Burak Yılmaz facts for kids

For the Austrian footballer, see Burak Yılmaz (footballer, born 1995).

Quick facts for kids
Burak Yılmaz
Personal information
Yılmaz in 2023
Date of birth	(1985-07-15) 15 July 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Antalya, Turkey
Height	1.88 m
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1994–2002	Antalyaspor
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2002–2006	Antalyaspor	70	(17)
2006–2008	Beşiktaş	39	(6)
2008	Manisaspor	16	(9)
2008–2010	Fenerbahçe	6	(0)
2009–2010	→ Eskişehirspor (loan)	14	(1)
2010–2012	Trabzonspor	72	(55)
2012–2016	Galatasaray	105	(65)
2016–2017	Beijing Guoan	28	(19)
2017–2018	Trabzonspor	32	(28)
2018–2020	Beşiktaş	40	(24)
2020–2022	Lille	59	(20)
2022–2023	Fortuna Sittard	26	(9)
Total		507	(253)
National team
2001	Turkey U17	8	(1)
2002–2003	Turkey U18	10	(0)
2002–2004	Turkey U19	17	(0)
2004–2005	Turkey U20	11	(2)
2006	Turkey U21	7	(0)
2006	Turkey B	1	(1)
2006–2022	Turkey	77	(31)
Teams managed
2023	Beşiktaş (interim)
2024	Kayserispor
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:14, 1 July 2023 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Burak Yılmaz (born 15 July 1985) is a famous Turkish football coach and former player. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal scorer. He recently coached the Süper Lig club Kayserispor.

Burak Yılmaz is special because he played for all three of Istanbul's biggest football clubs: Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, and Galatasaray. He is one of only two players to also play for Trabzonspor, another big Turkish club.

He started playing football at Antalyaspor, where his father, Fikret Yılmaz, was a goalkeeper. Burak began his professional career in 2002.

Burak Yılmaz's Football Journey
Playing for Turkey
Becoming a Coach
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
Images for kids
See also

Burak Yılmaz's Football Journey

Starting Out: Antalyaspor and Early Moves

Burak Yılmaz started his professional football journey at Antalyaspor when he was just 16 years old. He quickly showed his talent, scoring goals and helping his team get promoted to the Süper Lig, Turkey's top league. He played 70 games for Antalyaspor, scoring 17 goals.

In 2006, he joined Beşiktaş. He played as a winger and scored 5 goals in his first season. After a short time at Manisaspor, he moved to Fenerbahçe in 2008. His time at Fenerbahçe was short, and he didn't score any goals there.

Finding His Form: Trabzonspor and Galatasaray

Yılmaz in 2012

Burak's career really took off when he joined Trabzonspor in 2010. Under coach Şenol Güneş, he became a top goal scorer. In the 2011–12 season, he was the top scorer in the Süper Lig with an amazing 33 goals! He also won the Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup with Trabzonspor.

After three successful seasons, Burak moved to Galatasaray in 2012. He continued to score many goals there. He helped Galatasaray win two Süper Lig titles in 2013 and 2015. He was also the Süper Lig's top scorer again in the 2012–13 season.

Champions League Success

Yılmaz in 2014

While at Galatasaray, Burak Yılmaz also shined in the UEFA Champions League. In 2012, he scored a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against CFR Cluj. He was the first Turkish player to do this in the Champions League since Tuncay Şanlı. He even scored against famous clubs like Manchester United and Schalke 04. He was one of the top scorers in the group stage that season.

Adventures Abroad: China and France

In 2016, Burak Yılmaz moved to China to play for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan. He scored 28 goals in two seasons there.

He then returned to Trabzonspor for a second time in 2017. He continued his great goal-scoring form, netting 23 goals in 25 matches in the 2017–18 season. After that, he had another spell at Beşiktaş.

In 2020, Burak joined Lille, a club in France's top league, Ligue 1. He played a huge part in helping Lille win their first league title in ten years during the 2020–21 season. He was a key player, scoring 16 goals that season.

Final Playing Days: Fortuna Sittard and Retirement

In 2022, Burak Yılmaz signed with Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands. His contract was special: he would play for two years and then become a coach for three years. He scored 9 goals for them.

On 5 June 2023, Burak Yılmaz announced that he was retiring from playing football at the age of 37.

Playing for Turkey

Yılmaz with Turkey in 2011

Burak Yılmaz played for the Turkish national team at different age levels from 2001 to 2006. He made his senior debut for Turkey in 2006 in a friendly game against Azerbaijan.

He scored his first goal for Turkey in 2011 against Belgium. He played for Turkey in the UEFA Euro 2016 and UEFA Euro 2020 tournaments.

On 24 March 2021, he scored his first international hat-trick against the Netherlands in a World Cup qualification match. With 31 goals, Burak Yılmaz is Turkey's second all-time highest goalscorer, after Hakan Şükür. He played his last game for Turkey in 2022.

Becoming a Coach

After retiring as a player, Burak Yılmaz started his coaching career. In July 2023, he became an assistant coach at Beşiktaş. He later became the interim (temporary) manager for Beşiktaş in October 2023.

In January 2024, he was appointed as the new manager for Kayserispor.

