# Kenan Yıldız

Kenan Yıldız (Turkish pronunciation:; born 4 May 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Juventus. Born in Germany, he plays for the Turkey national team.

## Early life

Yıldız was born in Germany to a Turkish father and a German mother.

## Club career
### Youth career

Yıldız was born in Regensburg, Bavaria, and began playing football at the youth academies of Sallern Regensburg and Jahn Regensburg. He joined the youth academy of Bayern Munich in 2012 at the age of 7, and worked his way up their youth categories, often acting as captain and eventually becoming a mainstay of their U19s. In his final year with the Bayern U19s in the 2021–22 season, Yıldız contributed six goals and eight assists in 20 matches.
Yıldız's contract with Bayern Munich expired in July 2022, and the club confirmed that they were unable to re-sign Yıldız. Barcelona and Juventus competed for his signing as he became a free agent. On 12 July, Juventus confirmed the signing of Yıldız. In September, he was included among the best 60 players born in 2005 by English newspaper The Guardian.
After playing with the U19s, on 16 December, Yıldız was first called up to Juventus Next Gen—the reserve team of Juventus—for the match against Virtus Verona set to be played the following day. In that match, he was subbed in by coach Massimo Brambilla in the 61st minute to make his professional debut; the team lost 3–0.

### 2023–present: First team breakthrough

Yıldız made his Serie A debut for Juventus in a 3–0 away win over Udinese on 20 August 2023, coming on as a second-half substitute. Ten days later, he extended his contract with the club until 2027. Yıldız made his first start for the Juventus first team on 23 December 2023, scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 win over Frosinone. This made him the club's youngest foreign goalscorer in Serie A at the age of 18 years and 233 days. On 16 August 2024, he extended his contract until 2029 and acquired the number 10 shirt. On the following 17 September, he scored the opener of a UEFA Champions League home match against PSV Eindhoven with a curling shot; it was the first-ever goal scored in the league phase of the competition, and it rendered him the youngest-ever goalscorer for the team in the Champions League, surpassing club's legend Alessandro del Piero. On 27 October 2024, Yıldız was subbed in at the 60th minute with Juventus trailing 4–2 to Inter Milan in the Derby d'Italia and scored a brace to make it 4–4 and to win the MVP Award of the match.

## International career

Yıldız was a youth international for Turkey, having represented the Turkey U17s. On 27 September 2022, Yıldız made his Turkey U21 debut, playing 28 minutes against Georgia.
In October 2023, Yıldız received his first call-up to the Turkey national team for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Croatia and Latvia. On 12 October, he made his full international debut as an 86th-minute substitute in the 1–0 win over Croatia.
Yıldız scored his first international goal on 18 November 2023 in a friendly match with a 3–2 win over Germany, his mother's country and his country of birth, in Berlin. On 7 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.

## Playing style

Yıldız is a modern midfielder known for his strong passing and shots from outside the box. He is known for his excellent technique. His most natural role is as playmaker, and he is noted for this strong frame. Aside from midfielder, Yıldız can also play as a winger.

## Personal life

Yıldız is a longtime fan of Fenerbahçe since his childhood.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 9 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Coppa Italia | Coppa Italia | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Juventus Next Gen | 2022–23 | Serie C | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Juventus Next Gen | 2023–24 | Serie C | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 2 |
| Juventus Next Gen | Total | Total | 14 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| Juventus | 2023–24 | Serie A | 27 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 4 |
| Juventus | 2024–25 | Serie A | 28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 6 |
| Juventus | Total | Total | 55 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 73 | 10 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 69 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 88 | 12 |
* ↑ Appearance in Coppa Italia Serie C
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Turkey | 2023 | 3 | 1 |
| Turkey | 2024 | 14 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 17 | 2 |
    Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yıldız goal.
List of international goals scored by Kenan Yıldız :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 18 November 2023 | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany | 2 | Germany | 2–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 19 November 2024 | Gradski stadion, Nikšić, Montenegro | 17 | Montenegro | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League |

## Honours
### Bayern Munich U17

* Under 17 Bundesliga: 2017

### Juventus

* Coppa Italia: 2023–24

### Individual

* Serie A Goal of the Month: January 2025