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Ozan Kabak

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Ozan Kabak
Kabak training with VfB Stuttgart in 2019
Personal information
Full name Ozan Muhammed Kabak[1]
Date of birth (2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Ankara, Turkey
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 TSG Hoffenheim
Number 5
Youth career
2011–2017 Galatasaray
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Galatasaray 14 (0)
2019 VfB Stuttgart 15 (3)
2019–2022 Schalke 04 40 (3)
2021 → Liverpool (loan) 9 (0)
2021–2022 → Norwich City (loan) 11 (0)
2022– TSG Hoffenheim 84 (11)
International career‡
2015 Turkey U15 7 (1)
2015–2016 Turkey U16 15 (5)
2016–2017 Turkey U17 15 (3)
2018 Turkey U18 11 (4)
2019– Turkey 31 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 June 2026

Ozan Muhammed Kabak (born 25 March 2000) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim and the Turkey national team.

Early life

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Kabak was born in Ankara, where his father was working at the time, although his family is from Derik, Mardin Province.[3] In a 2026 interview with KAFA Sports, he said that he grew up with Kurdish music at home and described himself as a fan of Kurdish music.[4][5]

Club career

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Galatasaray

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Ozan trained with the Galatasaray youth academy, joining in 2011. He signed his first professional contract with Galatasaray on 1 July 2017.[6] Ozan made his professional debut for Galatasaray in a 2–0 Süper Lig win over Yeni Malatyaspor on 12 May 2018.[7] This made him the first footballer born in the 2000s to play in the Süper Lig.[8] On 24 October 2018, he played his first Champions League match in a 0–0 home draw against Schalke 04 in the 2018–19 season.[9]

VfB Stuttgart

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On 17 January 2019, Kabak moved to Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart where he signed a contract until June 2024.[10] On 3 March, he scored twice in a 5–1 win over Hannover 96, registering his first senior career goals.[11] In doing so, at the age of 18 years, 11 months and 7 days, he became the youngest Turkish center-back, and third-youngest Stuttgart player to ever score twice in a single Bundesliga match.[12]

Schalke 04

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On 30 June 2019, Kabak joined Schalke 04 on a five-year contract for a fee of €15 million, after Schalke activated a release clause in his contract.[13] He was a regular performer in his first season with the club, appearing in 28 matches and scoring three goals.[14] In September 2020, he was banned for five games and hit with a €15,000 fine after being caught spitting at Werder Bremen's Ludwig Augustinsson. Kabak apologised to Augustinsson via Twitter afterwards, insisting the incident, for which he was shown a red card, was an accident.[15]

Liverpool (loan)

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On 1 February 2021, Kabak signed for Liverpool on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. The deal was reportedly worth £1 million, plus potentially £500,000 in add-ons depending on appearances and Liverpool's performance in the Champions League. It also included an option to buy, which was set at approximately £18 million and could rise to £26.5m with add-ons.[16][17] On 13 February 2021, he made his Liverpool debut in a Premier League game against Leicester City, ending in a 1–3 away defeat.[18][19] On 16 February, he played in a 2–0 away win over RB Leipzig in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, becoming the first Turkish player to appear for an English club in the competition.[20] At the end of the season, Liverpool declined to sign Kabak on a permanent basis.[21]

Norwich City (loan)

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On 30 August 2021, Kabak returned to England to join newly promoted Norwich City on a season-long loan deal with the club having an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.[22]

TSG Hoffenheim

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On 23 July 2022, Kabak moved to TSG Hoffenheim and signed a contract until 30 June 2026. He also has a clause where it shows he could earn up to 8 million in add ons.[23]

International career

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Ozan is a youth international for Turkey. He captained the Turkey U17s at the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship,[24] and was listed as one of the 10 players to watch by UEFA.[25]

On 17 November 2019, Kabak made his debut in the Turkey senior team during the team's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Andorra, playing the full match which Turkey won 2–0.[26] Kabak scored his first international goal on 16 November 2022 in a 2–1 friendly win over Scotland.[27]

On 24 May 2024, Kabak was named in the 35-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[28] On 5 June, he was withdrawn due to knee injury prior to the tournament.[29]

On 2 June 2026, Kabak was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[30]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 29 August 2026[31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Galatasaray 2017–18 Süper Lig 1000—00—10
2018–19 Süper Lig 13000—4[a]0—170
Total 14000—40—180
VfB Stuttgart 2018–19 Bundesliga 153———2[b]0173
Schalke 04 2019–20 Bundesliga 26320———283
2020–21 Bundesliga 14000———140
Total 40320———423
Liverpool (loan) 2020–21 Premier League 90——4[a]0—130
Norwich City (loan) 2021–22 Premier League 1101000——120
TSG Hoffenheim 2022–23 Bundesliga 30232———334
2023–24 Bundesliga 28420———304
2025–26 Bundesliga 25410———264
2026–27 Bundesliga 1110—00—21
Total 841172—00—9113
Career total 173179200802019319

