Cenk Özkacar
Turkish footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cenk Özkacar (born 6 October 2000) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Spanish club Valencia and the Turkey national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 October 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | İzmir, Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Valencia | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2013 | Bucaspor | ||
| 2013–2014 | Altinordu | ||
| 2014–2018 | Altay | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Altay | 12 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Karacabey Belediyespor (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Lyon B | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Lyon | 0 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → OH Leuven (loan) | 32 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | → Valencia (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2023– | Valencia | 23 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Valladolid (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2025–2026 | → 1. FC Köln (loan) | 25 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019–2022 | Turkey U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2022– | Turkey | 9 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 June 2024 | |||
Club career
Early years in Turkey
Born in İzmir, Özkacar spent his youth career at local teams Bucaspor, Altinordu and Altay.[2] He made his professional debut in 2018, while on loan at Karacabey Belediyespor, before returning to Altay the following year.[2]
Lyon
On 18 August 2020, Özkacar joined Ligue 1 club Lyon on a five-year deal.[3] On 21 April 2021, he made his debut for Lyon as a late substitute for Léo Dubois during a 2–0 loss to Monaco in the Coupe de France.[4]
Loan to Leuven
On 6 July 2021, Belgian First Division A team OH Leuven presented Özkacar as new player, on loan from Lyon for one season.[5]
Valencia
In August 2022, Özkacar signed on loan for La Liga side Valencia.[6] On 1 July 2023, the club exercised their buy-option in the loan contract, signing him permanently on a five-year contract.[7]
However, Özkacar scored an own-goal in a 1–0 loss against Deportivo Alavés,[8] and only started 35% of matches in La Liga by January 2024, leading some media outlets to report he was seeking a move away in order to make it in Turkey's UEFA Euro 2024 squad.[9]
Loan to Valladolid
On 29 August 2024, Özkacar was loaned to fellow Spanish top-tier side Real Valladolid on a one-year deal.[10]
Loan to Köln
On 9 August 2025, Özkacar moved on loan to 1. FC Köln in Germany.[11]
International career
Özkacar has been capped six time by the Turkey U21s.[2]
He had his first cap with the Turkey senior national team on 8 June 2022, getting subbed on in the UEFA Nations League match against Lithuania, replacing Ozan Kabak in the 76th minute. He managed to help his team keeping the clean sheet and ended up winning 6–0.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 May 2026[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Karacabey Belediyespor (loan) | 2018–19 | TFF Third League | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Altay | 2019–20 | TFF First League | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| Lyon | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Lyon B | 2020–21 | Championnat National 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| OH Leuven (loan) | 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 2 | |
| Valencia (loan) | 2022–23 | La Liga | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Valencia | 2023–24 | La Liga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |
| Real Valladolid (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 1. FC Köln (loan) | 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |
| Career total | 143 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 162 | 3 | ||
- Includes Turkish Cup, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, Copa del Rey, DFB-Pokal
- Appearances in TFF Third League play-offs
- Appearance in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 4 June 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2022 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
