Mülâyim Erdem

Mülâyim Erdem — Biography

Mülâyim Erdem was born on 10 January 1987 in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul. A midfielder, he started out in Galatasaray's youth academy and rose far enough to train with the first team, playing in age-group sides alongside names such as Arda Turan, Uğur Uçar, Ferhat Öztorun, Aydın Yılmaz and Mehmet Güven. He made his first official appearance for Galatasaray on 20 March 2004, coming on for Florin Bratu in the 46th minute of a Süper Lig match against Çaykur Rizespor.

Although he was a regular at various levels of Turkey's youth national teams, he never secured a lasting place at Galatasaray, and in the 2006-07 season was loaned to İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor, then managed by his former youth coach Abdullah Avcı, followed by season-long loans at Orduspor and Gaziantep Büyükşehir Belediyespor. In January 2009 he terminated his contract with Gaziantep BB and returned to Galatasaray, before the two sides mutually agreed to end his contract at the close of the season. He then moved to Yalovaspor, where he played from the 2009-10 season, and in the following years went on to play for Kızılcahamamspor, Körfez FK, Pazarspor and Vefa SK.

Erdem scored 15 goals in his appearances for Turkey's youth national teams. He is the nephew of former international and Galatasaray legend Arif Erdem, a family connection the sports press frequently mentions him through. He married Yeşim Oral in June 2008.