Aral Şimşir

Aral Şimşir
Personal information
Full name Doğuhan Aral Şimşir
Date of birth (2002-06-19) 19 June 2002
Place of birth Køge, Denmark
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Midtjylland
Number 58
Youth career
HB Køge
2017–2020 Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Midtjylland 89 (18)
2022 → Jerv (loan) 20 (3)
2022 → Lillestrøm (loan) 6 (0)
International career‡
2017–2018 Denmark U16 9 (3)
2018–2019 Denmark U17 9 (2)
2019 Denmark U18 2 (0)
2020 Denmark U19 1 (0)
2022–2024 Turkey U21 7 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 March 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 15 October 2024

Doğuhan Aral Şimşir (born 19 June 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Danish Superliga club Midtjylland. Born in Denmark, he was a youth international for Denmark and Turkey.

Club career

Early life and youth career

Şimşir was born in Køge, Denmark, to parents of Turkish origin whose family comes from Sivas Province in central Turkey. In reference to this, he wears the number 58 shirt number, which corresponds to the province's vehicle registration code.[1] He began his youth career with HB Køge before joining the Midtjylland academy at under-15 level in 2017.[2]

Midtjylland

Şimşir made his Danish Superliga debut for Midtjylland on 1 June 2020 at the age of 17, replacing Anders Dreyer in a 1–0 defeat to AC Horsens.[3] Midtjylland advanced to the championship round, where Şimşir played two more matches for the first team, contributing to the club's title victory.[4]

His first senior goal came on 22 September 2021 in a 5–0 victory over Kjellerup IF in the Danish Cup.[5]

Loan spells in Norway

In search of regular senior football, he spent 2022 in Norway. He joined Jerv on loan in March and scored his first Eliteserien goal the following month in a 1–0 win over Kristiansund.[6][7][8] In August, Midtjylland recalled him and immediately loaned him to Lillestrøm for the rest of the Norwegian season. Midtjylland later described the year as an important stage in his development, with Şimşir himself saying the period helped him mature both on and off the pitch.[9]

Return to Midtjylland

After returning to Midtjylland, Şimşir increasingly established himself in the first-team squad. On 9 June 2023, Şimşir scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over Viborg FF in the 2022–23 Danish Superliga European play-off match, securing a berth in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.[10] Later that month he signed a long-term contract extension with Midtjylland until 2028.[11]

During the 2023–24 Danish Superliga season, Şimşir featured regularly as Midtjylland won their fourth Danish championship.[12]

In October 2024, during a UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, UEFA opened an investigation after allegations that Şimşir had shouted political remarks during a confrontation between the teams.[13][14] In November 2024, UEFA concluded the case by issuing Şimşir a reprimand for shouting "Free Palestine", while no suspension or further disciplinary action was imposed.[15] Midtjylland stated that it rejected other accusations made during the incident and handled the matter internally.[16]

On 31 January 2025, he extended his contract again, this time until the end of 2029.[17] During the 2025–26 Danish Superliga season, he emerged as one of the league's most productive attacking players. Midtjylland rejected a substantial bid for him during the winter transfer window,[18] and on 28 February 2026 he was named the Danish Superliga Player of the Month for February after recording three goals and two assists during the month. At that stage of the campaign, he had registered eight league goals and 13 assists.[19]

International career

Born in Denmark, Şimşir is of Turkish descent.[1] He has represented Denmark internationally, before switching to Turkey with the Turkey under-21s in 2022.[20]