Personal Life

Burak Yılmaz's father, Fikret Yılmaz, was also a professional footballer. Burak has two daughters with his wife, İstem Atilla. They were married from 2014 to 2018, and then remarried in 2020.

Burak has said that he has been a Beşiktaş fan since he was a child. His football idol growing up was Sergen Yalçın. In 2020, Burak also became an official member of the Beşiktaş club congress.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Antalyaspor	2002–03	TFF First League	4	0	0	0	—		—		4	0
	2003–04	TFF First League	13	0	1	0	—		—		14	0
	2004–05	TFF First League	29	8	2	1	—		—		31	9
	2005–06	TFF First League	24	9	0	0	—		—		24	9
	Total		70	17	3	1	—		—		73	18
Beşiktaş	2006–07	Süper Lig	30	5	7	1	6	0	—		43	6
	2007–08	Süper Lig	9	1	1	0	2	0	—		12	1
	Total		39	6	8	1	8	0	—		55	7
Manisaspor	2007–08	Süper Lig	16	9	2	0	—		—		18	9
Fenerbahçe	2008–09	Süper Lig	6	0	3	0	7	0	—		16	0
Eskişehirspor (loan)	2009–10	Süper Lig	14	1	3	1	—		—		17	2
Trabzonspor	2009–10	Süper Lig	11	3	3	0	—		—		14	3
	2010–11	Süper Lig	30	19	3	1	2	0	1	0	36	20
	2011–12	Süper Lig	31	33	1	1	8	1	4	1	44	36
	Total		72	55	7	2	10	1	5	1	94	59
Galatasaray	2012–13	Süper Lig	30	24	0	0	9	8	0	0	39	32
	2013–14	Süper Lig	32	16	6	2	6	0	0	0	44	18
	2014–15	Süper Lig	28	16	2	4	6	2	1	0	37	22
	2015–16	Süper Lig	15	9	0	0	4	0	1	1	21	10
	Total		105	65	8	6	25	10	3	1	141	82
Beijing Guoan	2016	Chinese Super League	17	11	3	0	—		—		20	11
	2017	Chinese Super League	11	8	0	0	—		—		11	8
	Total		28	19	3	0	—		—		31	19
Trabzonspor	2017–18	Süper Lig	25	23	0	0	—		—		25	23
	2018–19	Süper Lig	7	5	0	0	—		—		7	5
	Total		32	28	0	0	—		—		32	28
Beşiktaş	2018–19	Süper Lig	15	11	—		0	0	—		15	11
	2019–20	Süper Lig	25	13	1	1	0	0	—		26	14
	Total		40	24	1	1	0	0	—		41	25
Lille	2020–21	Ligue 1	28	16	1	0	4	2	—		33	18
	2021–22	Ligue 1	31	4	1	0	7	3	1	0	40	7
	Total		59	20	2	0	11	5	1	0	73	25
Fortuna Sittard	2022–23	Eredivisie	26	9	1	0	—		—		27	9
Career total			507	253	41	12	61	16	9	2	618	283

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Turkey	2006	4	0
	2007	0	0
	2008	0	0
	2009	0	0
	2010	1	0
	2011	9	3
	2012	8	3
	2013	11	7
	2014	4	2
	2015	5	4
	2016	6	3
	2017	4	1
	2018	0	0
	2019	7	1
	2020	4	0
	2021	13	6
	2022	1	1
Total		77	31

Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yılmaz goal.

List of international goals scored by Burak Yılmaz
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 June 2011	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–1	1–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
2	2 September 2011	Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey	Kazakhstan	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
3	11 October 2011	Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey	Azerbaijan	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
4	26 May 2012	Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria	Finland	1–1	2–3	Friendly
5	26 May 2012	Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria	Finland	2–1	2–3	Friendly
6	29 May 2012	Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria	Bulgaria	2–0	2–0	Friendly
7	22 March 2013	Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella, Andorra la Vella, Andorra	Andorra	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	26 March 2013	Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Hungary	1–0	1–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	14 August 2013	Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Ghana	1–0	2–2	Friendly
10	6 September 2013	Kadir Has Stadium, Kayseri, Turkey	Andorra	3–0	5–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	10 September 2013	Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania	Romania	1–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	11 October 2013	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	19 November 2013	Tevfik Sırrı Gür Stadium, Mersin, Turkey	Belarus	2–1	2–1	Friendly
14	16 November 2014	Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey	Kazakhstan	1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
15	16 November 2014	Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey	Kazakhstan	2–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
16	28 March 2015	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
17	8 June 2015	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Bulgaria	3–0	4–0	Friendly
18	8 June 2015	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Bulgaria	4–0	4–0	Friendly
19	6 September 2015	Torku Arena, Konya, Turkey	Netherlands	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
20	5 June 2016	Stozice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
21	21 June 2016	Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France	Czech Republic	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2016
22	11 November 2016	Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey	Kosovo	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
23	11 June 2017	Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania	Kosovo	3–1	4–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
24	22 March 2019	Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania	Albania	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
25	24 March 2021	Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Netherlands	1–0	4–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
26				2–0
27				4–2
28	30 March 2021	Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Latvia	3–1	3–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
29	3 June 2021	Benteler-Arena, Paderborn, Germany	Moldova	1–0	2–0	Friendly
30	11 October 2021	Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	2–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
31	24 March 2022	Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal	Portugal	1–2	1–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification