Kerem Demirbay was born on 3 July 1993 in Herten, Germany. He is a German citizen of Turkish descent and plays as a midfielder. As of 2023, he plays for Galatasaray in the Süper Lig and is also known among fans by the nickname "Dayı".
Demirbay began his football career in 1999 with the youth academy of FC Schalke 04. He later played for the youth teams of Borussia Dortmund and SG Wattenscheid 09.
He began his professional career in 2012 with Borussia Dortmund II. He made his first professional appearance on 21 July 2012 against VfL Osnabrück and scored his first professional goal in the same season against 1. FC Saarbrücken.
Demirbay played for Hamburger SV between 2013 and 2016. During this period, he was loaned to 1. FC Kaiserslautern (2014–2015) and Fortuna Düsseldorf (2015–2016). With Fortuna Düsseldorf, he scored 10 goals in 25 league matches.
From 2016 to 2019, Demirbay played for TSG Hoffenheim. He was part of the squad that qualified for the UEFA Europa League and played under head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
On 9 May 2019, Demirbay transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of approximately €28–32 million. He competed with the club in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League.
On 1 August 2023, Demirbay transferred to Galatasaray for a fee of €3.7 million. During the 2023–2024 season, he won the Süper Lig title and the 2023 Turkish Super Cup.
Demirbay played for the Turkey U19 (7 matches, 1 goal), U20 (3 matches), and U21 (2 matches) national teams. In 2017, he chose to represent Germany’s senior national team, playing in two matches and scoring one goal. He scored his goal for Germany against Cameroon during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Youth and Academy Years
Professional Career
Hamburger SV and Loan Spells
TSG Hoffenheim Period (2016–2019)
Transfer to Bayer Leverkusen (2019–2023)
Transfer to Galatasaray (2023–Present)
National Team Career
Club Career Statistics (as of May 2025)
National Team Statistics