Merih Demiral was born on 7 March 1998 in the Karamürsel district of Kocaeli. Standing 1.90 metres tall, Demiral is right-footed and plays as a centre-back. The Turkish citizen continues his career under the representation of DW Sports Management.

Club Career

Demiral began his football career in 2009 with Karamürsel İdman Yurdu Spor. In 2011 he transferred to the youth academy of Fenerbahçe and played for various age groups until 2016.

In 2016, Demiral moved on a free transfer to Alcanenense, a team in Portugal’s lower division. His performances there attracted attention, leading to a loan move to Sporting B in 2017. In the summer of 2018 he was loaned to Alanyaspor and later transferred permanently to the club in mid-season for a fee of 3.5 million euros. In January 2019 he was transferred to Sassuolo of Italy’s Serie A for a fee of 7 million euros.

Following a brief spell at Sassuolo, Demiral transferred to Juventus on 5 July 2019 for a transfer fee of 19.5 million euros. With Juventus he won the Serie A title (2019/20), the Coppa Italia (2020/21), and the Supercoppa Italiana (2020).

In the 2021–2022 season Demiral was loaned to Atalanta. After spending two seasons there, in the summer of 2023 he signed a contract with Al-Ahli SFC of the Saudi Pro League, valid until 30 June 2026.

Club Performance

In his professional club career, Merih Demiral has made a total of 222 official appearances, scoring 9 goals and providing 7 assists. The main leagues he has played in include the Süper Lig, Serie A, Saudi Pro League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

National Team Career

Demiral has represented Türkiye at various youth levels from U17 up to the senior National Team. He made his debut for the senior national team on 20 November 2018 in a friendly match against Ukraine. His first head coach was Mircea Lucescu.

As of 2024, he has made 53 appearances for the Türkiye senior national team and scored 4 goals.

National Team Performance (Including Youth Levels)

• Türkiye U17: 7 matches, 1 goal
• Türkiye U18: 2 matches
• Türkiye U19: 10 matches, 1 goal
• Türkiye U20: 5 matches
• Türkiye U21: 13 matches
• Türkiye Senior National Team: 53 matches, 4 goals
• Total: 90 international matches, 6 goals

International Accolades

In 2025, Demiral was one of 40 players selected for FIFA’s “FIFA Players Executive Programme”. As the first Turkish footballer to participate in this programme, he aims to gain education in management, leadership and decision-making processes for his post-playing career. The programme’s academic faculty includes figures such as Arsène Wenger, Lothar Matthäus and Giorgio Chiellini.

Merih Demiral is one of the 40 players selected for the FIFA Players Executive Programme. (Source: TRTSPOR)

Achievements

• Serie A Champion (Juventus – 2019/20)
• Coppa Italia Champion (Juventus – 2020/21)
• Supercoppa Italiana Champion (Juventus – 2020)