Meet Rıdvan Yılmaz, born on a sunny day in Turkey, 21 May 2001. As a sturdy wee lad standing 5ft 8in (1.74m for metric lovers), weighing in at 10st 7lb (67kg in metric), who happens to play footie, primarily as a left back. His current abode is Rangers FC, where he sports the number 3 jersey. Must feel rather grand, aye?
Our Turkish friend first cut his pigskin teeth back in July 2009, starting as a trainee at Besiktas in the Süper Lig in Turkey. His career started like a slow roast. His first outing in the 2018 - 2019 season, Yılmaz had only a lone appearance. In the 2019 – 2020 season, he managed to appear six times. But patience is a virtue and in the 2020 - 2021 season, Yılmaz rallied with 18 appearances and even put the ball in the net once. With a resounding crescendo, in the 2021 - 2022 season, he sported the black and white jersey 27 times and notched three goals. All this promise must've raised some eyebrows up north, aye?
In July of 2022, Yılmaz swapped kebabs for haggis and transferred to Rangers in the Premiership here in Scotland, for a cool sum of £5.3m. He had nine league appearances in his introductory season, which is something I guess. In the subsequent 2023 - 2024 season, Yılmaz made 26 showings (that's about 2 games per month) and scored exactly a goal, showing his Turkish efficiency. In the ongoing season, Yılmaz has appeared 15 times.
However, wouldn't you know it, he's not limited to just league footie. In the 2024 - 2025 season, he has made an appearance in the League Cup, twice subbed in the Scottish Cup, started twice in the Champions League Qualifiers, and in the same season trod the field thrice in the Europa League while being summoned once from the bench. A versatile chap indeed.
