He began his senior career atBayern Munich, playing mostly in the club'sreserve side before his 2013transfer toBayer Leverkusen. A season later, he was signed byPremier League clubLiverpool for £9.75 million where he made over 150 appearances across all tiers of competition and would joinJuventus in 2018. In 2020 he was loaned to Borussia Dortmund; a few weeks later he moved to the team under a permanent deal.
Born in 1994 inFrankfurt, Can joined local side SV Blau-Gelb Frankfurt at the age of six and remained at the club until 2006, when he joined the youth academy ofEintracht Frankfurt. During his time with both Frankfurt clubs, he predominantly played in midfield where he assumed an attacking role.[5][6][7] In 2009, at the age of 15, he relocated toBavaria after being signed byBayern Munich.[7]
On 2 August 2013, Can signed a four-year deal withBayer 04 Leverkusen.[12] A buy-back clause was included in the agreement which would have allowed Bayern to re-sign Can for a set-fee in 2015, an option they later declined to exercise.[13]
In his only season at Leverkusen, Can scored four goals and made four assists in 39 appearances, while largely operating in a defensive capacity. His performances while at Leverkusen sparked interest from English clubLiverpool, who noted Can's performances in both the Bundesliga and Champions League.[10]
On 5 June 2014, Bayer Leverkusen confirmed that Can would join Liverpool after the Merseyside club activated his £9.75 million (€12 million) release clause. LiverpoolmanagerBrendan Rodgers described Can in a press conference later in the week as an "inspirational young talent".[17] Thetransfer was completed on 3 July 2014.[18]
Can made his competitive debut for the club on 25 August 2014, coming on as a substitute forJoe Allen in a 3–1 away defeat againstManchester City.[19] The following month, he picked up an ankle injury while on duty with theGerman under-21 side and was sidelined for six weeks.[20] On 19 October, following his return from injury, Can made his first start for Liverpool in a 3–2 win againstQueens Park Rangers.[21] He scored his first Liverpool goal on 8 November with a long-range shot pastThibaut Courtois, opening the scoring in an eventual 2–1 defeat toChelsea.[22] Against the same opponent in aLeague Cup semi-final defeat on 27 January 2015, Can was stamped on by Chelsea forwardDiego Costa; refereeMichael Oliver did not penalize the incident, but Costa was retrospectively banned for three matches by theFA.[23] In April, Can received his first red card for Liverpool in 4–1 loss toArsenal at theEmirates Stadium.[24] Though naturally a midfielder, Can spent much of his debut season playing indefence, and ultimately featured 40 times for the campaign across all competitions.[25][26]
On 22 October 2015, in Liverpool'sUEFA Europa League match againstRubin Kazan atAnfield, Can scored his first goal of the2015–16 season. It was the club's first goal under the management of Can's compatriot and new managerJürgen Klopp.[27] On 14 February 2016, he scored his first league goal of the season in a 6–0 win overAston Villa.[28] While Can was often used atcentre-back orfull-back under Rodgers, with Klopp's arrival he was moved to his preferred position ofcentral midfielder. He was praised by Klopp for his improvement and became a key cog in Liverpool's midfield.[29][30] On 14 April 2016, Can ruptured his ankle ligaments in the Europa League quarter-final againstBorussia Dortmund. Initially, he was ruled out for the rest of the domestic season.[31] However, he returned ahead of schedule and played in the second leg of the semi-final againstVillarreal.[32][33] Can later revealed that he trained for 8 hours a day for 3 weeks to get fit for the Villarreal game.[34]
On 29 October 2016, Can scored his first goal of the season, scoring the opening goal in Liverpool's 4–2 win over Crystal Palace.[35] On 6 November, Can scored Liverpool's third goal in their 6–1 win overWatford, which took Liverpool to 1st position in the Premier League for the first time under Jürgen Klopp.[36][37] On 4 December, Can scored in Liverpool's 4–3 defeat to Bournemouth.[38][39] On 12 March 2017, Can scored the winning goal in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Burnley, in what was called by Klopp an "ugly win".[40] On 1 May 2017, Can scored an overhead kick in a 1–0 win over Watford, with the strike later earning him theBBC Goal of the Season andCarling Goal of the Season awards.[41][42][43]
On 23 August 2017, Can scored twice againstHoffenheim in thesecond leg of theChampions League play-off round in a 4–2 win for Liverpool on the night, and a 6–3 win on aggregate.[44] These were his first goals for Liverpool in thenew season.[45] Can received praise for his performance during Liverpool's 4–0 win overArsenal on 27 August.[46][47] On 1 November, Can scored in Liverpool's 3–0 win over Slovenian sideMaribor.[48] His first league goal of the season came in a 5–1 away win overBrighton & Hove Albion, where he played atcentre-back.[49] On 30 January 2018, Can scored the opening goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win overHuddersfield Town at theKirklees Stadium.[50] On 24 February, he scored the opener in Liverpool's 4–1 win overWest Ham United.[51] On 17 March, during a game against Watford, Can suffered a muscle injury in his back, and it was reported that he could potentially miss the rest of the season out injured.[52][53][54][55] Can returned in time for the2018 UEFA Champions League Final againstReal Madrid, but was only named on the bench. He came on as a substitute forJames Milner in the 83rd minute. Liverpool lost the match by a scoreline of 3–1.[56]
On 8 June 2018, it was confirmed by Liverpool via their official website that Can, along withJon Flanagan and several youth players, would leave the club upon the expiry of their contracts, on 1 July 2018.[57][58]