In November 2025, Şimşir received his first call-up to the Turkey senior squad.[21][22] He subsequently withdrew due to a hamstring injury and missed the World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Spain.[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 March 2026[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Midtjylland 2019–20 Danish Superliga 3 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 0
2020–21 Danish Superliga 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
2021–22 Danish Superliga 1 0 1 1 0 0 — 2 1
2022–23 Danish Superliga 16 3 — 1[b] 0 1[c] 1 18 4
2023–24 Danish Superliga 25 4 2 0 6[d] 0 — 33 4
2024–25 Danish Superliga 23 3 1 1 13[e] 2 — 37 6
2025–26 Danish Superliga 21 8 4 0 15[b] 3 — 40 11
Total 89 18 9 2 35 5 1 1 134 26
Jerv (loan) 2022 Eliteserien 20 3 3 0 — — 23 3
Lillestrøm (loan) 2022 Eliteserien 6 0 — — — 6 0
Career total 115 21 12 2 35 5 1 1 163 29
  1. ^ Includes Danish Cup, Norwegian Football Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance in Danish Superliga European play-off
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Midtjylland

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "Danimarka Süper Ligi'nde 3'cü Türk!". Milliyet (in Turkish). 19 June 2020.
  2. ^ Nørgaard, Jakob (4 July 2017). "Driblestærk angriber på akademiet". fcm.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Midtjylland vs. Horsens – 1 June 2020 – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ^ "FC Midtjylland er dansk mester – TV 2". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). 9 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Kjellerup vs. Midtjylland – 22 September 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Angrepsspiller klar for Jerv". FK Jerv (in Norwegian). 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. ^ El-Itr, Obaida (18 April 2022). "Simsir scorede debutmål i snæver Jerv-sejr". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Simsir ble matchvinner for Jerv". Fædrelandsvennen (in Norwegian). 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Aral Simsir forlænger med FC Midtjylland" [Aral Simsir signs contract extension with FC Midtjylland]. FC Midtjylland (in Danish). 7 July 2022. Archived from the original on 11 November 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Viborg vs. Midtjylland – 9 June 2023 – Superliga". superliga.dk. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Aral Simsir sætter signatur på ny lang aftale". FC Midtjylland (in Danish). 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  12. ^ a b "FC Midtjylland wins Danish league after final-day slip-up by Brondby. Kristoffer Olsson in the crowd". AP News. 26 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 October 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  13. ^ Vøge, Lasse (8 October 2024). "FCM-stjerne undersøges efter vilde anklager". BT (in Danish).
  14. ^ "UEFA starter undersøgelse af Simsir-sag". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). 7 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Simsir slipper for straf efter "Befri Palæstina"-råb" [Simsir avoids punishment after 'Free Palestine' chant]. TV 2 Sport (in Danish). 19 November 2024. Archived from the original on 9 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  16. ^ Bak, Daniel; Wehlast, Mads Glenn (6 October 2024). "FCM lukker i om Simsir-sag: Vi har håndteret det" [FC Midtjylland close ranks over Simsir case: 'We have handled it']. Bold (in Danish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Aral Simsir forlænger med FC Midtjylland" [Aral Simsir extends contract with FC Midtjylland]. FC Midtjylland (in Danish). 31 January 2025. Archived from the original on 15 December 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  18. ^ Kjeldsen, Oscar Valdorff (2 February 2026). "Medie: FC Midtjylland afviser kæmpebud" [Report: FC Midtjylland reject big bid]. Tipsbladet (in Danish). Archived from the original on 26 February 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Aral Simsir er Månedens Spiller i 3F Superliga". FC Midtjylland (in Danish). 28 February 2026. Archived from the original on 9 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  20. ^ "U-kampe for Danmark: Nu er han udtaget for Tyrkiet". Tipsbladet.dk.
  21. ^ "Simsir skal repræsentere det tyrkiske A-landshold: Vil huske det resten af mit liv" [Simsir to represent the Turkish senior national team: I will remember it for the rest of my life]. FC Midtjylland (in Danish). 10 November 2025. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  22. ^ Sørensen, Dan Hirsch (7 November 2025). "FCM-profil reagerer på udtagelse: - Det er surrealistisk" [FCM player reacts to national team call-up: 'It's surreal']. TV 2 Sport (in Danish). Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  23. ^ Nissen, Søren Steen (17 November 2025). "Tyrkiet melder ud: Aral Simsir er skadet" [Turkey confirm Aral Simsir injury]. Bold (in Danish). Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  24. ^ Aral Şimşir at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.