Zeki Çelik
Turkish footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mehmet Zeki Çelik (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈzeci ˈtʃelik]; born 17 February 1997) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Roma and the Turkey national team. Mainly a right-back, he can also be deployed as a centre-back in a back three.
|
Çelik playing for Turkey in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mehmet Zeki Çelik | ||
| Date of birth | 17 February 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Yıldırım, Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Roma | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2009 | Yavuz Selimspor | ||
| 2009–2015 | Bursaspor | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Bursaspor | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Karacabeyspor (loan) | 34 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | İstanbulspor | 64 | (3) |
| 2018–2022 | Lille | 118 | (6) |
| 2022– | Roma | 102 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Turkey U16 | 11 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Turkey U17 | 12 | (0) |
| 2014 | Turkey U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Turkey U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2018– | Turkey | 59 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:09, 25 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||
Early life
Çelik was born on 17 February 1997 in Yıldırım, Bursa Province. He is of Kurdish descent.[2][3]
Club career
Bursaspor
Born in Bursa as the youngest of nine children, Çelik went through the Bursaspor youth academy and became a professional in 2015. He signed on loan with Karacabey Birlikspor in 2015.
İstanbulspor
In 2016, he joined İstanbulspor. His good performance with İstanbulspor earned him a call-up to the senior Turkey national team in 2018, despite playing in the TFF First League.[4]
Lille
On 8 July 2018, Çelik signed with Lille in France on a five-year contract.[5][6] Çelik made his professional debut in a 3–1 Ligue 1 win over Stade Rennes on 11 August 2018.[7]
Roma
On 5 July 2022, Çelik’s transfer to Roma from Lille was made official by the Serie A club, Roma.[8] He has signed a four-year contract with the Giallorossi that runs until 30 June 2026.[9] He made his Serie A debut in a 1–0 win over Cremonese on 22 August 2022.
International career
Çelik made his professional debut for the Turkey national team in a 1–1 friendly with Russia on 5 June 2018.[10]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 25 April 2026[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bursaspor | 2015–16 | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Karacabeyspor (loan) | 2015–16 | TFF Second League | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |
| İstanbulspor | 2016–17 | TFF Second League | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | TFF First League | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| Total | 64 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 69 | 0 | |||
| Lille | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |
| 2019–20 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7[b] | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| Total | 118 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 143 | 8 | ||
| Roma | 2022–23 | Serie A | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8[c] | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11[c] | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10[c] | 1 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 2025–26 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10[c] | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
| Total | 102 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 147 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 318 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 56 | 2 | 394 | 11 | ||
- Includes Turkish Cup, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Coppa Italia
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[11]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2018 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 3 | |
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first.[11]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2 June 2019 | Bahçeşehir Okulları Stadium, Alanya, Turkey |  Uzbekistan | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 2–0 | |||||
| 3. | 11 October 2025 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria |  Bulgaria | 5–1 | 6–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
