In September 2022, RevierSport reported on Baran Yilmaz’s big dream. He not only wants to be a TikTok star, but also to go far in football. Now he is one step closer to his dream.

Baran Yilmaz, a 16-year-old from Mönchengladbach, has been invited to a training course by the Turkish junior national team.

Yilmaz, who currently plays for Fortuna Sittard’s U18 team in the Netherlands, will travel to Istanbul from 17 to 22 December to take part in the U17 national team’s measure.

In all likelihood, Yilmaz will also play his first international match for Turkey during this period. “For me, this is a lifelong dream come true that I have been working towards for so long,” said the 16-year-old, who is expected to gain further valuable experience next year at Fortuna Sittard’s U21s.

“I am very happy in Sittard. Dutch football is much more in line with my technical style of play and I know that youth players here have much greater opportunities to arrive in professional football,” says Yilmaz.

A driver takes the young player several times a week from Mönchengladbach to training sessions and matches in Sittard, 70 kilometres away. “My father supports me a lot in my dream of becoming a professional footballer,” says Yilmaz. This includes his own gym in his parents’ house in Mönchengladbach, a personal trainer and training sessions with Turkish football greats like Yasin Öztekin.

Yilmaz, who has also played in the youth training centres of MSV Duisburg, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and KFC Uerdingen, has become known through his activities on social media. With around 1.2 million followers on the portal TikTok – RevierSport reported – the youngster has built up a large number of followers, whom he shares his private life with on a daily basis.