‘First Turkish player to…’ – Arda Guler confesses Real Madrid dream

Carlo Ancelotti, over the years, has earned the reputation of being a manager who, while among the best in terms of man-management and bringing out the highest level from his players, does not like to shuffle his teams too much.

This often leads to injuries and on other occasions, some players not receiving enough minutes through the course of the season.

One of the players that has been the victim of this, this season for Real Madrid, is one of their 2023 summer signing, Arda Guler.

After ending Barcelona to his signing in the summer window, Guler was expected to be a part of the senior-team dynamics immediately, but an injury ruled him out for several months.

However, despite being fully fit since late November, the Turkish international has been awarded no more than 100 minutes in La Liga, and 60 in the Champions League.

He has received the joint-fewest minutes in the team among senior players who have played – as many as Eder Militao, who picked up an ACL injury on the first day of the season.

Dreaming about UCL win

Coming off a solid game against Real Sociedad where he scored the match-winner, though, Arda Guler spoke to KAFA Sports and admitted his big dream while at Real Madrid, saying, “I want to become the first Turkish player to win the Champions League.”

Guler also talked about his nickname in the Madrid dressing room, ‘Abi’. Explaining it, he said, “Everyone in the team calls me ‘Abi’ (older brother in Turkish). I am surprised when Modric says ‘Abi’ or something.”

He also name-checked David Alaba during this interview, opening up about their friendly relationship.

“Alaba grew up in a neighbourhood with a lot of Turkish people in Austria and is a fan of Galatasaray. He always jokes around with me saying, ‘You are from Fenerbahce, I am from Galatasaray’.”

Guler has been linked with an exit from Real Madrid on loan at the end of this season, though, with clubs like Napoli, among others seriously eyeing a move for him. The player, however, is only thinking about succeeding at the Santiago Bernabeu.