Kenan Yıldız
Footballer (born 2005)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenan Yıldız (Turkish pronunciation: [kenan jɯɫdɯz]; born 4 May 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Serie A club Juventus. Born in Germany, he plays for the Turkey national team. He is considered one of the best young players in the world.[2][3]
_(cropped).jpg)
|
Yıldız playing for Turkey in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenan Yıldız[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 May 2005[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Regensburg, Germany | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Juventus | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Sallern Regensburg | ||
| 2011–2012 | Jahn Regensburg | ||
| 2012–2022 | Bayern Munich | ||
| 2022–2023 | Juventus | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2023 | Juventus Next Gen | 14 | (2) |
| 2023– | Juventus | 96 | (19) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Turkey U17 | 10 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Turkey U21 | 8 | (2) |
| 2023– | Turkey | 28 | (5) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:52, 3 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||
Born in Regensburg, Yıldız began his youth career with Bayern Munich and joined Juventus Next Gen in 2022. He was promoted to Juventus' first-team in November 2023 and won the Coppa Italia in 2024.
Club career
Youth career
Yıldız was born in Regensburg, Germany, to his Turkish father Engin Yıldız and his German mother Beate Hackl.[4][5] He began playing football at the youth academies of Sallern Regensburg and Jahn Regensburg.[6] He joined the youth academy of Bayern Munich in 2012 at the age of 7,[7] and worked his way up their youth categories, often acting as captain and eventually becoming a mainstay of their U19s.[8] In his final year with the Bayern U19s in the 2021–22 season, Yıldız contributed six goals and eight assists in 20 matches.[9]
Yıldız's contract with Bayern Munich expired in July 2022, and the club confirmed that they were unable to re-sign him.[10] Barcelona and Juventus competed for his signing as he became a free agent.[11] On 12 July, Juventus confirmed the signing of Yıldız.[12] In September, he was included among the best 60 players born in 2005 by English newspaper The Guardian.[13]
After playing with the U19s, on 16 December, Yıldız was first called up to Juventus Next Gen—the reserve team of Juventus—for the match against Virtus Verona set to be played the following day.[14] In that match, he was sent on as a substitute by coach Massimo Brambilla in the 61st minute to make his professional debut;[15] the team lost 3–0.[16] On 23 September 2023, he scored his first goal in professional football with a long-distance shot to open an away match against Ancona won 2–1.[17]
2023–present: First team breakthrough
Yıldız made his Serie A debut for Juventus in a 3–0 away win over Udinese on 20 August 2023, coming on as a second-half substitute.[18] Ten days later, he extended his contract with the club until 2027.[19] He made his first start for the Juventus first team on 23 December, scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 win over Frosinone. This made him the club's youngest foreign goalscorer in Serie A at the age of 18 years and 233 days.[20] On 16 August 2024, he extended his contract until 2029 and acquired the number 10 shirt.[21]
On 17 September 2024, Yıldız scored the opener of a UEFA Champions League home match against PSV Eindhoven with a curling shot;[22] it was the first-ever goal scored in the league phase of the competition, and it rendered him the youngest-ever goalscorer for the team in the Champions League, surpassing club legend Alessandro Del Piero.[23] On 27 October, Yıldız came on as a substitute in the 60th minute with Juventus trailing 4–2 to Inter Milan in the Derby d'Italia and scored a brace to make it 4–4 and to win the MVP Award of the match.[24][25] On 11 January 2025, he opened the Derby della Mole against Torino (ended 1–1) after dribbling a few opponents and netting from outside the area with the left foot; this goal would be voted the 2024–25 Goal of the Season at the end of the season.[26] He finished the 2024–25 season with seven league goals.[27] He took part in Juventus' 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign. On 18 June, he scored on their debut in a 5–0 victory against Al Ain, and four days later netted a brace in a 4–1 win against Wydad Casablanca.[28][29]
Yıldız started the 2025–26 season winning the Serie A Player of the Month for August.[30] On 16 September 2025, he scored a Del Piero Zone goal against Borussia Dortmund,[31][32] which was reminiscent of Del Piero's goal also against Borussia Dortmund in his successful 1995–96 UEFA Champions League campaign,[33][34][35] as Juventus came back to force a 4–4 draw.[36][37][38] In doing so, he also became the fourth number 10 Juventus player (after Roberto Baggio, Del Piero, and Carlos Tevez) to score a goal against Borussia Dortmund in UEFA club competitions. Yıldız, who said he had never seen Del Piero's goal in 1995, told Sky Sport Italia that his shot was "instinctive".[39] On 20 September, after Manuel Locatelli was subbed out at half-time break, Yıldız captained the Bianconeri in the second half of an away match drawn 1–1 to Hellas Verona.[40] He is also the youngest player ever to doing so at the age of 20.[41] On 7 February 2026, he extended his contract with the club until 2030.[42]
International career
Yıldız, also eligible to play for Germany, was a youth international for Turkey, having represented the Turkey U17s.[43] On 27 September 2022, Yıldız made his Turkey U21 debut, playing 28 minutes against Georgia.[44] In October 2023, Yıldız received his first call-up to the Turkey national team for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Croatia and Latvia.[45][46] On 12 October, he made his full international debut as an 86th-minute substitute in the 1–0 win over Croatia.[47] Yıldız scored his first international goal on 18 November 2023 in a friendly match with a 3–2 win over Germany, his mother's country and his country of birth, in Berlin.[48] On 7 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany.[49]
Playing style
Yıldız is a modern midfielder known for his strong passing and shots from outside the box. He is known for his excellent technique.[50] His most natural role is as playmaker, and he is noted for this strong frame. Aside from midfielder, Yıldız can also play as a winger.[51]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 3 May 2026[52]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Juventus Next Gen | 2022–23 | Serie C | 7 | 0 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie C | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 14 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Juventus | 2023–24 | Serie A | 27 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 32 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 35 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 10[b] | 1 | 5[c] | 4 | 52 | 12 | |
| 2025–26 | Serie A | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10[b] | 1 | — | 45 | 11 | ||
| Total | 96 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 129 | 27 | ||
| Career total | 110 | 21 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 144 | 29 | ||
- Appearance in Coppa Italia Serie C
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- One appearance and one goal in Supercoppa Italiana, four appearances and three goals in FIFA Club World Cup
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[53]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2023 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yıldız goal.[53]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2023 | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany | 2 |  Germany | 2–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 19 November 2024 | Gradski stadion, Nikšić, Montenegro | 17 |  Montenegro | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League |
| 3 | 11 October 2025 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | 24 |  Bulgaria | 3–1 | 6–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 4–1 | ||||||
| 5 | 14 October 2025 | Kocaeli Stadium, Kocaeli, Turkey | 25 |  Georgia | 1–0 | 4–1 |
Honours
Juventus
Individual
- Golden Boy Web Award: 2024[55]
- Serie A Goal of the Month: January 2025[56]
- Serie A Team of the Season: 2024–25[57]
- Serie A Goal of the Season: 2024–25[58]
- Serie A Player of the Month: August 2025[59]
- Serie A Rising Star of the Month: November 2025,[60] March 2026[61]
