On 14 December 2008, in a friendly against Serbia, Grzegorz Krychowiak came on for Antoni Łukasiewicz in the 56th minute and made his debut for the Poland senior team. He had not yet played a competitive match for his club's first team. Born on 29 January 1990 in Gryfice, in north-west Poland, he was a defensive midfielder whom some coaches also used at centre-back. He spent almost his entire career abroad, playing in France, Spain, England, Russia, Greece, Saudi Arabia and Cyprus.
Early years in Poland and Bordeaux
He started out at Orzeł Mrzeżyno and Żaki 94 Kołobrzeg, moved to Stal Szczecin in 2005 and joined Arka Gdynia in 2006. That year Girondins de Bordeaux spotted him at a youth tournament in Strasbourg and took him into their academy, where he signed his first professional contract. At the 2007 Under-20 World Cup in Canada he scored the only goal of the game against Brazil from a direct free kick. Poland then lost to Argentina in the round of 16.
Loan spells at Reims and Nantes
In autumn 2009 Bordeaux loaned him to Stade de Reims, who were in the Championnat National, France's third tier. He played 19 matches and scored twice as Reims won promotion to Ligue 2. The loan was extended for 2010-11, when he made 40 appearances. Back at Bordeaux, he made his Ligue 1 debut on 17 September 2011 in a 3-2 defeat to Toulouse. That November he joined Nantes on loan and played 21 matches for them. In June 2012 he signed a three-year permanent deal with Reims, and between 2012 and 2014 he made 70 league appearances and scored eight goals.
Two Europa League titles with Sevilla
Sevilla signed him in July 2014 on a four-year contract. He made his debut on 12 August 2014 in the UEFA Super Cup, which Real Madrid won 2-0, and eleven days later played his first La Liga match, a 1-1 draw with Valencia. Under Unai Emery he became a regular in midfield. In the 2015 Europa League final in Warsaw he equalised against Dnipro in the 28th minute, and Sevilla went on to win 3-2. He was named in the La Liga Team of the Season for 2014-15. On 18 May 2016 he played the full 90 minutes of the final in Basel, where Sevilla beat Liverpool 3-1 to win a second straight Europa League.
Paris and West Bromwich
On 3 July 2016 he signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain. He made his debut off the bench on 9 September that year in a 1-1 draw with Saint-Étienne, but played little. He was still part of the squad that won the 2017 Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue. On 30 August 2017 he joined West Bromwich Albion on loan. His Premier League debut came on 9 September in a 3-1 defeat at Brighton, and in 2018 West Brom were relegated to the Championship. In March of that year he refused to shake Alan Pardew's hand after the manager took him off.
Lokomotiv Moscow
On 24 July 2018 he joined Lokomotiv Moscow on loan with an obligation to buy, and he made his debut on 4 August in a goalless draw with Spartak. He played 39 times in 2018-19 and signed permanently on 3 July 2019. With Lokomotiv he won the Russian Cup in 2019 and 2021 and the 2019 Russian Super Cup. The league named him its best central midfielder in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. He left the club with 109 appearances and 23 goals.
A century of caps for Poland
He won 100 senior caps and scored five goals for Poland between 2008 and 2023. At Euro 2016 he played every minute and scored the decisive penalty in the round-of-16 shootout against Switzerland. Portugal knocked Poland out in the quarter-finals, also on penalties. At the 2018 World Cup he scored in a 2-1 defeat to Senegal. At Euro 2020 he was sent off against Slovakia on 14 June 2021, and at the 2022 World Cup he started all four of Poland's matches before France knocked them out in the round of 16. His 100th cap was also his last, a 2-0 defeat in Albania on 10 September 2023. He announced his international retirement later that month.
Krasnodar, Greece, Saudi Arabia and Cyprus
On 2 August 2021 he signed a three-year contract with Krasnodar and scored four goals in 14 matches. In March 2022 he used the FIFA rule that let foreign players suspend their contracts in Russia and joined AEK Athens on loan, where he made nine appearances and scored twice. In July 2022 he moved on loan to Saudi side Al-Shabab and scored three goals in 30 league games. His Krasnodar contract ended in June 2023, and that summer he joined Abha, scoring nine goals in 33 league matches. On 28 September 2024 he signed for Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta and made 20 league appearances. In October 2025 he registered as an amateur with Mazur Radzymin, a regional club near Warsaw, and on 27 October 2025 he announced his retirement from professional football.
