“I’ve done everything, I’ve smoked the cigar, I’ve sung, I’ve danced with Eduardo (Camavinga), now I introduce you to a very interesting guy… he’s very shy! Let’s go!”
Carlo Ancelotti was beaming at Madrid’s famous Cibeles fountain after the club had won the Champions League, as he introduced Arda Guler to the crowd.
It had been a tough first season at Real Madrid for Guler, but this was the 19-year-old forward’s moment.
Soon after arriving in the Spanish capital from Fenerbahce in the summer of 2023, he had to have surgery on his right knee, and his recovery was not straightforward. He suffered muscular problems that meant it was six months after signing that he made his debut for the club.
Once he was fit and playing, it did not take long for Guler to shine in La Liga. He scored six goals (averaging one every 73 minutes) in the league, stepping up to show his class in the final months while other players were rested.
But only four of his 10 league appearances in 2023-24 were from the start, and this season it is a similar story. He has made three starts from seven appearances in La Liga, and been limited to 250 minutes of playing time. For a while, fans have been pushing for the teenager to get more of a chance under Ancelotti, and there are some within the club who feel the same.
Should Ancelotti be playing him more? Is there a plan for him to be more involved? And how does Guler feel about his playing time? The Athletic looks at Guler’s situation at the Bernabeu…
Many of you will remember the impact that Guler had for Turkey at Euro 2024. He led his team from the start, scoring a superb goal from outside the box in their opening group game against Georgia.
Turkey progressed to the quarter-finals and Guler was one of their stars, scoring that goal and providing two assists — against Georgia and then in the 2-1 defeat to Netherlands that knocked them out of the competition. At the age of 19, he shouldered plenty of responsibility for that team.
Guler wanted to make his mark on the international stage and he did just that. Executives at Real Madrid had seen enough already to know that they had zero interest in selling him, despite his relatively few minutes.
“If an attacking player has to leave this summer, it’s not going to be him,” Real Madrid responded to enquiries from other clubs in La Liga. Guler had no intention of going anywhere, and has made it clear to those around him that he wants to make a name for himself at the Bernabeu.
He took a short break in Turkey after the Euros, but even then he was so fixated with training and staying in shape that it was difficult to find coaches available to work as early as the player wanted to.
In Madrid, Guler lives with a physiotherapist, a cook and a personal fitness trainer, who speak practically no English (in which the player is fluent) and stick to Spanish in an attempt to make his adaptation easier. He has a private gym and a football pitch at his home, so he can train there. Guler has bulked up since moving to Real and at 19 is still growing in height (at the moment, he’s 5ft 9in/175cm).
He seemed much more developed during the club’s pre-season tour to the United States in July. With stars like Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe were absent, Guler, along with Endrick, was one of the most eye-catching performers. They have become friends since, and a year earlier it had been during pre-season that Guler struck up good relationships with Fede Valverde and Brahim Diaz, who have been helping him learn Spanish. Guler gets on with his team-mates but is most comfortable at home, rather than being out all the time in Madrid.
With Toni Kroos retiring and the promising young midfielder Nico Paz moving to Como, some people close to Guler, who wish to remain anonymous to protect relations, believe it was a sign that the club were doubling down on their commitment to the Turkey international.
Despite his limited game time in La Liga this season, the player is not angry about the situation. He has not started a match in any competition since September but he believes his time will come.
Madrid fans are often arguing on social media about whether Guler should play more, and some of those close to him believe that the success of Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s teen prodigy who led Spain to the Euro 2024 title, is heaping pressure on Real Madrid to have their own young players front and centre too. While Barcelona started the weekend’s Clasico with six players under the age of 22 (and five of those were from La Masia), Real only had two players under 22 (Camavinga and Bellingham, who were both signed from elsewhere).
Many supporters have been pointing towards last season’s statistics – Yamal scored five goals in 37 league games and Guler scored six in 10 — as evidence that the latter should be used more by Ancelotti.
Those same people close to Guler believe his ideal role is as a No 10, or a playmaker. That position does not really exist within Ancelotti’s 4-3-3, and the player who would occupy that role is Bellingham. However, there is a belief that Guler could be used in a more withdrawn role, replacing either Kroos or Luka Modric.
The Madrid coaching staff think Guler will have a bigger role this season compared to last. Both Ancelottis, Carlo and his son Davide who is part of the coaching staff, have been supportive of Guler and hold him in high regard.
According to a source on the coaching staff, who spoke anonymously to protect their job, among the reasons for Guler’s absence from recent line-ups is a concern that the player and team would be imbalanced if he were to be up front with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, who are both very attack-minded.
There are also a number of players in the XI who seem untouchable: Bellingham, Valverde, Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. That makes it hard for Guler to force his way into Ancelotti’s first team. The injury suffered by Rodrygo Goes should mean more minutes for Guler in the coming weeks, though.
Other clubs would be interested in Guler. In recent weeks, the official X account of Italian giants Juventus was hacked and Guler was announced as a new signing. The Italian club quickly deleted it and explained what had happened, but there is no denying that elite clubs around Europe would be more than willing to give Guler playing time should he become frustrated at his opportunities in Madrid.
But for now, the club and player are happy, and are confident that the 19-year-old will have a big impact for the European champions.
(Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
