Merih Demiral (born 5 March 1998) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Juventus and the Turkey national team.
On 5 July 2019, Juventus officially announced the transfer of Demiral from Sassuolo, on a five-year contract for €18 million. His salary was reportedly unfolded as €1.3 million per annum. He became the first Turkish player to play for the club. He made his club debut on 21 September, in a 2–1 home win over Verona in Serie A. He subsequently made his Champions League debut on 11 December, in the club's final group match, earning praise in the media for his performance as he helped Juventus keep a clean sheet in a 2–0 away win over Bayer Leverkusen. He scored his first goal for the club on 12 January 2020, the opener in a 2–1 away win over Roma, which saw Juventus secure the unofficial title of "Winter Champions;" however, he was later substituted for Matthijs de Ligt after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury. As a result, he was expected to be ruled out for the remainder of the season, including Euro 2020. He returned to action on 1 August, featuring as a substitute in Juventus's 3–1 home defeat to Roma in Serie A, with Juventus already confirmed as league champions.
Demiral represented Turkey at junior levels, including Under-17 and Under-19. He made his debut for the senior squad on 20 November 2018 in a friendly against Ukraine, as an 85th-minute substitute for Mert Muldur.
On 11 June 2021, Demiral scored an own goal against Italy in the first game of the UEFA Euro 2020 campaign; it was the first time in the tournament's history that the match opener kicked off with an own goal.<\/P>","52D34B1F24A26AA271F2BD571AA0152C":"2","55115EEDFFE75225FD0E1787F70FC7CB":"2023-8-19","7850BFBCDDAACDE9":"Merih Demiral","71450CE0B6A0CA84C96E1AF31F3CA129":"1998-3-5","6F2A70628678CF42F2F15CA1EF3BF952":"\u20ac20.00m","68B71F6A7FE5F18E":"86kg","4EFF01CD2A1AA8474DF07D17EF0164A9":"Turkiye","156AB99B762676230C18DFFD85A3FAED":"
CLUB
<\/U><\/STRONG>Juventus<\/STRONG>
Serie A: 2019–20
Coppa Italia: 2020–21
Supercoppa Italiana: 2020; runner-up: 2019
INTERNATIONAL
<\/U><\/STRONG>Turkey U20
<\/STRONG>Toulon Tournament 3rd place: 2018<\/P>","53F6A06F211D096A":"Al-Ahli Saudi FC","EB70E23140D61D3403104435C4316058":"28","65809D335DC33AB4":"2487","0DC344593C67F298":"976908","e_index":4};