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Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Burak Yılmaz

Considered one of the most ambitious, passionate, and deadly strikers in the history of Turkish football, Burak Yılmaz is one of nine players to play for each of the Big Three clubs of Turkey.

Born 15 July 1985, Burak currently plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard and is a former Turkey football national team player.

Throughout his professional football career, he has played for 12 different teams, making 599 appearances and scoring 278 goals in all competitions.

Burak Yılmaz is one the most exciting Turkish players and has enjoyed a long and successful career in Turkey and other places around the world. Let’s look at the top 10 Fascinating Facts about him.

1. Burak Yılmaz Started his Professional Career at the age of 16

Yılmaz started his professional career in Antalyaspor, where he was promoted to the senior team at the age of 16. He scored his first two goals at the professional level in a match against Karsıyaka on 29 August 2004.

He helped his team avoid relegation in the 2004 – 2005 season, and contributed to the success of the team’s promotion to the Süper Lig after finishing second in Division 1 in the 2005–06 season.

Yılmaz stayed at Antalyaspor for four  seasons, making 73 appearances and scoring 18 goals for the club in all competitions.

2. He won the Turkish Cup with Besiktas

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Aged 21, Burak joined the Turkish giants club, Besiktas, where he mainly played out wide as a winger. This didn’t get the best out of the young Yilmaz and his career but quickly stalled.

In his first season, he scored 5 goals in 30 league appearances as BeÅŸiktaÅŸ finished the season in 2nd place. In the same season, he made 7 appearances in the Turkish Cup, scoring once and helping the team to win the cup.

3. His Big Break Came at Trabzonspor

An important fact to acknowledge is that  Burak Yılmaz’s career took off to great significance at Trabzonspor in 2009/10. He played a huge role in Trabzonspor’s impressive season as they narrowly missed out on the Süper Lig title.

In the following season, Yılmaz finished as Trabzonspor’s top goalscorer with 19 goals in 30 games. He turned his career around from being a young forward to one of Turkey’s best strikers in just one year.

4. Burak Yılmaz won 2 Super League Titles with Galatasaray

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Yılmaz joined Galatasaray from Trabzonspor for a â‚¬5m transfer fee, with a four-year-contract with an additional one-season-option. His contract consisted of a €2.3 million seasonal wage with a €20,000 bonus per appearance.

On 7 November 2012, Burak netted a hat-trick in a 3–1 away win over CFR Cluj in the Champions League, becoming the first Turkish player to score three goals in a Champions League game since Tuncay sanlı.

Yılmaz stayed at Galatasaray for four seasons where he won 2 super league titles,3 Turkish cups, and 3 Turkish super cups. He made 142 appearances and scored 82 goals for the club in all competitions.

5. He won the French Ligue 1 title with Lille

Yılmaz signed with French Ligue 1 side Lile on a two-long-season contract on 1 August 2020. He made his debut with the club on 22 August 2020.

He scored his first Ligue 1 goal against Strasbourg on 4 October 2020, and again scored a brace in a 3–2 comeback away win over fellow title challengers Lyon on 25 April 2021.

On 23 May 2021, Yılmaz scored a penalty win to secure the 4th Ligue 1 title for Lille in history. He also became the first player to score at least 15 goals in his first Ligue 1 season in ten years.

6. Burak Yılmaz appeared in two UEFA Euro Editions

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Yılmaz made his international debut for Turkey in a friendly match against Azerbaijan on 12 April 2006. His first international goal came in a game against Belgium during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, for which Turkey did not qualify.

He played a big role in his country’s qualifications for the UEFA Euro 2016 and UEFA Euro 2020, in which he took part in both tournaments.

Yılmaz scored his first international hat-trick in a win over the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.  He announced his retirement from international football after his country failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA world cup.

7. His move to Lille was influenced by his Compatriot

Yilmaz’s integration at LOSC was facilitated by the presence of fellow Turkish international Yusuf Yazici. He went out of his way to make sure Yilmaz would be able to wear his favorite number in Ligue 1.

When Yilmaz was mulling over the switch he contacted his compatriots, and they gave him a really good description of LOSC. He asked them a lot of questions and their answers fulfilled his expectations.

8. He played in the Chinese League

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After a hugely rewarding chapter of his career, Yılmaz jetted off to China to play for Beijing Guoan. At 31 years old this could’ve been interpreted as Burak’s ‘settling down period.

Beijing Guoan did not do well during Yilmaz’s time there, as in the two years he was there, they finished 5th and 9th.

 He was always at the core of Beijing Guoan’s tactical system and his goalscoring record was still strong. However, he decided to part ways citing family reasons for his departure.

9. His father is a former Football Player

Burak Yılmaz is the son of a former Turkish goalkeeper, Fikret Yılmaz, who is best known for his stints as a goalkeeper with Antalyaspor in the Süper Lig.

Fikret was also a goalkeeper in other teams in the top divisions of Turkey in the 1980s and mid-90s. He made his professional debut in a 3-1 Süper Lig loss to Fenerbahçe S.K on 2 June 1985.

His only career goal was for Kemerspor in a TFF Third League 2-1 loss to Antalya Köy Hizmetlerispor on 12 August 1991.

10. He is married with two Daughters

Yılmaz and İstem Atilla fell in love and started dating with each other when they were just 18 years old. They got married in 2014 and their marriage lasted for four years until 2018 when they divorced.

In 2020, the couple decided to get back together again and remarried. The couple has two daughters.