Arda Güler is starting to prove that Real Madrid’s investment was worth every penny. The 20-year-old Turkish midfielder, who arrived from Fenerbahçe surrounded by high expectations, is finally turning potential into prominence. Under Xabi Alonso’s leadership, he’s been earning minutes, confidence, and, most importantly, trust.
A starter in nine of the team’s ten games this 2025/26 season, he’s no longer just a promising talent. He’s a reality that Madrid fans already see as a key piece for the near future. And Arda himself seems to know it. In an interview with L’Équipe, he spoke with the maturity of someone who understands the size of the club he represents and still feels he has something to prove.
The title that isn’t his (yet)
“I didn’t win it, it wasn’t mine. I have to go after another one.” The sentence is simple, but it carries the weight of someone who doesn’t want shortcuts. Arda Güler was part of the 2023/24 Champions League-winning squad but didn’t play a single minute during the campaign. For him, the trophy doesn’t have the same meaning if it’s not earned on the field. Instead of settling for collective success, he wants to write his own story with effort, not with medals from the stands.
The midfielder admits that the beginning was tough. His agent had warned him: the first season would require patience. And it did. Under Ancelotti, Arda waited, learned, and listened. There were no tantrums or resentful speeches. On the contrary, he praised the Italian coach and highlighted the role of Davide Ancelotti, the assistant and Carlo’s son, now at Botafogo, who helped him adapt. “He always supported me, he helped me a lot in training.” That attitude, far from any sense of stardom, explains why the young player is now one of the names most praised by Xabi Alonso.
Xabi Alonso and the awakening of a gem
With the arrival of the new coach, Güler gained both freedom and purpose. Xabi Alonso sees something in the Turkish player beyond technique; he sees character. “On the first day, he told me, ‘I know you’re instinctive, that you’re a warrior on the field,’” said the player. And the compliment is no coincidence. The midfielder quickly adapted to the new coach’s style.
There’s something symbolic in what he represents. At a club where young players are often swallowed up and fail to establish themselves at Real Madrid, as seen with Ødegaard and Jovic, Güler seems to be thriving and showing his worth while wearing the heaviest white shirt in world soccer.