[People Profile] All We Know About Merih Demiral Biography, Career, Family, Networth

Merih Demiral, born 5th March, 1998 in Istanbul is Turkish professional footballer, who is a centre-back with Serie A club Atalanta and the Turkey national team.

Club careers

The beginning of the year

A member belonging to the Fenerbahce youth system Demiral’s contract was signed by Portuguese club Alcanenense in the year 2016.

In January of 2017, he was loaned for Sporting B, and made his debut as a professional during the Segunda Liga for the latter club on the 5th of February with a draw at home of 1-1 against Famalicao. Then, at the end of the season the player was officially signed with the team.

Profiling “Merih” Demiral

On the 15th of August, 2018 He was signed by Turkish club Alanyaspor on loan. On the 29th of January, 2019, he officially joined Alanyaspor for EUR3.5 million.

Sassuolo

30 January 2019 Demiral signed with Italian Serie A club Sassuolo on loan, with the obligation to purchase. Demiral first made the Serie A and club debut on the 24th of February in a 1-1 draw at home against SPAL. He made his debut goal at both club and in Serie A, scoring a brace in a home win of 4-0 over Chievo on 4 April.

Juventus

On July 5, 2019 Juventus have officially confirmed the signing of Demiral to Sassuolo under a contract of five years for EUR18 million. The salary of the player was reported to be spread at EUR1.3 million per calendar year. He was one of the few Turkish player to be a part of the club. He made his debut for the club on the 21st of September in the 2-1 win at home against Verona within Serie A. He then took on the Champions League debut on 11 December, during the final game of the group and was praised by journalists for his efforts when the player assisted in helping Juventus keep their clean sheets in a 2-0 win away against Bayer Leverkusen.

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The goal he scored was his first in the team’s history on January 12 2020, in a 2-1 win away against Roma in which Juventus achieve the name that reads “Winter Champions”, though he was later substituted in place of Matthijs de Ligt, who suffered an anterior ligament injury to the cruciate. The result was that the player was likely to be out for the rest period of this season which includes Euro 2020. He was back on the field on August 1, playing as an extra in Juventus the 3-1 defeat at home in the Serie A final against Roma during Serie A, with Juventus already confirmed as the league champions.

Loan to Atalanta

The 6th August of 2021 was the date Atalanta made an announcement that Demiral was signed by Juventus on loan, with the option of buying. In the 2021-22 season Demiral played 42 appearances across all games, scored two goals and gave three assists. Atalanta used the option to purchase the club on June 17, 2022, for a cost of EUR20 million.

International career

Demiral has represented Turkey at the junior level in the Under-17 and Under-19 age groups. He made his debut with the senior squad on the 20th of November 2018, in an friendly match against Ukraine in the 85th minute, as a substitution in place of Mert Muldur. On the 11th of June in 2021 Demiral scored an individual goal in a defeat of 3-0 at the hands of Italy in the opening game during the UEFA Euro 2020 campaign; it was the first time in tournament’s history that an started with an individual goal.

The style of the game

Demiral is often used as a center-back in either a four or three-man defence, however, he’s an extremely versatile player who can also be found playing right-handed full-back.

A nimble and aggressive defensive player, his primary attributes are his physicality, his tactical mentality, tackling skills and determination. These enable him to read plays and allow him to anticipate or identify the opponents he faces. A muscular and tall defensive player, he’s also recognized for his skill to fly that allows him to protect against crosses and remove the ball from his penalty area. Despite his height and massive body, he’s mobile, which lets him recover or recover the ball efficiently and limit his opponents movement when defending against the ball.

Considered a promising young defensive player by the media because of his attributes that have led to him being called Nemanja Vidic whom Demiral has himself been credited as an inspiration. One of his biggest sources of inspiration is Juventus clubmate Giorgio Chiellini, to whom Demiral is also as compared. He has also been compared to the former Juventus player Paolo Montero.

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Controversy

On October 11, 2019 in the wake of Cenk Tosun’s goal during the 1-0 win at home against Albania in the Euro 2020 qualifier, Demiral was among those Turkish players who took part in the controversial “military salute” goal celebration. On the next day, the player declared his backing for Turkish offensive into northern Syria on Twitter and, while his tweet was applauded in the eyes of Turkish supporters of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the post also received criticism from many soccer fans of Juventus through social media and also from other clubs, some who demanded that the club to initiate discipline against the player. Others even demanded that Demiral be fired from the team.

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Personal life

On April 1, 2021, it was reported that Demiral was positive for COVID-19 during its epidemic in Italy and was cured on the 6th of April. On April 20, 2022 Demiral along with his partner Heidi Lushtaku became grandparents of a child. They revealed this news one month after the birth.