Merih Demiral

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.

On 11 October 2019, following Cenk Tosun's goal in a 1–0 home win over Albania in a Euro 2020 qualifier, Demiral was one of the Turkish players who participated in a controversial "military salute" goal celebration. The same day, he stated his open support for the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria on Twitter; while his post was praised by supporters of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it also drew criticism from numerous football fans of Juventus on social media, as well as those of other clubs, some of whom asked for the club to take disciplinary actions against the player; others even demanded that Demiral be dismissed by the club.

On 15 August 2018, he joined Turkish club Alanyaspor on loan. On 29 January 2019, he permanently joined Alanyaspor for €3.5 million. On 30 January 2019, joined Italian Serie A club Sassuolo on loan with an obligation to buy. He made his Serie A and club debut on 24 February, in a 1–1 home draw against S.P.A.L., and scored his first goals, both for the club and in Serie A – a brace in a 4–0 home win over Chievo –, on 4 April.

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 Müldür.

A product of the Fenerbahçe youth system, Demiral was signed by Portuguese side AC Alcanenensein in 2016. In January 2017, he was loaned out to Sporting B, and made his professional debut in the Segunda Liga for the latter club on 5 February 2017 in a 1–1 home draw against Famalicão. At the end of the season, he was signed outright by the club.

Merih Demiral (born 5 March 1998) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Juventus and the Turkey national team.