Muhammet Demir (born 10 January 1992) is a Turkish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a striker for

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club) is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya. They are better known as Konyaspor. In 1922 Konyaspor were founded with the name Konya Gençlerbirliği and have played at their current home stadium ...

Early life

Demir was born in

Araklı Araklı (from Greek "Ηράκλεια" - ''Erakleia'') is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The mayor is Recep Çebi ( AKP). Name Arakli is believed to be derived from "the castle in the middle" in turkish ' ...

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

. His family moved to

Karadeniz Ereğli Karadeniz Ereğli (or Ereğli) is a city and district in Zonguldak Province of Turkey on the Black Sea shore. Population of the city proper is 121,237 as of 2020. The mayor of the city is Halil Posbıyık. Mehmet Yapıcı is the District Governor ...

Zonguldak Zonguldak () is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was established in 1849 as a port town for the nearby coal mines in Ereğli and the coal trade remains its main economic activity. According to the ...

when Demir was five years old. He has four brothers: two older and two younger twins (cancel crew). His younger brothers play for the Bursaspor youth team. Demir played for his school team before Karadeniz Ereğli Belediyespor signed him to a youth contract in 2002. When asked what his goals were as a footballer, Demir replied "I didn't have any goals when I started playing football. It was just a game for me, but then I was signed to Karadeniz Ereğli Belediyespor. It was then I started thinking of what I wanted to accomplish... I wanted a better life for my family." Demir's favorite footballer is

Fatih Tekke Fatih Tekke (born 9 September 1977), known by his ''given nickname'' Sultan, is a Turkish football coach and former player who most recently managed Denizlispor. Club career Turkey Tekke was born in the small town of Köprübaşı, in the pr ...

, a fellow striker from Trabzon. Sedat Özden, a former professional football player who played for Bursaspor, spotted Demir at a youth tournament in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. He became interested in bringing Demir to Bursa after he helped lead Karadeniz Ereğli Belediyespor to the championship. Bayram Altıntaş, Demir's coach at Karadeniz Ereğli Belediyespor, offered Demir to Bursaspor. The club signed Demir to a youth contract at age twelve. Due to his small stature and differences between his small hometown and the more modern, bustling city of Bursa, Demir quickly became homesick. After spending one month with Bursaspor, he packed his bags and returned home. Although he was highly coveted by the coaches in Bursa, Demir was reluctant to return. It was then that his father told him "go there (Bursa) and finish school. If you don't want to become a footballer, then at least finish school and come home." Demir described his first season as a bad one. He said his teammates couldn't believe he was given a chance to play due to his bad form. However, his coach Yılmaz Burul believed in Demir's abilities and pushed him forward. Demir was named captain the following season. He has scored seventeen goals in 27 A2 matches.

Club career

Demir joined Bursaspor in 2005 and signed a professional contract in 2007. He made his first appearance in the Süper Lig in the final game of the 2008–09 season, coming off the bench in the 86th minute against

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

. Demir regularly trains with the senior squad, but has not been able to play many games due to injuries.

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

courted Demir and made offers after he scored two goals against Russia in a youth national team match.

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In t ...

turned both offers down, stating that it was too soon for Demir to leave the club. He has stated that he does not want to play for an Istanbul club such as Fenerbahçe or

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, but move abroad instead. After refusing to sign a new deal with his current club

, he was sent to Gaziantepspor in January 2011. In the last day of the transfer period he accepted to sign a contract with

for four and a half years. On 2 July 2019, Demir joined İstanbul Başakşehir on a four-year deal. On 3 September 2019, he has signed a season long loan deal with Gazişehir Gaziantep. On 4 July 2022, Demir signed a two-year contract with

International career

Demir led the Turkey U-17 squad to the quarter finals of the 2009 U-17 World Cup in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, where the team lost 5–3 on penalties to Colombia. He scored three goals and notched one assist during his five games at the tournament, good enough for joint third place for top scorer. On 10 October 2014, Demir played his first national match for

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, replacing Olcay Şahan after 66 minutes of a 2–1 defeat.Player's profile
eu-football.info, Retrieved 11. 10. 2014Turecko - Česko 1:2, vítězství v boji o Euro zařídili Sivok a Dočkal
iDNES.cz, Retrieved 11. 10. 2014 (Czech)

Honours

;Bursaspor *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

: 2009–10 ;Gaziantepspor * Spor Toto Cup: 2011–12

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demir, Muhammet 1992 births Living people People from Araklı Turkish footballers Association football forwards Turkey under-21 international footballers Turkey youth international footballers Turkey international footballers Bursaspor footballers Gaziantepspor footballers Trabzonspor footballers Sivasspor footballers İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Gaziantep F.K. footballers Konyaspor footballers Süper Lig players