Umut Bulut

Umut Bulut — Biography

Umut Bulut was born on 15 March 1983 in Yeşilhisar, Kayseri, the youngest of four children; he began playing football at eleven with Petrol Ofisi GSK, made his professional debut in May 2000, and transferred to MKE Ankaragücü at the start of the 2001-02 season. He joined Trabzonspor in June 2006, was soon called up to the national team, and helped the club win the 2009-10 Turkish Cup, scoring the equaliser in the final against Fenerbahçe, as well as the Super Cup. In June 2011 he moved to the French club Toulouse, then to Galatasaray in 2012, initially on loan; there he won the Süper Lig twice and the Turkish Cup three times.

Capped 39 times for the national team with 10 goals, he scored twice against Portugal in June 2012, becoming the first Turkish player to score a winning goal against them since Metin Oktay and Lefter Küçükandonyadis, and scored a hat-trick against Andorra in September 2013. He later played for Kayserispor, Yeni Malatyaspor, Eyüpspor and finally Sarıyer, retiring in 2024 at 41; he holds the record for most Süper Lig appearances (515) and ranks among its all-time top scorers with 163 goals. His father, Kemal Bulut, was killed in a bombing in Ankara in March 2016.