Who is Arda Güler, the Fenerbahce starlet set to join Real Madrid?

At just 18, Arda Güler is already a huge star in Turkey. The attacking midfielder, who appears set to choose Real Madrid over the LaLiga giants’ arch rivals, Barcelona, has 2.2 million followers on Instagram, has played 51 first-team games for Fenerbahce - scoring nine times - and made his Turkey debut in November, when he was still 17. Last month, Güler became the Turks’ youngest ever goalscorer in a competitive game when he netted in a Euro 2024 qualifying win over Wales.

The sky appears to be the limit for the teenager, whose frightening potential has seen him attract interest from several major clubs - not only Madrid and Barça, but also the likes of Ajax, Benfica and Sevilla.

Watch: Sweet skills from Güler

Joined Fenerbahce as a 13-year-old

The €17.5m release clause in Güler’s Fenerbahce contract may seem like a lot for a young talent who remains unproven outside of the Turkish game. However, he has impressed international scouts to such an extent that their reports also deem him to be worth such an amount, and indeed the specialist website Transfermarkt estimates his value at around €15m. Güler already has form in commanding notable fees: when he was only 13, Fenerbahce added him to their youth set-up after signing him from Ankara club Genclerbirligi for 150,000 Turkish lira, which at the time equated to €25,500 (today, it’s equal to €5,300).

During his time in the Genclerbirligi academy, Güler quickly earned rave reviews within the club for his crafty, skilful playing style, earning admiring glances from first-team players. In a youth game against Osmanlispor, he caught the eye of the legendary Fenerbahce scout Serhat Pekmezci, who wasted no time in getting in touch with the club’s then-sporting director, Damien Comolli. Together, they put together a DVD for Fenerbahce’s president, Ali Koc, who was swiftly won over.

Güler a “once in a century” talent

After excelling for Fenerbahce’s under-19s, Güler made his senior bow at just 16 - and in a little over a year, he has established himself as a key figure in the 19-time Turkish champions’ side. In the 2022/23 season, he amassed more than 1,500 minutes of game time - triggering an increase in his buy-out fee from €5m to €17.5m - and played a central role in Fenerbahce’s Turkish Cup win, setting up one of the goals in a 2-0 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir in the final. Güler’s idol is Alex de Souza, who made more appearances for Fenerbahce than any other foreign player, although he also has a soft spot for Mesut Özil. He inherited the No. 10 shirt that both players wore at the Istanbul club. In the Turkish media, he is causing unbridled excitement, with the sports daily Fanatik declaring: “A player like this comes along once a century.”

Urged to leave cut-throat Turkish game

Particularly given the rough-and-tumble nature of the Turkish domestic game, the chief doubts that have surrounded Güler have centred on his short, lightweight stature - so much so that figures within Turkey have urged him to move abroad. For example, former Atlético Madrid and Inter midfielder Emre Belozoglu, who gave Güler his Fenerbahce debut at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, has said: “I hope he goes down in the history of Turkish soccer. He has more talent than I did. Turkish soccer is cruel, so I’d like him to leave for another European league as soon as possible.”