# Aral Şimşir

Doğuhan Aral Şimşir (born 19 June 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danish Superliga club Midtjylland. Born in Denmark, he was a youth international for Denmark and Turkey.

## Club career
### Midtjylland

Şimşir was born to Turkish parents in Denmark. His family hails from the Sivas Province in the Central Anatolia Region, which is why he wears the number 58 as his shirt number, the region's registration number. Şimşir initially played in the youth teams of HB Køge before moving to Midtjylland at U15-level.
On 1 June 2020, aged 17, he made his Danish Superliga debut when he came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Anders Dreyer in the 1–0 loss to AC Horsens. Midtjylland advanced to the championship round, where Şimşir played two more matches for the first team, contributing to the club's title victory.
On 22 September 2021, Şimşir scored his first professional goal in a 5–0 win over Kjellerup IF in the Danish Cup.

#### Loan to Jerv

On 7 March 2022, Şimşir joined Norwegian club Jerv on loan for the 2022 season. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 April, becoming the matchwinner in a 1–0 victory against Kristiansund in Eliteserien.

#### Return to Midtjylland

On 9 June 2023, Şimşir scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over Viborg FF in the 2022–23 Danish Superliga European play-off match, securing a berth in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.
On 29 June 2023, Şimşir signed a new long-term contract with Midtjylland, keeping him at the club until 2028.
During a UEFA Europa League match against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv in October 2024, Şimşir was alleged to have yelled “I hope you die”, “Free Palestine” and “I hope Israel will burn down” to the Maccabi players, causing a brawl between the two teams at the end of the match. UEFA have launched an investigation into Simşir's conduct, while Midtjylland have issued a statement saying it could not accept Maccabi's interpretation of the events.

## International career

Born in Denmark, Şimşir is of Turkish descent. He formerly represented Denmark internationally, before switching to Turkey with the Turkey under-21s in 2022.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 9 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Midtjylland | 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Midtjylland | 2020–21 | Danish Superliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Midtjylland | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Midtjylland | 2022–23 | Danish Superliga | 16 | 3 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 4 |
| Midtjylland | 2023–24 | Danish Superliga | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 |
| Midtjylland | 2024–25 | Danish Superliga | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 6 |
| Midtjylland | Total | Total | 61 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 87 | 15 |
| Jerv (loan) | 2022 | Eliteserien | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 3 |
| Lillestrøm (loan) | 2022 | Eliteserien | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 87 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 18 |
* ↑ Includes Danish Cup, Norwegian Football Cup
* ↑ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
* ↑ Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League