Well, ladies and gents, allow me to take you on a tale of a highly esteemed and widely recognized footballer from the east, Rıdvan Yılmaz. Born in Turkey on 21 May 2001, this young chap has devoted his youth to kickin' a ball around the pitch, and it seems his hard work has paid off. Standing at a 'mighty' 5ft 8in (1.74m) tall, Rıdvan swings around his 10st 7lb (67kg) frame as a defender, more often seen roamin' on the left side for Scotland’s Premiership mob, known as Rangers. His lucky number, you ask? Of course, it’s none other than the magnificent number three.
Now, let's take a quick peek at Rıdvan's career, shall we? This young prodigy's first stepping stone involved joining Besiktas in the Süper Lig in Turkey as a trainee back in July of 2009. It is here he made his grand entrance to the world of professional football in the 2018 - 2019 season with a tremendous total of, let's wait for it, one appearance! I'm sure the crowds were roaring.
Though, in all fairness, the lad improved his tally in subsequent seasons with six appearances in 2019 – 2020, 18 in 2020 - 2021 (even managing to net a goal), and 27 in the 2021 – 2022 season, floating off the pitch with three goals to his name.
In 2022, Rıdvan decided he had explored the Turkish frontier enough and adventured to the hallowed grounds of Scotland, transferring to Rangers for a fee that's quoted to be around a pretty sum of £5.3 million. Aye, you heard it right, millions! His influence on the Ranger’s squad was immediate, contributing to nine first team appearances in the first season, followed by 26 in the 2023 - 2024 season. In the current 2024 – 2025 season, he's on 16 appearances, but I’m sure there are plenty more to be had.
He's even found himself featuring in the League Cup, Scottish Cup, UEFA Europa League, and Champions League Qualifiers for Rangers, juggling both starts and substitute appearances. Now that's a feat, isn’t it? Or is it just the expectations of modern-day footballers? Well, we’ll leave that decision to you.
