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Mervan Çelik
Personal information
Full name	Mervan Çelik
Date of birth	26 May 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Hisingen, Sweden
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
2001–2004	IF Warta
2004–2006	BK Häcken
2007–2008	GAIS
Senior career*
Years	Team
2008–2012	GAIS
2012	Rangers
2012	GAIS
2012–2013	Pescara
2013–2015	Gençlerbirliği
2015–2017	Akhisar Belediyespor
2017–2019	BK Häcken
2019	Fatih Karagümrük
2020	GAIS
2021–2022	Amed
2022–2024	GAIS
International career
2008–2009	Sweden U19
2011–2012	Sweden U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2024

Mervan Çelik (born 26 May 1990) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger.^[3] He previously played for GAIS, Rangers, Pescara, Gençlerbirliği, Akhisar Belediyespor, Häcken, and Fatih Karagümrük. He represented Sweden at youth international level.

Club career

GAIS

Çelik played for IF Warta and BK Häcken at youth level before joining GAIS in 2007.^[4] "I started as a striker but now I play as an inner midfielder and winger. It does not matter if I play on the right or the left, both positions work for me," he said in an interview on the club's website.^[4] Çelik made his competitive début against GIF Sundsvall in the Allsvenskan on 20 July 2008,^[2]^[4] and appeared in the starting eleven for the first time six weeks later against IFK Göteborg.^[5] He signed a three-year contract in May 2009,^[4] and scored his first goal for the club later that year against Kalmar FF.^[2]

Rangers

Having left GAIS at the end of his contract, Çelik was offered a three-and-a-half-year contract from Scottish Premier League team Rangers,^[6] which he signed on 20 January 2012.^[7]^[8] After Rangers went into administration, Çelik chose to leave the club in March 2012 without a pay-off.^[9] He stated that he didn't make the wrong decision in joining the club, but the club entering administration was unpredictable.^[9]

GAIS claimed that Rangers owed them £240,000 compensation for the transfer of Celik. However, there were suggestions that Celik was not offered a new contract within 60 days before the end of his previous deal, meaning that no compensation would have been necessary. Both GAIS and Celik disputed this and the club have threatened to take the matter to FIFA if Rangers don't pay them.^[10]

Return to GAIS

After leaving Rangers in March 2012, Çelik signed an eight-month contract with GAIS.^[11]

Pescara

Çelik continued his career in Italian first league with the newcomer Pescara in 2012. He scored the first goal for Pescara the 2012–13 season against Sampdoria in a 3–2 loss.

International career

Çelik has represented Sweden at youth level.^[12] He made his under-21 debut against Norway on 2 June 2011 and scored two goals in a 4–1 win.^[13] He is eligible to play for Turkey through his parents.^[4]

Career Statistics

Club

As of match played 10 November 2024^[14]^[15]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GAIS	2008	Allsvenskan	10	0	0	0	—		—		10	0
	2009	Allsvenskan	6	1	1	0	—		—		7	1
	2010	Allsvenskan	27	3	2	0	—		—		29	3
	2011	Allsvenskan	27	14	2	0	—		—		29	14
	Total		70	18	5	0	—		—		75	18
Rangers	2011-12	Scottish Premier League	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
GAIS	2012	Allsvenskan	14	2	0	0	—		—		14	2
Pescara	2012-13	Serie A	23	4	1	0	—		—		24	4
Gençlerbirliği	2013-14	Süper Lig	20	2	2	0	—		—		22	2
	2014-15	Süper Lig	27	5	9	2	—		—		36	7
	Total		47	7	11	2	—		—		58	9
Akhisarspor	2015-16	Süper Lig	5	0	8	4	—		—		13	4
	2016-17	Süper Lig	7	0	5	0	—		—		12	0
	Total		12	0	13	4	—		—		25	4
BK Häcken	2017	Allsvenskan	1	0	1	0	—		—		2	0
	2018	Allsvenskan	21	1	3	4	3^[b]	1	—		27	6
	2019	Allsvenskan	11	1	6	6	0	0	—		17	7
	Total		33	2	10	10	3	1	—		46	13
Fatih Karagümrük	2019-20	TFF 1. Lig	9	1	2	1	—		—		11	2
GAIS	2020	Superettan	23	4	3	1	—		—		26	5
Amed	2021-22	TFF 2. Lig	25	9	1	0	—		2^[c]	0	28	9
GAIS	2022	Ettan	16	5	1	2	—		—		17	7
	2023	Superettan	29	10	4	1	—		—		33	11
	2024	Allsvenskan	26	0	3	0	—		—		29	0
	Total		71	15	8	3	—		—		79	18
Career total			332	62	55	21	3	1	2	0	392	84

^ Includes Svenska Cupen, Scottish Cup, Coppa Italia, Turkish Cup
^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
^ Appearance(s) in TFF 2. Lig Promotion play-offs

Honours

BK Häcken

Svenska Cupen 2018–19

Personal life

Çelik was born and raised in the suburb Biskopsgården, Hisingen, an island which forms part of the Gothenburg Municipality.^[4] Çelik's parents are ethnic Kurds from Turkey.^[16] His mother and father lived in Konya before moving to Sweden, where his father opened a restaurant.^[4]

References

^ "Mervan Celik". UEFA. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mervan Celik". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^ https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/LMa3x1/gais-mervan-celik-34-avslutar-fotbollskarriaren
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Mervan Çelik" (in Swedish). GAIS. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^ Forsman, Bengt. "Lyckodagar för Mervan!" (in Swedish). GAIS. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^ "Boss Confirms Celik Move". Rangers F.C. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ "Celik till Rangers: "Det känns bra"" [Celik to Rangers: "It feels good"]. Eurosport.com SE (in Swedish). 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
^ "Celik Signs For Gers". Rangers F.C. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik leave Rangers as administrators reject pact". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
^ "Rangers threatened with FIFA action over Mervan Celik transfer fee". Daily Record. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
^ Kristoffersson, Daniel (30 March 2012). "Mervan Celik klar för Gais i åtta månader". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 April 2012.
^ "Mervan Celik". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
^ "Norge 1–4 Sverige". Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
^ Mervan Çelik at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ "Mervan Celik". Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ Andersson, Kjell-Ove (8 June 2011). "Celik kan lämna efter succén i U21-debuten". Fotbolls Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.