Nuri Şahin

Nuri Şahin (born 5 September 1988) is a former professional footballer and football manager who is currently an assistant manager of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

After spending seven seasons at the club, he was signed by professional club Borussia Dortmund in 2001.

He made his senior international debut in 2005 and earned 52 caps before retiring in 2017.

After retirement, Şahin transitioned to coaching, and he was named the manager at Süper Lig club Antalyaspor in October 2021.

Şahin was born to Turkish parents in Lüdenscheid and grew up in nearby Meinerzhagen.

On 6 August 2005, at the age of 16 years and 334 days, Şahin set a record by becoming the youngest player to have played in the Bundesliga (this was later surpassed by Youssoufa Moukoko on 21 November 2020 at the age of 16 years and 1 day).

He has been married to his cousin Tuğba Şahin (née Emeni) since November 2007.

On 5 July 2007, Şahin was transferred to Feyenoord in the Eredivisie on a one-year loan agreement, where he was reunited with Bert van Marwijk, his former coach at Borussia Dortmund.

Şahin returned to Dortmund, where he played an important role in the 2009–10 season, starting 33 out of 34 matches.

He ended the season with four goals and eight assists.

Şahin won the Bundesliga title with Dortmund in the 2010–11 season.

After a strong season, in which he scored six goals and had eight assists, he was voted the Bundesliga player of the season.

He began his career at Borussia Dortmund, spending six years there – including a year-long loan at Feyenoord – and winning the Bundesliga in 2011 before signing for Real Madrid in 2011 for €10 million.

In September 2011, she gave birth to a son, Ömer, in Madrid.

Şahin is fluent in five languages: Turkish, German, English, Dutch and Spanish.

On 9 May 2011, after weeks of speculation, Şahin announced his departure from Dortmund in a press room at Signal Iduna Park, and soon after signed a six-year contract with Spanish club Real Madrid.

The transfer fee paid to Dortmund amounted to €10 million.

He stated the main reason to join Real Madrid was because of José Mourinho and the chance of playing for a club as prestigious as Real Madrid.

He made his official debut as a substitute in a 7–1 thrashing of Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabéu on 6 November 2011, as he had been sidelined by injury problems since August earlier that year.

On 20 December, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid as they thrashed Ponferradina 5–1 in the Copa del Rey.

In August 2012, Şahin agreed to a one-year loan deal with Liverpool, which was terminated in January 2013 to allow him to return to Dortmund on an 18-month loan.

On 27 March 2012, he was named in the starting XI to face APOEL in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, where his performance was praised by various newspapers.

On 25 August 2012, Real Madrid agreed to loan Şahin to Liverpool on a season-long deal, where he was given the number 4 shirt.

On 2 September 2012, Şahin made his Liverpool debut in the 2–0 home defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League.

On 26 September, Şahin scored his first and second goal for Liverpool in the third round of the League Cup against West Bromwich Albion as the game ended in a 2–1 win.

Three days later, he scored his first Premier League goal and set up two goals in a 5–2 win against Norwich City.

In his five-month loan spell at Liverpool, Şahin managed to get three goals and three assists in 12 matches.

After leaving Liverpool, Şahin said he was never happy at either Real Madrid or Liverpool, though he was happy to get a chance to play with captain Steven Gerrard.

On 14 January 2013, Liverpool announced that they had in agreement with all parties terminated the loan agreement with Real Madrid and Şahin, and that this would now allow Şahin to join Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season.

Şahin spoke about the deal saying, "I realised that as a footballer and a human being, I belong here 100 per cent."

Şahin also said "I noticed quickly that I only want to play for Dortmund."

His return move delighted manager Jürgen Klopp.

Prior his debut in the friendly match against Mainz, in which Dortmund won on penalties, Şahin said he was quite nervous for his return.

Eight days later, he made his first league appearance, since leaving Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in a later minute, as Dortmund defeated Werder Bremen 5–0.

This was then made permanent, and he stayed at Dortmund until his transfer to Werder Bremen in August 2018.

He retired from football in 2021, after one season at Antalyaspor.

Born in Germany, Şahin represented Turkey at international level and did so since the under-16 level.

In April 2018, Şahin enrolled at Harvard Business School.

Şahin began his football career at the age of six for RSV Meinerzhagen.

On 25 November of the same year, Şahin became the youngest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga, scoring for Borussia Dortmund against 1. FC Nürnberg (this was later surpassed by Florian Wirtz on 6 June 2020 at the age of 17 years and 34 days).