Emre Akbaba

Emre Akbaba — Biography

Emre Akbaba was born on 4 October 1992 in France to a family with roots in Bitlis, Turkey. He took up football at amateur level in France and took part in the "Stars of Europe" trials before moving to Turkey at the age of eighteen.

After a spell in Antalyaspor's youth system and a loan at Kahramanmaraş BB, he joined Alanyaspor in 2013 for a two-season spell, scoring goals that helped the club win promotion. He went on to represent Antalyaspor and Alanyaspor again in the following seasons, and a standout 2017-18 campaign earned him his first call-up to the senior national team in June 2017, followed by his first international goal against Albania later that year. He signed for Galatasaray in August 2018, where a lengthy injury layoff kept him out of action until his return to the pitch in 2020.

He later turned out for several Süper Lig clubs; while at Eyüpspor, a fibula fracture in March 2026 ended his season early, and in July 2026 he left the club to sign with Fatih Karagümrük.