Berkay Vardar

Berkay Vardar — Biography

Berkay Vardar is a midfielder who came up through the Beşiktaş academy and began his senior career on the European stage. He holds Turkish and Azerbaijani citizenship; his mother is of Azerbaijani descent and his father is an Albanian from Kumanovo. He last played for Fatih Karagümrük, and in December 2024 he received a four-year ban from football over a doping test.

Vardar turned professional in 2021 and made his Beşiktaş debut on September 28, 2021, in the UEFA Champions League against Ajax, coming on in the 73rd minute for the injured Umut Meraş. His Süper Lig debut came in the second week of the 2022-23 season, when he started the 3-3 draw away at Alanyaspor and was replaced by Kenan Karaman in the 82nd minute. On August 11, 2023, he was loaned to the Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol until the end of the season. He and Beşiktaş parted ways by mutual agreement on April 20, 2024, after which he moved to Fatih Karagümrük.

He began his international career with Azerbaijan's under-17 and under-19 sides between 2019 and 2021, playing six matches and scoring two goals for them. On September 16, 2022, he received his first call-up to the Turkey under-21 team and made his debut in a friendly against Georgia, replacing Ömer Faruk Beyaz in the 46th minute. In December 2024 it was announced that he had been banned from football, together with a former teammate, and the two issued a joint statement on the matter.