International

[edit]
As of match played 25 June 2026[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Turkey 201910
202060
202160
202271
202341
202420
202650
Total312
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kabak goal.
List of international goals scored by Ozan Kabak
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 November 2022Diyarbakır Stadium, Diyarbakır, Turkey Scotland1–02–1Friendly
2.12 September 2023Cegeka Arena, Genk, Belgium Japan1–32–4

Honours

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Galatasaray

Individual

References

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  1. ↑ "UEFA Nations League 2021: Booking List before League phase Matchday 5" (PDF). UEFA. 16 November 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Ozan Kabak: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mardinli Ozan Kabak, Schalke 04 ile ilk idmanına çıktı". Mardin Life. 2 July 2019. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  4. ↑ 1 Day in Germany with Ozan Kabak 😎✈️ | His City. YouTube (in Turkish). KAFA Sports. 25 May 2026. Event occurs at 5:27. Retrieved 30 June 2026. İnanılmaz bir Kürtçe müzik fanıyım. Küçüklükten beri bizim evde Kürtçe müzik çalar.
  5. ↑ "Ozan Kabak: "Kürtçe Müzik Fanıyım, Evimizde Hep Kürtçe Şarkılar Çalardı"". Mardin GZT (in Turkish). 26 May 2026. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Galatasaray'da bir ilk… Ozan Kabak…".
  7. ↑ "GALATASARAY A.Ş. EVKUR YENİ MALATYASPOR - Maç Detayları TFF". www.tff.org.
  8. ↑ "Ozan Kabak - Ansiklopedika Viki" (in Turkish). 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Galatasaray 0–0 Schalke". UEFA. 24 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "VfB sign Ozan Kabak". VfB Stuttgart. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  11. ↑ "Mario Gomez, Ozan Kabak and Steven Zuber fire VfB Stuttgart to victory in relegation six-pointer with Hannover". Bundesliga. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "Ozan Kabak: Who is VfB Stuttgart's rising defensive star?". Bundesliga. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  13. ↑ "FC Schalke 04 sign Ozan Kabak from Stuttgart". FC Schalke 04. 30 June 2019.
  14. ↑ "AC Milan considering a €25 million offer for Liverpool target Ozan Kabak". footballexpress.in. 3 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "Liverpool complete loan deal for Schalke defender Ozan Kabak". Goal.com. 2 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Liverpool sign Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Ozan Kabak transfer: Liverpool agree deal for Schalke centre-back as Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi set to join Bundesliga club". Skysports.com. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  18. ↑ Carroll, James (13 February 2021). "Team news: Confirmed Liverpool line-up v Leicester". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  19. ↑ McNulty, Phil (13 February 2021). "Leicester 3-1 Liverpool: Foxes take advantage of late defensive errors". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  20. ↑ @ChampionsLeague (16 February 2021). "Ozan Kabak becomes the first Turkish player to appear for an English club in the Champions League" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ "Ibrahima Konate: Liverpool agree to sign RB Leipzig defender for £35m on long-term deal". BBC Sport. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "City complete signing of Ozan Kabak". www.canaries.co.uk. 30 August 2021.
  23. ↑ "Kabak stärkt die TSG-Defensive" [Kabak strengthens the TSG defense]. tsg-hoffenheim.de (in German). TSG Hoffenheim. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  24. ↑ fanatik. "Ozan Kabak kimdir?". Fanatik.
  25. ↑ uefa.com (22 May 2017). "Under-17 - News – UEFA.com".
  26. ↑ "Ozan Kabak and Ahmed Kutucu celebrate debut win". FC Schalke 04. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  27. ↑ "Ramsay debuts, Robertson assists and ex-LFC loanee scores in mid-season friendly". This is Anfield. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  28. ↑ "A Millî Takımımızın EURO 2024 Geniş Kadrosu Açıklandı" [EURO 2024 squad of our national team announced] (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  29. ↑ "Ozan Kabak'ın Sağlık Durumu Hakkında Bilgilendirme - A Milli Takım Haber Detayları TFF". www.tff.org (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  30. ↑ "2026 Turkey World Cup roster: Complete 26-man team". 2 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  31. ↑ "Ozan Kabak » Club matches". WorldFootball.net.
  32. ↑ "Ozan Kabak » Internationals". WorldFootball.net.
  33. ↑ "O. KABAK". SOCCERWAY. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  34. ↑ David Frey (6 June 2019). "VfB-Juwel Ozan Kabak zum Bundesliga-Shootingstar 2018/19 gewählt" (in German). tag24.de. Retrieved 6 June 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  35. ↑ "Ozan Kabak: Bundesliga's TAG Heuer Rookie of the Season for 2018/19". Bundesliga. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  36. ↑ "Ozan Kabak – Bundesliga Rookie of the Season 2018/2019". Bundesliga Rookie. AWS. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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