Mevlüt Erdinç

Mevlüt Erdinç — Biography

Mevlüt Erdinç is a forward born in France who chose Turkey and scored 92 goals in Ligue 1; in France his surname is spelt Erding. His combative play earned him the nickname "Bizon" at Saint-Étienne, he won the Coupe de France with Sochaux and Paris Saint-Germain, and he reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 with Turkey. He announced his retirement on August 30, 2022, and returned to the pitch with an amateur club in 2025.

He started playing at seven in a village side, FC Serglod, and joined Sochaux in 2000. On his first-team debut he scored a last-minute winner away at Ajaccio, and he was the club's top scorer in 2007-08 and 2008-09. In 2009 he moved to Paris Saint-Germain, where he was the team's top scorer in his first season with 15 league goals and was voted the club's player of the year. Rennes, Saint-Étienne and Hannover 96 followed, with loans to Guingamp and Metz. In 2017 he went to Turkey with Başakşehir, was loaned to Antalyaspor, then joined Fenerbahçe in 2019 and Fatih Karagümrük in 2020.

With France's under-17s he was European champion in 2005; persuaded by Ümit Davala, he moved to Turkey's youth teams and, though he could have chosen France, said he "listened to his heart" in picking Turkey. He made his senior debut on March 26, 2008, against Belarus; at Euro 2008 he started against Portugal and came on as a substitute in the semi-final against Germany. His first goal for Turkey came against Bosnia-Herzegovina.