Arda Guler: The Rise of Real Madrid’s Turkish Wonderkid

Arda Guler is a talented football prodigy, who plays for Spanish giants Real Madrid. His impressive talents have seen him grow from Genclerbirligi to playing for Fenerbahce before moving to Spain. 

He is seen as the big name of Turkish football, drawing comparisons with other footballing greats. As a wonderkid much is expected from this Turkish star. Join us as we explore the rise of the new Mesut Ozil.

Player Profile – Arda Guler

Arda Güler is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Turkey national team. He is renowned for having a beautiful left foot. Guler has a slender build standing at 1.75m, he is a dominating figure from the middle of the park.

Player Profile Overview

Early Life

Although there is little known about the early life of Arda Guler. He was born to Umit Guler, his dad and Selap Guler his mother in Genclerbirligi, Ankara, Turkey. We are yet to confirm if he has any other siblings. 

Arda Guler’s love affair with football started at a very young age, joining his local club side Genclerbirligi when he was just 9 years old.

Arda Guler’s Style of Play

The talented Arda Guler is a left-footed attacking midfielder who likes to operate on the right wing. He prefers to cut inside and use his stronger foot to create shooting chances and make decisive passes to the final third.

Arda is a creative and tricky player with immense set-piece abilities.  Güler is a modern-day hardworking midfielder with a good defensive contribution and can also play as a central midfielder. His technical abilities have drawn comparisons with football legends Mesut Ozil and Lionel Messi.

Youth Career

Guler started his youth career at his hometown club Genclerbirligi, in 2014 at the age of nine. He spent five years playing for the youth team from 2014 to 2019.

After Guler left Genclerbirligi, He joined the Fenerbahce youth ranks in 2019. The future Real Madrid spent two years in the youth ranks at Fenerbahce. In 2021, he was eventually promoted to the Fenerbahce senior team.  

Senior Career

Arda Guler started his senior career with Fenerbahce, signing a two-and-a-half-year-long professional contract with the club. The Turkish wonderkid made his senior debut against Finnish club HJK in the 2021-2022 Europa League play-off round.

Arda Guler made his debut for Fenerbahçe in the Süper Lig on September 12, 2021. He played his first league match for Fenerbahçe in a game against Gaziantep FK. Guler created the only assist of the game.

The following season Guler became Fenerbahçe’s youngest goalscorer in Süper Lig history. In just 3 matches Arda Güler had scored 3 goals and delivered 3 assists. His impressive displays for Fenerbahce caught the attention of European giants such as Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite the interest in him, Guler was handed the number 10 jersey at the club following the exit of Mesut Ozil at the start of the 2022–23 season. The number is synonymous with club legends Alex de Souza and Jay-Jay Okocha.

That season, Guler played his first match of the season against Kasımpaşa scoring two goals in 21 minutes of play. Arda Guler scored his first goal in Europe and provided an assist, in a 2–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League.

He capped an impressive end to the season by putting in a man-of-the-match performance in a 2–0 win at the 2023 Turkish Cup final against İstanbul Başakşehir. A month later, Guler was on the move away from Fenerbahce.

Arda Guler’s Move to Real Madrid

After leaving Fenerbahce, Arda Guler signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid. He signed for the Spanish giants after the club triggered his release clause with an initial payment of €20 million which was more than his release clause.

The reason for this was that Arda Guler asked Real Madrid to pay higher than his release clause to help raise funds for his former club. Guler’s debut for Madrid was delayed after He suffered multiple injuries. His long-awaited debut came in the Copa del Rey match in a 3-1 win against Arandina on 6 January 2024.

Arda Guler won his first trophy with Real Madrid in the Supercopa de España final in a 4-1 triumph over bitter rivals Barcelona. His La Liga debut came on 27 January 2024 against Las Palmas replacing Rodrygo in the contest.

Guler’s first La Liga goal for Real Madrid came in the match against Celta Vigo. The Turkish wonderkid dribbled past Celta goalkeeper Vicente Guaita to seal a 4–0 victory for Los Blancos.

International career

Arda Guler is a full Turkish youth international. However, his international career started with the U17s playing 10 times and scoring 4 goals for the Turkish U17s. The starlet has also played for the national U21 team.

Guler made his senior international debut in a friendly match for Turkey on 19 November 2022 against the Czech Republic. His first international goal came in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Wales on 19 June 2023. The Real Madrid star is expected to make the final squad for the Euro 2024 tournament scheduled to take place in Germany.

Is Arda Guler the Next Mesut Ozil?

The talented Turkish super starlet has been mentioned in the same breath as Mesut Ozil by German International Ilkay Gundogan. There are valid reasons why these comparisons are being made.

Both players are left-footed attacked midfielders who can thread a pass through gaps in opposition defences. They are technically gifted and comfortable with the ball at their feet. Additionally, they are very calm and composed even under pressure and are good dribblers of the ball.

Personal life Of Arda Guler.

Guler is a very popular figure in Turkey due to his exploits with Fenerbahçe career. Several fans idolise him and a lot of kids see the talented player as a role model especially.

Although the local media in Turkis have dubbed him the “Turkish Messi”. Arda Guler has stated that Alex de Souza, the former captain and a Fenerbahçe legend is his idol and role model.

Conclusion

Although his career has been blighted by injuries, the comparisons to other legends of the game are a testament to his undeniable talents. Arda Guler is sure to come good on his talent if he can stay injury-free.

There is no platform better than UEFA Euro 2024 for Arda to come good with his talents. He is expected to lead the Turkish contingent at the competition. At Footballers’ Biographies, we are rooting for this wonderkid to light up the stage at Euro 2024.