Arda Güler

Arda Güler (Turkish pronunciation: [aɾˈda ˈɟylæɾ] ; born 25 February 2005) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Turkey national team. Known for his dribbling, shooting and playmaking ability, he is widely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the world.
Güler started his youth career at Ankara-based club Gençlerbirliği, in 2014. Arda Güler was discovered by Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe on 20 February 2019, when he was only 13 years old, and was included in the youth squad. Arda Güler, who has played in all of the Fenerbahçe youth teams including U-15, U-16 and U-19, first started playing for the Fenerbahçe U-15 team in the 2018-19 season, and was taken to the U-16 team in 2020 and the U19 team in 2021. He contributed 7 goals and 4 assists in 18 matches for the Fenerbahçe U-19 team. He made 3 goals and 1 assist in the U-19 Play-Off quarterfinal match, and thus attracted attention as the top scorer in that season's Play-Off. In July 2021, Güler began waiting for his place in the Fenerbahçe’s first team.
Güler signed a two-and-a-half-year-long professional contract with Fenerbahçe, on 13 January 2021. He was considered as a wonderkid and seen as a big prospect for the future.
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 winning goal at the 89th minute of the 2–0 victory over Antalyaspor. 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.
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.
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 raise funds for his former club.
Following multiple injuries in late 2023, Güler debuted for Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey match against Arandina on 6 January 2024, contributing to the team's 3–1 win. On 14 January, he won his first trophy with Real Madrid in the Supercopa de España final, where Real Madrid triumphed over Barcelona with a score of 4–1. Güler made his La Liga debut against Las Palmas on 27 January, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute, replacing Rodrygo. On 10 March, Güler scored his first league goal for Real Madrid, dribbling past Celta goalkeeper Vicente Guaita in the fourth minute of stoppage time, five minutes after being substituted on, to seal a 4–0 league victory over Celta Vigo. On 26 April, Güler marked his first La Liga start with a goal, giving his team a 1–0 win against Real Sociedad at Reale Arena. On 19 May, he scored a brace against Villarreal in a 4–4 draw, becoming the fastest player in Real Madrid's history to score six La Liga goals in just 330 minutes of playing time.
Güler scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 away win over Girona in La Liga on 7 December 2024.
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.
He was named in Turkey's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. On 18 June 2024, Güler was awarded Player of the Match, as he scored in Turkey's 3–1 opening fixture win over Georgia, becoming the first teenager to score on his European Championship debut since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004. With his goal, he also became the fifth-youngest goalscorer in the tournament's history and the youngest debutant to find the net, aged 19 years and 114 days, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo's previous record.
On 3 July, he provided an assist as Turkey defeated Austria 2–1 in the round of 16 and progressed into the quarter-finals. In doing so, Güler became only the third teenager in history to score and assist in the same Euros, following Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
Güler is a left-footed attacking midfielder who can also play as a winger, prominently on the right flank. A very precocious player, Güler stands out for his ability to deal with complex situations in tight spaces. A fine playmaker, he also boasts impressive dribbling skill, vision, creativity, above-average passing skills and notable technical ability from set-pieces.
Fenerbahçe
Real Madrid
Individual