Cengiz Ünder

Cengiz Ünder (Turkish pronunciation: [dʒeŋˈɟiz ynˈdæɾ]; born 14 July 1997) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Turkey national team.

Cengiz Ünder

Ünder with Turkey in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Cengiz Ünder[1]
Date of birth	(1997-07-14) 14 July 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Sındırgı, Balıkesir, Turkey
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Fenerbahçe
Number	20
Youth career
2007–2013	Bucaspor
2013–2015	Altınordu
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Altınordu	51	(11)
2016–2017	İstanbul Başakşehir	33	(7)
2017–2022	Roma	70	(13)
2020–2021	→ Leicester City (loan)	9	(0)
2021–2022	→ Marseille (loan)	32	(10)
2022–2023	Marseille	37	(5)
2023–	Fenerbahçe	26	(9)
International career‡
2014–2015	Turkey U18	6	(1)
2015–2016	Turkey U19	12	(6)
2016	Turkey U21	3	(0)
2016–	Turkey	51	(16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:15, 21 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:00, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Ünder began his professional career at Altinordu, and later transferred to Başakşehir.^[3] In his breakout season with Başakşehir, Ünder established himself as one of the best players in the league, scoring 7 goals in 32 games in his debut season in the Süper Lig.^[4]

Roma

On 16 July 2017, he became a Roma player for a €13.4 million fee.^[5] He scored his first goal for Roma in a 1–0 win over Hellas Verona in the Serie A on 4 February 2018.^[6] In the same month, he marked his Champions League debut with a goal; the opener in a 1–2 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of the first round of knockout fixtures,^[7] becoming the youngest Turkish player ever to score in the Champions League.^[8]

Leicester City (loan)

On 20 September 2020, Ünder signed for Premier League club Leicester City on a season-long loan, with the option of a permanent transfer.^[9] He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat to West Ham United, coming on as a substitute.^[10] On 25 October, he made his first goal contribution for Leicester when he assisted Jamie Vardy's winning goal in a 1–0 away win over Arsenal, which ended Leicester's 47-year wait for a victory away at Arsenal.^[11] On 10 December, Ünder scored his first Leicester goal in a 2–0 home win over AEK Athens in the UEFA Europa League.^[12]

Marseille

On 4 July 2021, he signed on loan for Ligue 1 club Marseille, with an option to be bought^[13] of €9 million.^[14] On 8 August 2021, he made his debut with the team against Montpellier in Ligue 1, Marseille won 3–2.

On April 6, 2022, Marseille used the option and signed permanent 5 years contract.^[15]

Fenerbahçe

On 13 August 2023, Ünder signed a four-year contract with Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe for a reported fee of €15 million.^[16][17] On 21 August 2023, he made his debut with the team against Samsunspor in Süper Lig away game, Fenerbahçe won 2–0.^[18]

On 20 December 2023, he scored his first goal for the team against Kayserispor in league match that Fenerbahçe won 4–3. On 7 January 2024, after a slow start to his career with Fenerbahçe, he scored four goals in a 5–1 win over Istanbulspor.^[19]

International career

Ünder has represented the U18 and U19 levels of the Turkey national youth football team. He most recently was called up to the Turkey national under-21 football team.^[20]

In November 2016 Ünder received his first call-up to the senior Turkey squad for the match against Kosovo.^[21] He scored his first international goal in his second cap for his country in a friendly victory against Moldova in March 2017.

Controversy

Following the Afrin offensive in Northern Syria, which was carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces in January 2018, on 11 February, Ünder performed a military salute as a goal celebration after netting in Roma's 5–2 home win over Benevento in Serie A.^[22][23] In October 2019, following the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, Ünder posted a picture of the aforementioned celebration on Twitter;^[24] his controversial post drew criticism on social media from Roma fans.^[25][26]

Career statistics

Club

Ünder playing for İstanbul Başakşehir in 2017

Ünder playing for Roma in 2018

As of match played 26 September 2024^[27]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Altınordu	2014–15	TFF First League	20	5	6	0	—		26	5
	2015–16	TFF First League	31	6	1	0	—		32	6
	Total		51	11	7	0	0	0	58	11
İstanbul Başakşehir	2016–17	Süper Lig	32	7	7	2	4[b]	0	43	9
Roma	2017–18	Serie A	26	7	1	0	5[c]	1	32	8
	2018–19	Serie A	26	3	1	0	6[c]	3	33	6
	2019–20	Serie A	18	3	2	0	3[b]	0	23	3
	Total		70	13	4	0	14	4	88	17
Leicester City (loan)	2020–21	Premier League	9	0	2	1	8[b]	1	19	2
Marseille (loan)	2021–22	Ligue 1	32	10	3	1	12[d]	2	47	13
Marseille	2022–23	Ligue 1	37	5	3	0	6[c]	0	46	5
	Total		69	15	6	1	18	2	93	18
Fenerbahçe	2023–24	Süper Lig	24	9	2	0	7[e]	0	33	9
	2024–25	Süper Lig	2	0	0	0	1[b]	0	3	0
	Total		26	9	2	0	8	0	36	9
Career total			257	55	28	4	52	7	337	66

1. Includes Turkish Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, Coupe de France
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

Ünder playing for Turkey in 2018

As of match played 12 September 2023^[28]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Turkey	2016	1	0
	2017	6	3
	2018	10	1
	2019	3	2
	2020	6	2
	2021	10[a]	3
	2022	9	4
	2023	6	1
Total		51	16

1. Three appearances in UEFA Euro 2020

Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ünder goal.

