger for their further spread.
If Livaja really becomes a free player, market interest would be a logical consequence. He is an experienced forward with international experience in Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Spain and Greece, which is also confirmed by his official profile on Hajduk's website. His style of play, reputation and statistics could be interesting to clubs looking for an attacking player ready to immediately take responsibility. At the same time, a potential new club would also have to assess the broader context of the current separation, because disciplinary cases always carry the question of fitting into the dressing room and the relationship toward authority. For Hajduk, a possible departure would open space for a new sporting construction, but also create pressure to quickly show supporters that the team without Livaja can maintain its competitive level.
Hajduk faces a decision that could define the season
As of June 29, 2026, the only thing officially confirmed is that Marko Livaja left Hajduk's preparations in Bled because of a breach of the club's disciplinary regulations and failure to respect the rules during the training camp. It has not been officially confirmed that the contract has been terminated, that the player has definitively received free papers or that a new environment has already been agreed. However, media reports about the possibility of a departure without compensation, combined with the club's decision to remove him from the training camp, clearly show that the relationship has reached a breaking point. Hajduk now has to choose between trying to calm the situation and making a complete cut, and both options carry serious consequences.
If the club and the player find a way to continue their cooperation, it will be necessary to rebuild trust inside the dressing room and explain how the disciplinary decision fits into Livaja's future status. If a separation occurs, Hajduk will close one of the most important eras of the club's recent history and open the season without the player who for years was the strongest symbol of the return of ambition to Poljud. In both cases, the decisions made after Bled will be followed far beyond Split because this is not only a transfer story, but a question of managing authority, discipline and the identity of a major football club at a moment when the new season has practically already begun.
Sources:
- HNK Hajduk Split - official announcement on Marko Livaja's departure from preparations in Bled (link)
- HNK Hajduk Split - official profile of Marko Livaja and club statistics for appearances, goals and assists (link)
- HNK Hajduk Split - announcement on the start of preparations for the new season and the plan for the stay in Bled (link)
- HNK Hajduk Split - announcement on the team's departure for the central part of preparations in Slovenia (link)
- HNK Hajduk Split - official announcement on the appointment of Robert Graf as sporting director (link)
- SuperSport HNL / HNS - awards ceremony for the 2024/2025 season and Livaja's recognitions (link)
- Večernji list - media reports on the chronology of events during preparations and the club's reaction (link)
- tportal - media reports on the possibility of Marko Livaja leaving without compensation (link)