Mertan Caner Öztürk

Mertan Caner Öztürk — Biography

Mertan Caner Öztürk is a winger who came through the Galatasaray academy, impressed Fatih Terim and signed a five-year professional contract with the club. Noted for his pace and technique, he spent the following years at TFF 1. Lig and 2. Lig clubs, was described as Kastamonuspor 1966's goalscorer, and joined Mardin 1969 Spor in January 2026.

He grew up in Küçükçekmece and lived in Germany for two years as a child. He joined Galatasaray's academy after trials in 2002 and signed his first contract in 2005, playing first at right-back before being moved forward. In the A2 team he played on the right wing and won the A2 League in 2010-11. In November 2011 he came on as a substitute in a friendly against Benfica and caught Terim's eye; he made his official debut against Adana Demirspor in the Turkish Cup on 10 January 2012 and set up a goal, in a season Galatasaray won the Süper Lig. In 2013 he moved to Altınordu under a buy-back option and scored in his first official match; in 2014-15 he was loaned to Aydınspor 1923. He then played for Manisaspor, Elazığspor and Boluspor and joined İstanbulspor in 2021. He signed a 1+1-year deal with Kocaelispor in July 2022 and left in May 2023, and later wore the colours of Sarıyerspor and Kastamonuspor 1966.

He played for Turkey's under-18s against Belgium, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Finland. Alongside football he studied German language and literature at Istanbul University.