On 21 June 2018, Can signed a four-year deal withSerie A sideJuventus following the expiration of his contract with Liverpool; the Italian club paid €16 million in additional costs for his services.[59][60] Can became the tenth German player, after Hans Mayer Heuberger, Josef Edmund Heß,Helmut Haller,Thomas Häßler,Stefan Reuter,Jürgen Kohler,Andreas Möller,Sami Khedira, andBenedikt Höwedes, to join Juventus. A €50 million release clause was also included in Can's contract, only valid for clubs outside of Italy and starting from his third year of contract; this was the first time that Juventus had added a release clause to one of its player's contracts.[61][62][63] He made hisSerie A debut on 18 August, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 away win againstChievo Verona.[64][65] On 21 January 2019, Can scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 home victory over the same opponents.[66]
On 31 January 2020,Borussia Dortmund announced Can's signing on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season, with an obligation to buy.[68] On 8 February, Can made his debut for Dortmund, also scoring a goal in a 4–3 away loss to Bayer Leverkusen.[69] On 18 February 2020, the deal was made permanent on a four-year contract for €25 million, with the loan still expiring at the end of the 2019–20 season.[70][71] During the2020–21 Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City, he had his pass intercepted in the midfield which led to the first goal in a 2–1 defeat in the first leg;[72] and in the second leg, he was penalized for a handball in another 2–1 loss.[73] In July 2023, he extended his contract until 2026,[74] and succeededMarco Reus as team captain.[75] In his first season as a captain, he reached theChampions League final,[76] which ended in a 2–0 defeat against Real Madrid atWembley Stadium.[77]
Can received call-ups for the German U15, U16 and U17youth football teams. In 2011, he was a part of U17 team that finished as runners-up at theEuropean Championships. He was also named in the team of the tournament.[81] Later that year, he captained the squad in the2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup and led his team to the semi-finals. During the semi-final, he netted a solo goal against Mexico: he received the ball with three markers closing in on him, skipped past one and paced forward before escaping two other opponents and evading the goalkeeper, but Germany were defeated 3–2.
He represented theunder-21 team at the2015 European Championship in the Czech Republic, starting all four matches. In their opening game at theLetná Stadium inPrague on 17 June, Can scored with a 17th-minute equaliser from the edge of the penalty area in a 1–1 draw againstSerbia.[82] In their second group match at theEden Arena in Prague againstDenmark on 20 June, Can hit a slide-rule pass to assistKevin Volland's smart finish in the 32nd minute. In the 47th minute Can was awarded a free-kick, from which Volland doubled the lead thanks to a delightfully weighted free-kick from 25 metres out.Matthias Ginter rounded off the scoring to head inAmin Younes' cross just five minutes later leading to a 3–0 victory.[83] Germany were eliminated in the semi-finals following a 5–0 defeat toPortugal on 27 June, in which Can started.[84]
Can was named in Germany's final 23-man squad forUEFA Euro 2016.[87] His sole appearance in the tournament came in the 2–0 semi-final loss toFrance,[88] starting in place of the injuredSami Khedira.[89]
Can was named in Germany's final 23-man squad for the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.[90] He appeared in all five of his team's matches in the competition as Germany ran out winners in thefinal againstChile.[91]
Can was selected in the German squad forUEFA Euro 2020.[96] He made three substitute appearances in the tournament as the team was knocked out byEngland in the round of 16.[97][98][99]
On 12 June 2024, two days before the start of the Germany-hostedUEFA Euro 2024, Can was called up to the Germany squad as a replacement for the injuredAleksandar Pavlović.[100] In the opening match againstScotland, he came off the bench to score the final goal as Germany won 5-1.[101]
Can's ability to attack and defend from midfield has seen him compared to fellow German midfieldersMichael Ballack andBastian Schweinsteiger.[17] Prior to calling Can up to the senior squad, Germany national team coachJoachim Löw reserved praise for the midfielder, stating that he has a good, all-round game and that they were following his progress.[102]
Can has also been praised for his versatility which was showcased in his debut season at Liverpool where he showed his ability to play in several roles in both defence and midfield.[103] Throughout his career, he has been deployed as a central midfielder, as a defensive midfielder, as anattacking midfielder, as awinger, in abox-to-box role, or even as a right-sided full-back,wing-back, or centre-back.[104][105] He has also been singled out for his composure in possession, energy, positioning, and sense of timing, while former Liverpool midfielder and German internationalDietmar Hamann described him as being "physically strong, a good passer and technically gifted".[104][106] Pundit Jack Watson has labelled Can as a complete and versatile player, with excellent awareness, who is also "strong, quick, smart and can tackle, pass and shoot."[105] Football writer Andrew Beasley has also noted that Can is strong in the air,[107] while Matt Jones ofBleacher Report has described Can as an intelligent player, with good passing ability, who "...is powerful in possession and difficult to barge off the ball when he does march up the pitch." However, Jones has also described Can as being inconsistent at times.[107] Beyond his qualities as a player, Can has stood out for his leadership throughout his career, having served as captain of Borussia Dortmund.[108][109]
In October 2019, Turkish international footballerCenk Tosun published a photograph onInstagram in which he stated support for soldiers involved in theTurkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. The post was initially liked by Can andİlkay Gündoğan, who are both German nationals of Turkish descent; however, they both later removed their likes. Regarding the incident, Can told the German newspaperdailyBild: "I am an absolutepacifist and against all forms of war," also stating that he unintentionally liked the post while scrolling through his timeline.[112][113]
In January 2023, Can revealed that he hadthyroid cancer that was diagnosed during his medical tests prior to joining Juventus, which required surgery in October 2018.[114]
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