Arda Güler

Arda Güler (born 25 February 2005) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Turkey national team.
Club career
Early career
Güler started his youth career at Ankara-based club Gençlerbirliği, in 2014. He joined Fenerbahçe youth ranks in 2019.
Fenerbahçe
Güler signed a two-and-a-half-year-long professional contract with Fenerbahçe, on 13 January 2021. He is considered as a wonderkid and seen as a big prospect for future.
2021–22 season
Güler made his senior debut as a substitute player against Finnish club HJK in the play-off round encounter of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League. Held at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on 19 August 2021, it ended 1–0 for Fenerbahçe. In his first Süper Lig match three days later, he provided the assist that let Miha Zajc score the only goal in the match at 89th minute of the game.
He started getting more playing time as the 2021–22 season progressed. In March 2022, Güler became Fenerbahçe's youngest goalscorer in Süper Lig history, having just turned 17 three weeks earlier. By May 2022, Güler had scored 3 goals and delivered 3 assists in just 255 minutes of playing time. After an impressing start to his career, it was reported that big European clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain showed their interest in signing him.
On 17 March 2022, Fenerbahçe announced that they had signed a three-year contract with him.
2022–23 season
In the start of 2022–23 season, after the departure of Mesut Özil, Güler was given the number 10, which has a special meaning for Fenerbahçe fans, being the number of club legends Alex de Souza and Jay-Jay Okocha. He played his first match of the season against Kasımpaşa and scored two goals in 21 minutes of play. On 3 November 2022, he scored his first goal in European competitions, and also provided an assist, in a 2–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League group stage.
On 11 June 2023, Güler put in a man of the match performance in a 2–0 win at 2023 Turkish Cup final against İstanbul Başakşehir.
On 6 July, Güler took to Instagram to announce his departure from Fenerbahçe, marking the end of his tenure with the Turkish club.
Real Madrid
On 6 July 2023, La Liga club Real Madrid announced the signing of Güler to a six-year contract lasting until June 2029. The deal was sealed by triggering his release clause with an initial payment of €20 million, which surpassed the €17.5 million clause from his former contract with Fenerbahçe. Güler requested Real Madrid to pay beyond his release clause to get funds for his former club. Consequently, Real Madrid triggered his release clause and paid €20M, more than his current release clause.
International career
Güler is a Turkish youth international, having played up to the Turkey U21s. He made his senior international debut for Turkey on 19 November 2022, in their 2–1 friendly win against Czech Republic. He scored his first goal against Wales in Euro 2024 qualifiers on 19 June 2023.
Style of play
Güler is a left-footed attacking midfielder who can also operate on right wing to cut inside and using his stronger foot to make shooting chances and creates decisive passes to the final third. According to Whoscored, he is a creative player with immense set-piece abilities and tricky player who is dubbed by local media as "Turkish Messi". He idolizes Alex de Souza, the former captain and one of the legendary players of Fenerbahçe. He is a modern day hardworking midfielder with good defensive contribution and can even play as pivotal player on center midfield.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Güler goal.
Honours
Fenerbahçe
Turkish Cup: 2022–23
References
External links
2005 births
Living people
People from Altındağ, Ankara
Sportspeople from Ankara Province
Turkish men's footballers
Turkey men's international footballers
Turkey men's youth international footballers
Footballers from Ankara
Men's association football midfielders
Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers
Süper Lig players
Real Madrid CF players