Kiril Despodov  was born on November 11, 1996 in Kresna, Bulgaria, just two hours away from the city of Thessaloniki. Despodov started out in the Litex Lovets academies and made impressive progress in the junior age categories, player as a winger.

The Bulgarian foward made his first team debut at the age of 15 on May 12, 2012. He stayed at Litex Lovets until 2016, playing in 49 games, scoring six times and providing one assist.

The next stop in his career was CSKA Sofia. In the summer of 2016 he moved to Sofia and stayed there until September 2019, making 80 appearances, scoring 25 goals and serving up 26 assists.

His numbers impressed Cagliari, who offered €4,000,000 to sign him. He stayed there for a year but did not get much playing time, making only five appearances.

A cycle of loans to Sturm Graz and Ludogorets followed. At Sturm Graz he played in the 2019-20 season and scored nine goals in 21 appearances, while also contributing eight assists.

In 2020-21 he returned to Bulgaria on loan with an option to buy for Ludogorets, who in 2022 paid the clause and acquired him on a permanent transfer. He remained in Razgrad for three years, playing in 128 matches, scoring 39 times and distributing 55 assists. He won three Bulgarian championships, one Bulgarian Cup and two Super Cups.

Despodov has been crowned the footballer of the year in Bulgaria three times and has finished second twice in the assists standings. He is also the captain of the Bulgarian national team with 39 appearances and 10 goals.

So far, Kiril has made 11 appearances for the club and has scored twice while he also also provided three assists.

In his first year in a PAOK shirt, Despodov contributed the most to winning the championship in the 2023-24 season and to date he has made 69 appearances, scoring 15 goals and contributing 19 assists.

Happy Birthday Kiril!