İsmail Köybaşı

İsmail Köybaşı — Biography

İsmail Köybaşı was born on 10 July 1989 in İskenderun, Hatay, and built his career as a 1.78 m left-back. He started out in İskenderunspor's youth system at sixteen, initially playing as a creative midfielder before teammates encouraged the switch to left-back. After spells in Yeni İskenderunspor and Gaziantepspor's junior sides, he turned professional in the 2007-08 season and drew wider attention through his Süper Lig performances for Gaziantepspor in 2008-09.

He joined Beşiktaş in June 2009, where he won major honours but also suffered two serious knee injuries during his time there, returning to a regular starting role by the 2015-16 season. He moved to Fenerbahçe in the summer of 2016, later playing for Trabzonspor and then Göztepe. He rose through Turkey's youth national teams to full international level, and won the Süper Lig and Turkish Cup with Beşiktaş, the Süper Lig with Trabzonspor, and the First League with Göztepe.

In July 2026 Köybaşı announced his retirement from professional football; Göztepe thanked him publicly and organised a farewell match against Trabzonspor in İzmir.