Arda Güler

Arda Güler (Turkish pronunciation: [aɾˈda ˈɟylæɾ] ⓘ; 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.

Arda Güler
Güler with Real Madrid in 2023
Personal information
Full name Arda Güler
Date of birth (2005-02-25) 25 February 2005
Place of birth Altındağ, Ankara, Turkey
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder[1]
Team information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 24
Youth career
2014–2019 Gençlerbirliği
2019–2021 Fenerbahçe
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Fenerbahçe 32 (7)
2023– Real Madrid 0 (0)
International career‡
2021–2022 Turkey U17 10 (4)
2022– Turkey 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 June 2023

Club career

Early career

Güler started his youth career at Ankara-based club Gençlerbirliği, in 2014.[2] He joined Fenerbahçe youth ranks in 2019.[2]

Fenerbahçe

Güler signed a two-and-a-half-year-long professional contract with Fenerbahçe, on 13 January 2021.[3] He is considered as a wonderkid and seen as a big prospect for future.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6][7]

On 17 March 2022, Fenerbahçe announced that they had signed a three-year contract with him.[8]

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.[9] He played his first match of the season against Kasımpaşa and scored two goals in 21 minutes of play.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

On 6 July, Güler took to Instagram to announce his departure from Fenerbahçe, marking the end of his tenure with the Turkish club.[13]

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.[14][15] 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.[16][17] 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.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20] He is a modern day hardworking midfielder with good defensive contribution and can even play as pivotal player on center midfield.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 11 June 2023[22][23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fenerbahçe 2021–22 Süper Lig 123004[lower-alpha 1]000163
2022–23 Süper Lig 2045110[lower-alpha 2]100356
Total 3275114100519
Real Madrid 2023–24 La Liga 0000000000
Career total 3275114100519
  1. Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  2. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 19 June 2023[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Turkey 202210
202331
Total41
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Güler goal.
List of international goals scored by Arda Güler
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
119 June 2023Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadium, Samsun, Turkey4 Wales2–02–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Fenerbahçe

References
  1. "Arda Güler". UEFA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. "Son dakika! Fenerbahçe, Arda Güler için Gençlerbirliği ile anlaştı! İşte ödenecek rakam..." Habertürk. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  3. "Altyapı futbolcumuz Arda Güler'le profesyonel sözleşme imzalandı" [A professional contract has been signed with our infrastructural player Arda Güler] (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  4. "Arda Guler: The Turkish wonderkid the whole of Europe wants to sign". Goal (website). 19 April 2022.
  5. "Fenerbahçe (TUR) 1–0 HJK (Finland)". UEFA. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. "Arda Guler: The Turkish wonderkid the whole of Europe wants to sign". Goal (website). Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  7. Sport (6 June 2022). "PSG join Barça on the list of clubs that want Arda Guler". sport. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  8. "Fenerbahçe Yolunuz Açık Olsun… Armamızla, Uzun Yıllar Nice Başarılara – Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü". Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  9. "Fenerbahçede yeni on numara Arda Güler!". Fanatik. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  10. "Kasımpaşa vs Fenerbahçe (0–6) Aug 15, 2022 Match Stats". FootballCritic. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  11. "Dynamo Kyiv 0–2 Fenerbahçe". UEFA. 3 November 2022.
  12. "Fenerbahçe-Başakşehir finaline Arda Güler damgası!". 11 June 2023.
  13. Garlan, Victor (6 July 2023). "Arda Güler fait ses adieux au Fenerbahçe". Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  14. "Official Announcement: Arda Güler". Real Madrid. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  15. "Arda Güler becomes a Real Madrid player". Real Madrid. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  16. "Real sign Turkish wonderkid Guler from Fenerbahce". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  17. "Real Madrid beat Barcelona to win race for Turkish wonderkid". OneFootball. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  18. Cortegana, Mario. "Arda Guler chooses to join Real Madrid ahead of Barcelona". The Athletic. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  19. "Wales' Euro hopes in tatters after defeat in Turkey". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  20. "Arda Güler idol | Goal.com". Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  21. "Arda Güler Football Statistics | WhoScored.com". Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  22. "Arda Güler @ Fenerbahçe SK" (in Turkish). mackolik.com. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  23. "Turkey – A.Guler – Profile". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  24. "Arda Güler". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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