Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Turkish pronunciation: [ceˈɾɛm akˈtyɾkoːɫu]; born 21 October 1998) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a winger or wide midfielder for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Turkey national team.
Coming through İstanbul Başakşehir's youth academy, he made his debut in 2016, representing various club in the amateur Turkish TFF Third League, before moving to Süper Lig club Galatasaray in 2020 on a free transfer, where he made his professional debut and won two back-to-back league titles in 2023 and 2024. In September 2024, he joined Benfica for a transfer fee of €12 million.
Aktürkoğlu is a former Turkey youth international, representing his country at various levels. He made his senior international debut in 2021, being chosen in Turkey's squads for two UEFA European Championships (2020 and 2024) and one FIFA World Cup (2026).
Aktürkoğlu was born on 21 October 1998 in İzmit, Turkey. At ten months old, he survived the 1999 İzmit earthquake.
Aktürkoğlu began his football career at İstanbul Başakşehir's youth academy, signing his first professional contract with the club in 2015 at the age of 16. Despite his potential, he did not feature in any matches for Başakşehir during his four-year contract.
In 2016, he was loaned to Bodrumspor in the amateur TFF Third League to gain playing experience. Reflecting on his time at Başakşehir in a later interview, Aktürkoğlu expressed deep frustration, claiming that "four years of his life were stolen" due to a rigid hierarchy under Abdullah Avcı and Emre Belözoğlu, where senior players exercised significant authority over younger talents. This lack of opportunities brought him to the brink of quitting football, but encouragement from his family convinced him to persevere.
In 2017, Aktürkoğlu sought a fresh start and joined fellow Turkish TFF Third League side Karacabey Belediyespor on a free transfer in search of regular playing time. He became a key player for his new club, featuring in 35 matches over the season and contributing three goals and two assists. His efforts helped Karacabey reach the promotion play-offs, but the team was eliminated by Serik Belediyespor on July 15, 2019, following a narrow 4–3 aggregate loss.
After several seasons in the amateur leagues, Aktürkoğlu signed with 24 Erzincanspor ahead of the 2019–20 season, another free transfer that would prove pivotal in his career. His performances during the season improved, with a notable highlight being Erzincanspor's 2–0 victory over Beşiktaş in the fifth round of the Turkish Cup on 5 December 2019. Over the season, Aktürkoğlu scored an impressive 20 goals in 34 matches, playing a crucial role in his team's success. In the promotion play-offs, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 4–2 semi-final win against Artvin Hopaspor on 21 July 2020, and contributed to Erzincanspor's 2–1 victory against Aksaray Bld in the final four days later, securing promotion to the TFF 1. Lig.
2020–2022: Record-breaking individual success and Süper Lig's Player of the Season
On 2 September, Aktürkoğlu signed for Süper Lig club Galatasaray on a four-year contract on a free transfer. He made his professional debut with Galatasaray in a 1–1 league draw against Kayserispor on 23 November 2020, and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win against Hatayspor on 5 December.
On 12 January 2021, having taken nearly three weeks to recover from COVID-19, he returned to action against Antalyaspor; he came off the bench in the late in second half in an eventual 0–0 home draw. On 17 April, Aktürkoğlu scored all three goals in a 3–1 league away draw win against Göztepe, becoming the third Turkish player to score a hat-trick for Galatasaray since Yasin Öztekin in December 2016.
On 16 August, Aktürkoğlu was involved in a physical altercation with teammate Marcão during a game against Giresunspor. The fight was broken up by their teammates, before the referee of the match, Erkan Özdamar, who watched the situation after the warning of the video assistant referee, sent-off Marcão. Unable to continue playing three minutes after the incident, Aktürkoğlu was taken off the field by manager Fatih Terim. Two days later, the club announced that Marcão had been suspended from the squad indefinitely and he was later fined and suspended for eight-matches by the Turkish Football Federation. Before Galatasaray training started on 9 September, Marcão publicly apologized to Aktürkoğlu in front of the entire team, with the two solving their issues.
On 21 October, he scored his first goal in European competitions, starting and scoring in a 1–0 victory away at Lokomotiv Moscow, in the UEFA Europa League group stage. On 14 March 2022, Aktürkoğlu scored a brace in a 2–1 win against rivals Beşiktaş. He finished the season, with 13 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, being named the Süper Lig Player of the Season, as he missed only one match due to a yellow card suspension, making him the player that feature the most matches in a season in Galatasaray's history, with 52 matches played. However, Galatasaray ended the season in a disappointing 13th place, failing to qualify to any European competition.
2022–2023: Super Lig title and rise to leadership
On 15 December, Aktürkoğlu was named Galatasaray's third captain, alongside Fernando Muslera and Bafétimbi Gomis. During the league break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he established a strong partnership with the club's new signing, Mauro Icardi. This collaboration was highlighted on 12 November when Aktürkoğlu scored a hat-trick in a 7–0 away win against his former club Başakşehir, with Icardi providing two assists for his goals. His prolific form continued into January 2023, he scored the second goal, assisted by Icardi, in a 3–0 victory over crosstown rivals Fenerbahçe in the Intercontinental Derby on 8 January. This was followed by a goal in a 4–0 win against Hatayspor on 13 January and an assist in a 2–1 home win against Antalyaspor on 21 January.
After the league resumed in the aftermath of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, Aktürkoğlu picked up where he left off. On 14 April, he scored a goal and delivered two assists in a 6–0 win over Kayserispor. Four days later, he provided two more assists in a 4–1 victory against Alanyaspor. On 30 May, he recorded his first career hat-trick of assists in a 4–1 away win over Ankaragücü, securing Galatasaray's 23rd Süper Lig title. The following week, he added another assist in a 3–0 away win against rivals Fenerbahçe in the reverse fixture. Aktürkoğlu finished the season with nine goals and 12 assists, earning recognition as the Süper Lig's top assist provider and a place in the league's Best XI.
2023–2024: Back-to-back league titles, vice-captaincy and departure
The following season, with Bafétimbi Gomis' departure, Aktürkoğlu was promoted to vice-captain. The arrival of Wilfried Zaha saw him transition to an attacking midfield role to accommodate Zaha on the left-wing. This positional shift led to competition with Dries Mertens for playing time, indirectly affecting his performances. Nevertheless, on 8 August, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 away win against Olimpija Ljubljana in a 2022–23 Champions League third qualifying round. On 16 August, he netted twice and assisted another goal in a 4–2 home win over Samsunspor. By 26 September, he had accumulated eight goal contributions — three goals and five assists — in his first six league matches, the highest in the league at the time.