Cengiz Ünder

Cengiz Ünder
Ünder with Turkey in 2018
Personal information
Full name Cengiz Ünder[1]
Date of birth (1997-07-14) 14 July 1997
Place of birth Sındırgı, Balıkesir, Turkey
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Çorum
Youth career
2007–2013 Bucaspor
2013–2015 Altınordu
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Altınordu 51 (11)
2016–2017 Başakşehir 32 (7)
2017–2022 Roma 70 (13)
2020–2021 → Leicester City (loan) 9 (0)
2021–2022 → Marseille (loan) 32 (10)
2022–2023 Marseille 37 (5)
2023–2026 Fenerbahçe 28 (9)
2025 → Los Angeles FC (loan) 12 (2)
2025–2026 → Beşiktaş (loan) 26 (5)
2026– Çorum 0 (0)
International career
2014–2015 Turkey U18 6 (1)
2015–2016 Turkey U19 12 (6)
2016 Turkey U21 3 (0)
2016–2023 Turkey 51 (16)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:19, 1 July 2026 (UTC)

Cengiz Ünder (Turkish pronunciation: [dʒeɲˈɟiz ynˈdæɾ]; born 14 July 1997) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Süper Lig club Çorum.

Club career

Early career

Ünder with Başakşehir in 2017

Ünder began his professional career at Altinordu, and later transferred to Başakşehir for €700K.[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, Ünder joined Serie A club Roma for a fee of €13.4 million.[5] He scored his first goal for Roma in a 1–0 win over Hellas Verona on 4 February 2018.[6] Later that month, he marked his Champions League debut with a goal; the opener in a 2–1 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] In his first season with Roma, he recorded 7 goals and 1 assist in 26 league games, and 1 goal in 5 Champions League matches.

On 2 October 2018, he scored a goal and made an assist in a 5–0 win over Viktoria Plzeň in a Champions League group stage match.[9] Later in the competition, he assisted Kostas Manolas' header from a corner in a 3–0 victory over Barcelona in the quarter-finals, helping his club reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1984 after winning on away goals following a 4–4 aggregate draw.[10]

Loan to Leicester City

On 20 September 2020, Ünder signed for Premier League club Leicester City on a season-long loan, with the option of a permanent transfer.[11] He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat to West Ham United, coming on as a substitute.[12] 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 against Arsenal.[13] On 10 December, Ünder scored his first Leicester goal in a 2–0 home win over AEK Athens in the UEFA Europa League.[14]

Marseille

On 4 July 2021, Ünder moved to France, signing for Ligue 1 club Marseille on loan, with an option to buy[15] for €9 million.[16] On 8 August, he made his debut for the club against Montpellier, where Marseille won 3–2.

On 6 April 2022, Marseille signed Ünder permanently from Roma, penning a five-year long deal.[17]

Fenerbahçe

On 13 August 2023, Ünder returned to Turkey and signed a four-year contract with Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe for a reported fee of €15 million.[18][19] On 21 August, he made his debut for the side in a 2-0 away win against Samsunspor.[20]

On 20 December 2023, he scored his first goal for the club against Kayserispor in a match where Fenerbahçe won 4–3.[21] On 7 January 2024, after a slow start to his career with the club, he scored four goals in a 5–1 win over Istanbulspor.[22]

Loan to LAFC

On 20 February 2025, he joined Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC on loan until the end of the season.[23] On 12 March, he made his debut with an assist for the team in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Colombus Crew.[24] On 29 March, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 loss to San Diego FC.[25]

Loan to Beşiktaş

On 8 September 2025, Ünder joined Süper Lig side Beşiktaş on a season-long loan with option to buy.[26] On September 13, he scored the winning goal on his debut with the club in a 2–1 win at home against former club Başakşehir.[27]

Çorum

On 28 August 2026, Ünder joined newly promoted Çorum, signing a one-year deal.[28]

International career

Ünder playing for Turkey in 2018

Ünder has represented the U18 and U19 levels of the Turkey national team. He had also been called up to the Turkey U21 national team.[29]

In November 2016, Ünder received his first call-up to the senior Turkey squad for the match against Kosovo.[30] He scored his first international goal in his second appearance for the national team in a friendly victory against Moldova in March 2017.

On 14 May 2021, Ünder was named in Turkey's 26-man squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[31]

Controversies

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 scoring in Roma's 5–2 home win over Benevento.[32][33] In October 2019, following the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, Ünder posted a picture of the aforementioned celebration on Twitter;[34] his controversial post drew criticism on social media from Roma fans.[35][36]

