During his career, he played for Kalmar FF in Sweden, for AZ in the Netherlands and the Russian side CSKA Moscow.

He received several player of the match awards during that season and was praised by the press and the fans for his passing and free kicks as well as his goal scoring.

[4] On 30 July 2012, Elm signed a three-year contract with Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow, taking the shirt number 20.

[5] On 3 January 2015, Elm had his contract with CSKA terminated by mutual consent in order to recover from a long-term stomach illness that had left him unable to train with the club.

In early 2020, Elm announced his retirement from professional football, citing health issues related to his stomach illness.