Merih Demiral (born 5 March 1998) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and the Turkey national team.

Demiral represented Turkey at junior levels, including Under-17 and Under-19. He made his debut for the senior squad on 20 November 2018 in a friendly against Ukraine, as an 85th-minute substitute for Mert Müldür.^[26] On 11 June 2021, Demiral scored an own goal in a 3–0 defeat against Italy in the first game of the UEFA Euro 2020 campaign; it was the first time in the tournament's history that the match opener kicked off with an own goal.^[27]

Demiral is usually deployed as a centre-back, in either a three or four-man defence, although he is a versatile player, who is also capable of playing as a right-sided full-back.^[28]

An aggressive and instinctive defender, his main traits are his physicality, tactical intelligence, tackling, composure, and determination, which allow to excel at reading plays, and also enable him to anticipate or mark his opponents well.^[28] A tall and physically strong defender, he is also known for his ability in the air, which enables him to defend opposing crosses and clear the ball away from his own penalty area.^[28][29] Despite his tall stature and imposing physique, he is also a mobile defender, which allows him to make recoveries, win back the ball effectively, or restrict his opponents' movements when defending off the ball.^[28][29]

Regarded as a promising young defender in the media, due to his characteristics, he has been compared to Nemanja Vidić, whom Demiral himself has also cited as an inspiration.^[30] Another one of his influences is his Juventus teammate Giorgio Chiellini, to whom he has also been compared.^[28] He has also been likened to former Juventus defender Paolo Montero.^[31]

On 11 October 2019, following Cenk Tosun's goal in a 1–0 home win over Albania in a Euro 2020 qualifier, Demiral was one of the Turkish players who participated in a controversial "military salute" goal celebration.^[32][33][34] The same day, he stated his open support for the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria on Twitter; while his post was praised by Turkish supporters of the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it also drew criticism from numerous football fans of Juventus on social media, as well as those of other clubs, some of whom asked for the club to take disciplinary actions against the player; others even demanded that Demiral be dismissed by the club.^{[35][36][37][38]}

On 20 April 2022, Demiral and his Albanian wife Heidi Lushtaku became the parents of a son and made this public a month after the birth.^[39]

Juventus

• Serie A: 2019–20^[42]
• Coppa Italia: 2020–21^[43]
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2020; runner-up: 2019

Turkey U20

• Toulon Tournament third place: 2018^[44]