When Los Angeles FC signed Ünder in February 2025, a small LAFC supporters’ group identifying as Armenian threatened to boycott games in case of signing a Turkish player, expressing hostility toward players of Turkish nationality.[37]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 May 2026[38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Altınordu 2014–15 TFF First League 20560—265
2015–16 3161326
Total 511170—5811
Başakşehir 2016–17 Süper Lig 327724[b]0—439
Roma 2017–18 Serie A 267105[c]1328
2018–19 26316[c]3336
2019–20 18323[b]0233
Total 701340144—8817
Leicester City (loan) 2020–21 Premier League 90218[b]1—192
Marseille (loan) 2021–22 Ligue 1 32103112[d]24713
Marseille 2022–23 375306[c]0465
Total 691561182—9318
Fenerbahçe 2023–24 Süper Lig 249207[e]00339
2024–25 30204[b]0—90
2025–26 1—10
2026–27 0000000000
Total 2894011000439
Los Angeles FC (loan) 2025 MLS 122—3[f]01[g]0162
Beşiktaş (loan) 2025–26 Süper Lig 26530—295
Career total 297623345871038973
  1. ↑ Includes Turkish Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, Coupe de France
  2. 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. 1 2 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
  6. ↑ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup
  7. ↑ Appearance in FIFA Club World Cup play-in

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team YearAppsGoals
Turkey 201610
201763
2018101
201932
202062
202110[a]3
202294
202361
Total5116
  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.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.27 March 2017New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey Moldova3–03–1Friendly
2.11 June 2017Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania Kosovo2–14–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.13 November 2017New Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey Albania1–22–3Friendly
4.27 March 2018Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro Montenegro1–02–2
5.30 May 2019New Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey Greece1–02–1
6.8 June 2019Büyükşehir Stadium, Konya, Turkey France2–02–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
7.11 November 2020Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey Croatia3–33–3Friendly
8.15 November 2020Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey Russia2–13–22020–21 UEFA Nations League B
9.3 June 2021Benteler-Arena, Paderborn, Germany Moldova2–02–0Friendly
10.1 September 2021Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey Montenegro1–02–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.7 September 2021Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands Netherlands1–61–6
12.29 March 2022Büyükşehir Stadium, Konya, Turkey Italy1–02–3Friendly
13.4 June 2022Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey Faroe Islands1–04–02022–23 UEFA Nations League C
14.22 September 2022 Luxembourg1–13–3
15.16 November 2022Diyarbakır Stadium, Diyarbakır, Turkey Scotland2–02–1Friendly
16.16 June 2023Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia Latvia2–13–2UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

Leicester City

Individual

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 Ünder Medipol Başakşehir'e transfer oldu". Habertürk (in Turkish). 18 May 2016.
  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. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  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. ↑ "Edin Dzeko's triple destroys Viktoria Plzen as Roma cruise to victory". ESPN. 2 October 2018.
  10. ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (10 April 2018). "Roma 3-0 Barcelona (agg: 4-4)". BBC Sport.
  11. ↑ "Cengiz Under: Leicester City sign Turkey winger on loan from Roma". BBC Sport. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "Arsenal vs. Leicester City - Football Match Report". ESPN.com. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  14. ↑ Johnston, Neil (10 December 2020). "Leicester 2-0 AEK Athens: Cengiz Under scores his first Foxes goal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "Cengiz Ünder is an Olympien". www.om.fr. Marseille. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Επίσημο: Στην Μαρσέιγ ο Ουντέρ!" [Official: Ünder in Marseille!]. www.sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Marsilya, Cengiz Ünder'i resmen kadrosuna kattı!".
  18. ↑ "Fenerbahçemize hoş geldin Cengiz Ünder" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  19. ↑ "Cengiz Ünder transferinin sonuçlanması hk" (in Turkish). KAP. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "Yılport Samsunspor 0-2 Fenerbahçe" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  21. ↑ "Mondihome Kayserispor 3-4 Fenerbahçe" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  22. ↑ "İstanbulspor 1-5 Fenerbahçe" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  23. ↑ "Transfer Bilgilendirme" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  24. ↑ "Recap: LAFC 1 (4) - 2 (2) Columbus - Concacaf Champions Cup". Los Angeles FC. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  25. ↑ "San Diego FC defeats Los Angeles FC 3-2, earning first ever home win". East Village Times. 29 March 2025.
  26. ↑ "Beşiktaşımıza Hoş Geldin Cengiz Ünder" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.L. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  27. ↑ "Cengiz Ünder Beşiktaş kariyerine golle başladı" (in Turkish). TRTspor. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "Çorum FK, Cengiz Ünder'i renklerine bağladı" (in Turkish). Çorum F.K. 29 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Ümit Milli Takım kadrosunda değişiklik - U-21 Milli Takım Haber Detay Sayfası TFF". www.tff.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "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.
  31. ↑ "Turkey Euro 2020 squad profile: Best player, manager and past Euros record". FourFourTwo. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ "Roma 5–2 Benevento" (in Italian). Eurosport. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  34. ↑ 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.
  35. ↑ 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.
  36. ↑ 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.
  37. ↑ "The Los Angeles signing that could divide the team's fans". AS. February 2025.
  38. ↑ "C. Ünder". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  39. ↑ McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021). "Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  40. ↑ "65. Gillette Milliyet Yılın Sporcusu Ödülleri sahiplerini buldu!". Milliyet. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
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