Four years ago he was playing in the 2nd League; now, one of the stars of EURO 2024: Who is Barış Alper?

Barış Alper, who started his football career in Rize Özel İdarespor, was transferred to Ankara Demirspor, one of the 3rd League teams of the period, at the age of 17 before the 2017-2018 season. The young football player, who became a professional here, played in 5 league and 2 Turkish Cup matches in his first season.

Barış Alper Yılmaz (born 23 May 2000) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Turkey national team.

Barış Alper, who started to find more time in his team, which was promoted to the TFF 2nd League as the play-off champion in the 2017-2018 season, played in 16 league and 1 cup matches in the 2018-2019 season, and in 19 league and 1 cup matches in the 2019-2020 season. Barış Alper, who usually plays on the right wing, enjoyed a goal once in these seasons.

Young Barış, who was transferred to the 1st League team Ankara Keçiörengücü in 2020, made a serious leap here. Barış Alper Yılmaz, who scored 8 times in 34 league matches in which he played, also played in 2 matches in the Turkish Cup.

He came to Galatasaray from the 1st League

His performance in Ankara Keçiörengücü opened the doors of Galatasaray to Barış Alper Yılmaz.

The yellow-red club added Barış Alper, whom he trusted in his potential in 2021, to its squad by paying a transfer fee of 21 million lira (2.1 million euros at the exchange rate of the period).

In the 2021-2022 season, the squad formed with young and potential football players under the leadership of then-president Burak Elmas and coach Fatih Terim could not meet the expectations. Galatasaray finished the season in 13th place, showing the worst performance in its history.

While Barış Alper played in 23 competitions, including 17 Super League, 5 European and 1 Turkish Cup, he could not experience goal joy.

He made his debut with Okan Buruk

Barış Alper's rise began under the management of coach Okan Buruk, who took office after the 2021-2022 season, which Galatasaray closed with great trauma.

Barış Alper Yılmaz, who played in 25 Super League and 5 Turkish Cup matches in the 2022-2023 season under the management of Okan Buruk, enjoyed goals 4 times. In the season that ended with the championship, Barış won the eyes of both Okan Buruk and the yellow-red fans with his performance, especially in the derbies.

Barış Alper Yılmaz left his mark on the 2023-2024 season at Galatasaray.

The young football player managed to stand out in Galatasaray, which has offensive players such as Mauro Icardi, Hakim Ziyech, Wilfried Zaha, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Tete and Dries Mertens in its squad.

Barış Alper, who played 55 official matches in all competitions for the yellow-red team, attracted attention with his performance of 7 goals and 12 assists. In addition to his effectiveness in attack, the young football player also came to the fore with the relief of coach Okan Buruk.

The 24-year-old star football player, who played on the wings and center forward in attack, also played at right and left back when the team needed. Barış Alper was one of the football players who played the leading role in Galatasaray's second consecutive championship.

He played in 70 matches in the 2023-2024 season

Barış Alper Yılmaz played in 70 matches with Galatasaray and the National Team this season.

Barış Alper, who played in 55 official competitions for the yellow-red team, also wore the crescent-star jersey 15 times.

The star football player, who spent a total of 3,490 minutes on the field in Galatasaray, played 922 minutes in the National Team. The total time taken by Barış Alper was 4 thousand 412 minutes.

Football affected public opinion in EURO 2024

The young football player received a passing grade from the European football public with his performance in EURO 2024.

Barış Alper stayed on the field for 90 minutes in each of the 5 competitions in the European Championship, which was held after a busy and tiring season. He attracted attention with his strength, endurance, speed, and struggle in both the group stage and the qualifying rounds.

Thousands of positive comments were shared on social media about Barış Alper, who pushed opposing defenders and prepared positions for his teammates despite not being able to produce a goal or an assist in the championship.

Netherlands' star defender Virgil van Dijk commented on the star and crescent football player, who foreign press members praised: "He was always running, he was uncontrollable. It is difficult for every defender. He put a lot of pressure on us in the back three."