Coveted by many top European teams before signing with Real Madrid in the summer of 2023 at the age of 18, Arda Güler arrived in Madrid with lofty expectations. Madrid paid Fenerbahçe approximately €26 million to secure the services of the Turkish phenom at a time when various Barcelona journalists reported he was close to signing with the Catalan club. Today Transfermarkt values Güler at €90 million, up from €45 million at the start of 2025, an indication of his progression over the last year.
Injuries
derailed Güler first season at Madrid, but once healthy he quickly demonstrated his scoring prowess with six goals in La Liga in only 373 minutes, an outrageous goal every 62 minutes on the pitch. Two years later, Güler is firmly establishing himself as one of the top creative midfielders in Europe.
Starting as a 10 under Xabi Alonso at the Club World Cup before transitioning to a deep-lying playmaker role, Güler has been playing in a more advanced position since the arrival of coach Álvaro Arbeloa. It was said at times this season that Madrid was expecting too much from Güler – to initiate play from the back, while also producing goals. That is, be a combination of Toni Kroos and Kevin De Bruyne. A difficult task for anyone, but especially a player that is still only 20 years of age.
With little fanfare, the Real Madrid midfielder this past weekend became the leader in La Liga with 52 chances created (key passes, including assists). That is a title that Xavi Hernández, Mesut Özil, Ángel Di María, Neymar and Lionel Messi, amongst others, have held over the last two decades. None did so at such a precocious age.
Güler’s superlative passing ability has him currently seoncd in La Liga with seven assists and third in big chances created with nine. With his assist against Benfica, he also led Champions League midfielders with four assists, tied with Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai. The Real Madrid midfielder has provided a total of 14 assists since the start of the Club World Cup. It has largely gone under the radar that among players from the top five European leagues since July in official club competitions, Güler’s 14 assists with Madrid are surpassed only by Michael Olise’s 18 assists with Bayern Munich.
What is particularly impressive is that the amount of shot opportunities the Real Madrid midfielder is providing for teammates. Güler is averaging an exceptional 3.64 chances created per 90 minutes in league play, the highest average for a leader in chances created in La Liga since his compatriot and former teammate Mesut Özil distributed 4.17 key passes/assists per 90 in the 2010/2011 season (see graph below). Also noteworthy is that nearly 35% of the Turkish midfielder’s chances have come through long passes (as defined by Opta). Güler could become the first Real Madrid player to lead La Liga in chances created since Ángel Di María’s last season at the club over a decade ago. With sufficient playing time in a more advanced role and with Mbappé, Vinicius and Gonzalo all off to a strong 2026, Arda has an outside chance to become the first La Liga player in the last 4 seasons to distribute 100+ key passes in a season.
Güler performances in Champions League play has been no less stellar where he finished the group phase 2nd in chances created with 24, averaging 3.9 per 90. This season saw him earn his first Player of the Match award in Champions League play vs. Juventus, in what was only his fourth start on Europe’s biggest club competition stage, after distributing six key passes and collecting 10 ball recoveries. Keep in mind that Pedri earned his first such award last season in his fifth season (25th start in Champions) at Barcelona.
Güler’s partnership with Kylian Mbappé has been especially lethal. The two have combined to produce 10 goals since the Club World Cup, nine of which were passes from the Turkish phenom to the Frenchman. That includes six goals in league play, the most goals where two teammates combined to score in the top five European leagues this season. In limited playing time together, Güler also seems to have developed a strong understanding with Gonzalo García, providing three assists on the Spaniard centre-forward’s goals.
Skeptics point to Güler as being primarily a set-piece specialist who is weak defensively. There are various data points that negate these false narratives.
- 36 of 52 of Güler’s key passes in La Liga, over 69%, have come with the ball in play. That is fifth most in La Liga, trailing only Mbappé (51), Yamal (40), Vinicius (39) and Pedri (38).
Despite his slender build, Güler is a much better defender than what is commonly perceived.
- According to Statsbomb data, the Turkish midfielder leads Real Madrid in total pressures in La Liga this season with 406 and in counterpressures (pressure immediately after losing possession) with 96.
- Earlier this season Statsbomb data indicated that through the first nine weeks of the season, Güler was leading all La Liga players in pressure regains per 90 minutes, indicating his pressures are well-timed.
- Many will be surprised to learn Güler is averaging 1.20 successful tackles per 90 minutes in league play, more than Tchouaméni (1.16 per 90) and Valverde (1.09 per 90).
- Güler continues to improve as a ball winner. He has had 10 ball recoveries in two (Juventus, Monaco) of the six Champions League matches he started this season, an exceptional amount for anyone, but especially an attacking midfielder. His interception last week on Monaco’s half of the pitch initiated the play that led to his assist for Vinicius’s goal.
Perhaps Arda needs that one special match in a Champions League elimination tie to consecrate himself as the best attacking midfielder in Europe and receive the accolades he deserves. Don’t be surprised if that occurs this spring.
