Emre Can

Early career

Born in 1994 in Frankfurt, 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 of Eintracht Frankfurt. During his time with both Frankfurt clubs, he predominantly played in midfield where he assumed an attacking role. In 2009, at the age of 15, he relocated to Bavaria after being signed by Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich

During his first year in Bayern's academy, Can was used in the centre-back position before returning to midfield when he began playing for Bayern Munich II in the Regionalliga Bayern. He made his first team debut in the 2012 DFL-Supercup and his Bundesliga debut against 1. FC Nürnberg on 13 April 2013. His first and only league goal for the club came on 27 April 2013 in a 1–0 home win over SC Freiburg. Competing with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luiz Gustavo and Javi Martínez for a spot in Bayern's midfield, he ultimately made only seven senior appearances before signing for fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 in search of regular game-time.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 2 August 2013, Can signed a four-year deal with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 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. Can made his debut for die Werkself on 31 August 2013, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Stefan Reinartz in a 2–0 defeat at FC Schalke 04.…

Due to his Turkish ancestry, Can was eligible to play for the Turkey national football team, but he stated he "likes playing for Germany very much, and wants to make it in the DFB".

Youth

Can received call-ups for the German U15, U16 and U17 youth football teams. In 2011, he was a part of U17 team that finished as runners-up at the European Championships. He was also named in the team of the tournament. Later that year, he captained the squad in the 2011 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 the under-21 team at the 2015 European Championship in the Czech Republic, starting all four matches. In their opening game at the Letná Stadium in Prague on 17 June, Can scored with a 17th-minute equaliser from the edge of the penalty area in a 1–1 draw against Serbia. In their second group match at the Eden Arena in Prague against Denmark on 20 June, Can hit a slide-rule pass to assist Kevin 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 in Amin Younes' cross just five minutes later leading to a 3–0 victory.…

Can's ability to attack and defend from midfield has seen him compared to fellow German midfielders Michael Ballack and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Prior to calling Can up to the senior squad, Germany national team coach Joachim Löw reserved praise for the midfielder, stating that he has a good, all-round game and that they were following his progress. 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. Throughout his career, he has been deployed as a central midfielder, as a defensive midfielder, as an attacking midfielder, as a winger, in a box-to-box role, or even as a right-sided full-back, wing-back, or centre-back. He has also been singled out for his composure in possession, energy, positioning, and sense of timing, while former Liverpool midfielder and German international Dietmar Hamann described him as being "physically strong, a good passer and technically gifted". 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." Football writer Andrew Beasley has also noted that Can is strong in the air, while Matt Jones of Bleacher 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…

Can is a practising Muslim. In October 2019, Turkish international footballer Cenk Tosun published a photograph on Instagram in which he stated support for soldiers involved in the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. The post was initially liked by Can and İlkay Gündoğan, who are both German nationals of Turkish descent; however, they both later removed their likes. Regarding the incident, Can told the German newspaper daily Bild: "I am an absolute pacifist and against all forms of war," also stating that he unintentionally liked the post while scrolling through his timeline. In January 2023, Can revealed that he had thyroid cancer that was diagnosed during his medical tests prior to joining Juventus, which required surgery in October 2018.