26 years old 

©TM/IMAGO

French midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi has had an unusual career to date. It’s hard to believe he is still only 26. He signed for Arsenal as a teenager in a €8 million deal from Lorient in 2018 when Unai Emery was the Gunners’ boss. But two years later fell out with new manager Mikel Arteta and was soon deemed surplus to requirements. Guendouzi enjoyed somewhat of a revival in homeland France with Marseille and in Italy with Lazio, and was recalled to Didier Deschamps’ France squad in 2024 after a two-year absence. He is now headed to Istanbul, where he will join Fenerbahçe.

According to reports, Guendouzi will join the Süper Lig club in a package worth €29m plus add-ons. Lazio and Fener completed their paperwork today and announced the transfer late on Thursday, Guendouzi has signed a contract through the 2029/30 season. It is one of the biggest deals of the still-young January window and also one of the biggest in Fener history. Now completed, Guendouzi also becomes one of the most valuable players to ever sign for the club.

The most valuable players to sign for Fenerbahce

The most valuable player to ever sign for Fenerbahce was in fact striker Jhon Durán – the Colombian signed on loan from the Saudi Pro League last summer and at the time had a market value of €35m. That has since dropped to €32m. Guendouzi now ranks second on the list with his current €28m valuation. There are then three players who had a €22m market value when they signed for Fenerbahce in Edson Álvarez, Youssef En-Nesyri and Kerem Aktürkoğlu – all three of which still currently play for the club.