Arda Güler (; born 25 February 2005) 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or right winger for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

and the Turkey national team. He is regarded as one of the best young players in the world.

Club career

Early career

Güler started his youth career at

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

-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. 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.

Fenerbahçe

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.

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 The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

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 Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional multi-sport club based in Antalya, southern Turkey. The club's colours are red and white. The association football, football side play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the cl ...

. 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 An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, Bayern Munich,

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

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 Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his ball control, technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision, he is widely re ...

, 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 The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

in the Europa League group stage. On 11 June 2023, Güler put in a

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

performance in a 2–0 win at 2023 Turkish Cup final against İstanbul Başakşehir. On 6 July, Güler took to

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

to announce his departure from Fenerbahçe, marking the end of his tenure with the Turkish club.

Real Madrid

On 6 July 2023,

club

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.

2023–24 season

Following multiple injuries in late 2023, Güler debuted for Real Madrid in the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

match against Arandina on 6 January 2024, contributing to the team's 3–1 win. On 14 January, Güler won his first trophy with Real Madrid in the Supercopa de España final, where Real Madrid triumphed over

with a score of 4–1. He made his La Liga debut against

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

on 27 January, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute, replacing Rodrygo. On 10 March, he scored his first league goal for Real Madrid, dribbling past Celta goalkeeper

Vicente Guaita Vicente Guaita Panadero (; born 10 January 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Celta. He appeared in 176 La Liga matches over eight seasons with Valencia and Getafe, as well as a season on ...

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 Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

at Reale Arena. On 19 May, he scored a brace against

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

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. Although he didn't play in the competition, he became the first Turkish player to win the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

when his club clinched their 15th title with a 2–0 win over

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

2024–25 season

Güler made his Champions League debut as a substitute in the opening match of the league phase, which ended in a 3–1 victory over

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

on 17 September 2024. Later that year, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 away win over

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

on 7 December. After being used mainly in

matches and seeing limited time in league games for most part of the season, Güler was given rare back-to-back league starts on 23 April 2025 when he scored the winner and was nominated player of the match in a 1–0 win over

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

, and on 4 May when he registered a goal and an assist in a 3–2 victory over Celta Vigo.

International career

Güler is a Turkish youth international, having played up to the Turkey U21s. He made his senior international debut for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 19 November 2022, in their 2–1 friendly win against

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

. He scored his first goal against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in Euro 2024 qualifiers on 19 June 2023.

UEFA Euro 2024

Güler was named in Turkey's 26-man squad for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

. On 18 June 2024, he was awarded Player of the Match, as he scored in Turkey's 3–1 opening fixture win over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, becoming the first teenager to score on his European Championship debut since

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. 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, Güler provided an assist as Turkey defeated

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

2–1 in the round of 16 and progressed into the quarter-finals. In doing so, he became only the third teenager in history to score and assist in the same Euros, following Cristiano Ronaldo and

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

Style of play

Güler is a left-footed

who can also play as a winger, prominently on the right flank. A very precocious player, he stands out for his ability to deal with complex situations in tight spaces. A fine

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

, Güler also boasts impressive dribbling skill, vision, creativity, above-average passing skills and notable technical ability from set-pieces.

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 The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2022–23 Real Madrid *

: 2023–24 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

; runner up:

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

: 2023–24 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

FIFA Intercontinental Cup The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by FIFA, the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The first edition took place in 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, 2024. The co ...

runner up: 2024–25 Individual * Kopa Trophy runner-up:

* La Liga U23 Player of the Month: December 2024

References

External links

Profile
at the Real Madrid CF website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guler, Arda 2005 births Living people Footballers from Altındağ, Ankara Footballers from Ankara Turkish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Real Madrid CF players Süper Lig players La Liga players UEFA Champions League–winning players Turkish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Turkey men's youth international footballers Turkey men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players 21st-century Turkish sportsmen