How Real Madrid beat Barcelona to Arda Guler – and why fans had to wait for debut

One hundred and eighty-four days after his €20million summer signing from Fenerbahce, Arda Guler finally made his Real Madrid debut on Saturday.

The moment had been a long time in the making for Guler, 18, whose injury problems mean he has been forced to watch his team-mates from the Santiago Bernabeu seats reserved for family and friends for much of the past few months. There, his small stature and unassuming demeanour meant he often went unnoticed, despite the intense interest and excitement that had built up around him.

The attacking midfielder’s first start came last weekend in Madrid’s Copa del Rey trip to fourth-tier Arandina, which was a surprise to some, mainly because of the sub-zero temperatures and a pitch that had certainly seen better days. But coaching staff sources — who, like all those cited here, preferred to speak anonymously to protect their positions — explained there was no worry over his physical condition.

He played for almost an hour, with family and those close to him watching on in the stands, and left a very good impression. Fans took great pleasure in his free kick that struck the post and his silky first touch, and Guler even featured on the front pages of Madrid-based sport newspapers Marca and AS. The way he took the ball away from team-mate Dani Ceballos for that set piece, as if he were a more senior player, was much commented on.

Guler, who has already made four appearances for Turkey since making his senior international debut in September 2022 aged 17, impressed everyone at Madrid after arriving for pre-season training — but then found himself sidelined by a knee injury at the end of July that required surgery.

While he made a good recovery from that operation, he suffered a further setback with a thigh muscle injury when close to a return in late September. In November, he was included in Madrid’s squad for games against Rayo Vallecano and Sporting Braga but was not involved. Soon after, it emerged that he had suffered another thigh muscle injury.

“Before the game against Braga, it didn’t seem like anything, but it’s still bothering him,” Carlo Ancelotti said at the time. “The player is depressed because he wants to play. It’s a small step back, it’s not a relapse of the old injury and we have the whole international break to recover him better.”

In the end, Guler had to wait until the new year to make his Madrid bow. The club have been careful not to rush him, while repeating their confidence in his talent. His absence has not dampened their hopes for a player who arrived over six months ago on July 6.

Led by their chief scout Juni Calafat, Real Madrid’s scouting department had already received several highly positive reports about Guler’s progress at Fenerbahce before the end of last season. His signing was accelerated by a conversation between chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez and one of the player’s representatives, who is also the agent of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, back in May.

By then, Guler was already on the radar of many of Europe’s biggest clubs. Atletico Madrid wanted to buy him and had sent a scout to Turkey months earlier to establish stronger contact. Manchester City also came calling, with head coach Pep Guardiola particularly keen on the player, while there were meetings with Paris Saint-Germain, too. In the background, but with the sense they might provide a good intermediate step for the player, were Ajax, with their former striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar leading the way on the club’s technical staff.

Guler’s contract with Fenerbahce ran until 2025, with his release clause set at €5million ($5.5m; £4.3m at current exchange rates). But this was subject to increase depending on playing time. As he grew in importance and became one of Fenerbahce’s main stars, playing a key regular role from last April, the clause rose to €17.5m.

With the 2022-23 season entering its closing stages, also now among the list of chasing clubs were Barcelona, who sent their new sporting director Deco over to Turkey for talks, while club president Joan Laporta publicly acknowledged they were interested.

The Catalans saw themselves as favourites and were convinced the deal was nearly done, as was reported in the Barcelona local media. But sources close to Guler say he was unconvinced by Barca’s project because of their institutional and economic instability, particularly their past and expected problems when it came to registering players.

Sources with knowledge of the deal say Barca were looking for a more favourable deal with instalments they could afford, while Fenerbahce liked the idea of them potentially agreeing to let their star player stay in Turkey for one more season.

Some reports suggested that Madrid decided to move for Guler after reading that he was close to joining Barca. But although it is true those at the club’s Valdebebas offices keep a close eye on the media, the scouting department had labelled Guler’s report ‘FICHAR’ (SIGN) in March (the club have various labels for these reports and the final say is still up to Sanchez and club president Florentino Perez).

As is the case with any Madrid signing — and with many players they do not sign — club specialists had already travelled to Turkey to see Guler play. His fine performance in the second leg of Fenerbahce’s Europa League round of 16 tie against Sevilla, where Guler’s side were eliminated despite winning 1-0, fully convinced Madrid’s recruitment staff.

And the key moment came in May, when Guler’s move to Madrid was set in motion by Sanchez’s call with Courtois’ agent. He told Sanchez he represented Guler and Madrid’s chief executive was reminded of Calafat’s admiration for the Turkish youngster. Within days Madrid had studied the deal and decided to proceed.

Barca beat Madrid to the signing of Racing Santander’s Spanish midfielder Pablo Torre in 2022 (the 20-year-old is now on loan at Girona) but lost out on the Brazilian trio of Vinicius Junior in 2017, Rodrygo in 2018 and Endrick in 2022. The same would happen again.

Guler wanted to move to Madrid, but only if he could start immediately at the Bernabeu. He felt ready to make the step up having played 35 games for Fenerbahce, scoring six goals and providing seven assists while wearing the No 10 shirt, and having played four times for Turkey’s senior team, scoring once.

The ball was in Madrid’s court, and they agreed to keep him in their squad after consulting Ancelotti. The veteran Italian spoke to the teenager himself to convince him of the move and explain what was expected of him.

At the same time, Guler was already a household name in his home country and his club were doing everything possible to keep him there for one more season. He wanted to move already but was also conscious of leaving a good impression at Fenerbahce, both in football terms and financially.

Key to this was his father, Umit Guler, described by those who know him as responsible for designing a solid staff around his son. When Guler’s release clause was still €5million, Umit repeatedly said in private the attacking midfielder would not leave for that amount out of respect and gratitude to Fener.

Something similar happened in negotiations with Madrid, who ended up agreeing to pay more than Guler’s €17.5million release clause to make the transfer as smooth as possible. They had already done this in the case of previous signings and the player’s camp considered Guler’s market price to be around €30m. The final fee was €20m plus variables that could take the deal up to that mark, with Fenerbahce retaining a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

The variables do not include winning the Ballon d’Or, as has been the case with other recent Madrid signings, and for them to be triggered, Guler will have to play regularly for the six seasons he has signed for.

Speaking after Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Arandina in the Copa del Rey, Ancelotti said: “He did an hour well but obviously he is not at his best physically. The important thing was for him to get used to playing with the team, to show his quality.

“You have to be patient. He showed the quality he has in the first half. He has personality and character, it’s true. That’s a good thing. He stands out for the quality he has above all, but character is important to do well at Real Madrid.”

(Top photo: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)