List of international goals scored by Cengiz Ünder

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	27 March 2017	New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey	Moldova	3–0	3–1	Friendly
2.	11 June 2017	Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania	Kosovo	2–1	4–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	13 November 2017	New Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey	Albania	1–2	2–3	Friendly
4.	27 March 2018	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	Montenegro	1–0	2–2
5.	30 May 2019	New Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey	Greece	1–0	2–1
6.	8 June 2019	Büyükşehir Stadium, Konya, Turkey	France	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
7.	11 November 2020	Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey	Croatia	3–3	3–3	Friendly
8.	15 November 2020	Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Russia	2–1	3–2	2020–21 UEFA Nations League B
9.	3 June 2021	Benteler-Arena, Paderborn, Germany	Moldova	2–0	2–0	Friendly
10.	1 September 2021	Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey	Montenegro	1–0	2–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.	7 September 2021	Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–6	1–6
12.	29 March 2022	Büyükşehir Stadium, Konya, Turkey	Italy	1–0	2–3	Friendly
13.	4 June 2022	Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Faroe Islands	1–0	4–0	2022–23 UEFA Nations League C
14.	22 September 2022	Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Luxembourg	1–1	3–3
15.	16 November 2022	Diyarbakır Stadium, Diyarbakır, Turkey	Scotland	2–0	2–1	Friendly
16.	16 June 2023	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	2–1	3–2	UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

Leicester City

• FA Cup: 2020–21^[29]

Individual

• Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2016–17
• Turkish Footballer of the Year: 2018^[30]

References

1. "Cengi̇z Ünder". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
2. "Cengiz Ünder". A.S. Roma. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
3. "Cengiz Under". footballdatabase.eu.
4. Sarigul, Emre (22 November 2017). "Roma's Cengiz Under: 'I like to prove people wrong. I've been doing it since I was 10'". The Guardian.
5. "Roma complete the signing of Cengiz Under". www.asroma.com.
6. "Cengiz Ünder İtalya'yı salladı! Tarihe geçti..." www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.
7. "Fantastic Fred gives Shakhtar edge over Roma". www.worldfootball.net.
8. "The youngest Turkish player ever to have scored in the Champions League..." Twitter. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
9. "Cengiz Under: Leicester City sign Turkey winger on loan from Roma". BBC Sport. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
10. Blackwell, Jordan (5 October 2020). "Every word Brendan Rodgers said on Cengiz Under's Leicester City debut and conceding early goals". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
11. "Arsenal vs. Leicester City - Football Match Report". ESPN.com. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
12. Johnston, Neil (10 December 2020). "Leicester 2-0 AEK Athens: Cengiz Under scores his first Foxes goal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
13. "Cengiz Ünder is an Olympien". www.om.fr. Marseille. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
14. "Επίσημο: Στην Μαρσέιγ ο Ουντέρ!" [Official: Ünder in Marseille!]. www.sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
15. "Marsilya, Cengiz Ünder'i resmen kadrosuna kattı!".
16. "Fenerbahçemize hoş geldin Cengiz Ünder" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
17. "Cengiz Ünder transferinin sonuçlanması hk" (in Turkish). KAP. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
18. "Yılport Samsunspor 0-2 Fenerbahçe".
19. "Mondihome Kayserispor 3-4 Fenerbahçe" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
20. "Ümit Milli Takım kadrosunda değişiklik - U-21 Milli Takım Haber Detay Sayfası TFF". www.tff.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.
21. "Küskünler barıştı! Arda Turan yeniden Milli Takım'da!" (in Turkish). superhaber.tv. 4 November 2016. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
22. Giulianelli, Emanuele (14 February 2018). "Il saluto militare di Cengiz Ünder, semplice esultanza o endorsement alla politica di Erdogan?". The Huffington Post (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
23. "Roma 5–2 Benevento" (in Italian). Eurosport. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
24. Dolci, Stefano (11 October 2019). "Demiral, Calhanoglu e Under nella bufera per i tweet a sostegno dell'offensiva turca contro i curdi" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
25. Pinci, Matteo (11 October 2019). "Roma, Under: il post per l'esercito turco diventa un caso: "Non con la nostra maglia"". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
26. Aliprandi, Jacopo (11 October 2019). "Maglia della Roma, saluto militare e bandiere turche: bufera social su Under". Il Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
27. "C. Ünder". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
28. "Cengiz Ünder". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
29. McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021). "Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
30. "65. Gillette Milliyet Yılın Sporcusu Ödülleri sahiplerini buldu!". Milliyet. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

External links

• Cengiz Ünder at Soccerway
• Cengiz Ünder at the Turkish Football Federation
• Marseille Profile
• Cengiz Ünder at www.mackolik.com (in Turkish)
• Personal Website
• Cengiz Ünder – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French