List of Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers
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When it was first founded in 1907, Fenerbahçe had a large squad. The first team captain of the Fenerbahçe football team was Turkish Naval School student Necip Okaner, the club's 3rd founding member. The first goalkeeper of the team was Asaf Beşpınar, a student of Kadıköy Lycée Saint-Joseph. Galip Kulaksızoğlu, was the longest serving player of the original squad, spending 17 years at the club, retiring in 1924 after 216 matches.[1] Zeki Rıza Sporel and Bekir Refet, the first Turkish footballer ever to play abroad, were among the first products of the Fenerbahçe youth system. During his 18-year career with the club, Zeki Rıza scored 470 goals in 352 matches, or 1.3 goals every match, making him the all-time top scorer of Fenerbahçe.[1] Zeki Rıza was also capped for the Turkish national team 16 times, scoring 15 goals.
Cihat Arman became the first in a long-line of long-serving goalkeepers, playing 12 seasons and in 308 matches with the club.[1] Lefter Küçükandonyadis was one of the first Turkish football players to play in Europe. Lefter spent two seasons in Europe, playing for Fiorentina and Nice before returning to Fenerbahçe. All in all, Lefter scored 423 goals in 615 matches for the club, helping them to two Istanbul Football League titles and three Turkish League titles.
Another notable player, Can Bartu, became the next big Turkish export to Europe. He was also the first Turkish football player to play in a European competition final, doing so with Fiorentina against Atlético Madrid in 1962. Can also spent some seasons playing for Venezia and Lazio before returning to Fenerbahçe in 1967. He was a four-time league champion with Fenerbahçe and scored 162 goals in 330 matches. Some of the other most notable Turkish players who played for Fenerbahçe include: Fikret Arıcan, Fikret Kırcan, Halit Deringör, Melih Kotanca, Burhan Sargun, Nedim Doğan, Cemil Turan, Selçuk Yula, Müjdat Yetkiner, Oğuz Çetin, Rıdvan Dilmen, Aykut Kocaman, Rüştü Reçber and Tuncay Şanlı.
Former Romania goalkeeper Ilie Datcu was the first foreigner to reach 100 caps for Fenerbahçe. In recent decades, Fenerbahçe have gained an influx of foreigners who have helped the club to 19 Süper Lig titles. Among these is Uche Okechukwu, who after 13 seasons with Fenerbahçe and İstanbulspor became the longest serving foreigner in Turkey. During Uche's career with Fenerbahçe, he won two league titles and became a fan favourite. More recently, Fenerbahçe have been the home to Brazilian-born Mehmet Aurélio who, in 2006, became the first naturalized Turkish citizen to play for the Turkish national team.[2]
Alex is another Brazilian player who scored the most goals of all foreign players who have played for Fenerbahçe. He managed to become top scorer of the Turkish Süper Lig on two occasions (in 2006–07 and 2010–11), Turkish Footballer of the Year twice (in 2005 and 2010), as well as assist leader in the 2007–08 season of the UEFA Champions League.[3] Based on said achievements, as well as his acknowledged character and sportsmanship on and off the field by fans of Fenerbahçe and their rivals alike, he became the most successful and renowned foreign player to have ever played for the club and one of a few whose statue has been erected by the supporters of the club in the Yoğurtçu Park, in the near of Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.[4]
Some of the other foreign top players who played for Fenerbahçe over the years include: Toni Schumacher (1988–91), Jes Høgh (1995–99), Jay-Jay Okocha (1996–98), Elvir Bolić (1995–2000), Kennet Andersson (2000–02), Ariel Ortega(2002–03), Pierre van Hooijdonk (2003–05), Nicolas Anelka (2005–06), Stephen Appiah (2005–08), Mateja Kežman(2006–09), Diego Lugano (2006–11), Roberto Carlos (2007–09), Dirk Kuyt (2012–15), Raul Meireles (2012–16), Robin van Persie (2015–18), Nani (2015–16), Simon Kjær (2015–17), Mesut Özil (2021–22), Leonardo Bonucci (2022–23), Dušan Tadić (2023–25)Edin Džeko (2023–25), Marco Asensio (2025–present) and Ederson (2025–present).
| Period | Players |
|---|---|
| 1934 - 1956 (22 years, 412 Match) | Fikret Kırcan |
| 1927 - 1947 (20 years, 406 Match) | Fikret Arıcan |
| 1915 - 1934 (19 years, 325 Match) | Zeki Rıza Sporel |
| 2002 - 2019 (17 years, 526 Match) | Volkan Demirel |
| 1907 - 1924 (17 years, 257 Match) | Galip Kulaksızoğlu |
| 1916 - 1932 (16 years, 324 Match) | Alaattin Baydar |
| 1979 - 1995 (16 years, 763 Match) | Müjdat Yetkiner |
| 1947 - 1964 (15 years, 615 Match) | Lefter Küçükandonyadis |
| 1939 - 1953 (14 years, 308 Match) | Cihat Arman |
| 1925 - 1939 (14 years, 252 Match) | Cevat Seyit |
| 1955 - 1969 (14 years, 605 Match) | Şeref Has |
| 1932 - 1945 (13 years, 368 Match) | Esat Kaner |
| 1934 - 1947 (13 years, 388 Match) | Naci Bastoncu |
List of players
Players highlighted in bold are still actively playing at Fenerbahçe.
Information correct as of the match played on 17 May 2026.
Footnotes
- He is the number 2 member of the team and the 2nd president in history of club. He played as a goalkeeper in the Fenerbahçe football team, which first held training in June 1906, but started operating as a team in 1907
- He was the member 3rd of the team and the first captain of the team in Fenerbahçe’s history. He played in very few matches for the Fenerbahçe football team, the prototype of which was established in June 1906 but which became a fully-fledged football team in May 1907, until 1909, because he was an officer in the Ottoman Navy