Few players have made as big an impact, in as little time, as Turkey and Real Madrid’s Arda Guler — with the 19-year-old’s performances propelling him towards a superstardom long prepared.
A precocious teenager at Fenerbahce, Guler made a sensational goalscoring run late in the 2023-24 La Liga season with Madrid — who he joined in a €20million deal (£16.9m; $21.5m at current rates) last summer.
He has continued that hot streak at Euro 2024, where he became the youngest player to score on their European Championship debut with a stunning goal in Turkey’s opening group game against Georgia — breaking a record held by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Off the pitch, Guler is already a much bigger star in Turkey than even Jude Bellingham is in England. How he is being used by national coach Vincenzo Montella has been a national conversation ahead facing Austria:
💬 “There’s something special about the way Arda touches the ball, sees the game, sees the whole picture. He’s different from others. Whenever he gets the ball, you just know he will do something.”
Those are the thoughts of Koray Palaz, coach of Turkish lower division team Kusadasispor and a pundit in Germany this month, with Turkish channel TRT.
