World Football Summit director praises Arda Guler’s potential

ISTANBUL

World Football Summit Content & Communications Director Jaime Dominguez Perez De Ayala praised Real Madrid's approach to maximizing the potential of 19-year-old Turkish player Arda Guler.

"Arda is a fantastic player. He has a lot of talent. It is not easy to get to Real Madrid with this age and actually being able to make a difference. I think you guys have to be patient with him. Because he is very young," said Jamie, who resides in Spain and closely follows Real Madrid.

The Turkish attacking midfielder faces tough competition at Real Madrid, and the 19-year-old struggles to secure a spot in the starting lineup.

This season, Guler has made 12 appearances for Real Madrid, playing 307 minutes.

The young midfielder competes for playing time with seven other midfielders, including English star Jude Bellingham, Morocco's Brahim Diaz, Uruguay’s Federico Valverde, Croatia’s Luka Modric, French players Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, and Spain's Dani Ceballos.

"If you give this player an opportunity, as he is playing and training every day with the best players in the world, he is going to become a very important player for Turkey," said Jamie.

Arda was the second-best young player for the under-21 Kopa Trophy after Lamine Yamal, who won the 2024 Kopa Trophy.

"Arda has a great career ahead of him," he said.

"I think it is a matter of how Real Madrid works with young players. I do not think there is anything to do with him being unhappy or Real Madrid being unhappy at all. If you look at the cases, for example, (Martin) Odegaard. Now, he is playing for Arsenal. But, Odegaard was sent to another club for a couple of years and came back to Real Madrid. Brahim went to Milan for a couple of years and came back, and he is getting opportunities. Even Dani Carvahal, defender and captain of the team, played for Bayer Leverkusen for a couple of years and came back. I think it is good for the players to get this exposure. It is something Real Madrid have done very well, to the point that other European clubs are doing the same thing. They are sending them out to the clubs that are competing at a high level. It is part of the development process," he said.

"Real Madrid has been very consistent in terms of betting on young players," Jaime noted. "Their commitment is to try to develop them as much as possible and have a long-term strategy with the hope of bringing them back."

Expressing his views on Guler's future at Real Madrid, Jaime said, "They believe in Arda. They believe in his potential. I think it is a matter of making him reach that potential as soon as possible."

"I have been in Turkey and have seen the passion there. There is a lot of talent in Turkish football. I think it is a matter of creating sustainable structures from a business perspective. I see a lot of potential for Turkish football clubs to compete at the highest level," he said.

Guler joined Real Madrid from Turkish club Fenerbahce last year and is under contract with the Spanish giants until 2029. Despite knee and muscle injuries last season, he managed to score six goals in 21 matches for the club.

Guler made history last season by scoring six goals in 373 minutes, becoming the player with the most goals in the shortest playing time at Real Madrid.

Last season, Guler helped Real Madrid secure several major titles, including the UEFA Champions League, La Liga and the UEFA Super Cup.