Was in Darmstadt’s NLZ for three years
©adlantis / Sebastian Friedrich
5.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 3.4 million followers on Instagram – the rapper Mero is a star in the music industry. Enes Meral, as his real name is, had the dream of professional football when he was young and played for Darmstadt 98 up to the U17 level. At Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old from Rüsselsheim talks about his time in the youth academy and his passion for football. He also reveals why he founded a consulting agency.
Transfer market: Enes, you played for Darmstadt 98 up to the U17 level and there is also a profile of you on Transfermarkt. How did your career as a footballer go?
Enes Meral: I started playing football at a club in my hometown of Rüsselsheim and then went to Rot-Weiß Walldorf. In 2013 I moved to the U14 team at Mainz 05 and thus to a youth academy. I was discovered at a screening training session, there were maybe 50 of us guys, and I was signed the same day. I was told that I played like Arjen Robben, who was my role model. I was a gifted dribbler and had a strong left hand! (laughs) After a year my time at FSV was over and I spent the next three years at Darmstadt.
Transfer market: Did you have a dream of playing professional football? And how far do you think you could have made it?
Meral: One hundred percent! Actually it was just about becoming a professional. I worked very hard and sacrificed a lot for this. During my four years at the NLZ, I trained five times a week and played a game on the weekend. It wasn’t such an easy time mentally. I think I had the talent to play higher, but I lacked the discipline and maybe a little more support. Injuries have also repeatedly set me back. I wasn’t that strong back then.
Transfer market: Darmstadt was playing in the Bundesliga at the time. How close were you to the professionals?
Meral: We often trained at the stadium. It was cool for us youth players to see the professionals often. That motivated us. This made us feel like we were very close to our dream. I was also a ball boy a few times, which I always loved.
Transfer market: Are there any current professionals that you played against or with back then?
Meral: Jonathan Burkardt and I almost played together! He moved to Mainz the same year I went to Darmstadt. We basically swapped clubs. (smiles) But I played against him several times. And I remember Umut Güneş, who was a youth at VfB Stuttgart and is now in Turkey. I always got along well with him at tournaments.
This is how rapper Mero came up with the idea of a consulting agency
Transfer market: How did the transition from footballer to rapper go?
Meral: It wasn’t a smooth transition, both ran parallel. I’ve always had football and music in my life. Many of my family can sing, it’s basically in our blood. I started doing it myself at a young age. At the beginning I just sang songs, but as a teenager I wrote my first rhymes. On the way to training, in the dressing room, on the way home, basically always. At the end of my time in Darmstadt, cell phone videos of me went viral. The attention was there, the subscribers increased, it kept getting more and more.
Transfer market: What excites you about football?
Meral: Football has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I always had and still enjoy kicking. Although I used to have a lot of training sessions per week, I also played a lot in my free time. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without football. He is still present today. I watch football every week, I always watch Trabzonspor, that’s my club. I follow the Turkish league, but of course also the Bundesliga. In the amateur sector, I am a sponsor for my hometown club Türk Gücü Rüsselheim, where I watch from time to time. Or when friends of mine are playing, I try to be there. I just enjoy it, football is and remains my great love.
Transfer market: How did the idea of setting up a football consulting agency come about?
Meral: I am convinced that I can offer young players what I previously lacked. I didn’t have an advisor at my side to support me on my journey. Maybe that was one of the reasons why I didn’t get any further. Now I know people in the scene, have a certain reach and the necessary knowledge. I know what it’s like in the NLZ, I know what it’s like to fulfill a dream and suddenly be famous. In addition, I don’t do this alone, but with experienced partners who support me in the organization and have many years of experience in this area.
Transfer market: Were you inspired by Jay-Z, who founded his agency Roc Nation Sports in 2023?
Meral: Of course I noticed that his project went through the roof. Jay-Z made it big, but I don’t know if he ever played and how much he really knows about football. For me, I know. He inspired me, but I want to do it my way. I hope that things will go at least as well or maybe even better for me.
Transfer market: What are your plans, which players and markets do you have in mind?
Meral: The German and Turkish markets are exciting. As a German-Turk, I simply know my way around. But in football there are no limits, so I wouldn’t limit myself, I’ve never done that before. Anything is possible, that’s what I always tell young people.
This is how rapper Mero wants to bring music and football together
Transfer market: How do you balance your careers as a rapper and player agent? How much time would you have for your players?
Meral: That won’t be a problem, I’ll be able to reconcile both. Of course I’m on the road more often and have the odd appointment, but I spend a lot of time in the studio and can manage everything there. As an artist, I have the freedom to organize my own time. And besides, I’m not a one-man show, I have a real team of grow professionals at my side who support me brutally.
Transfer market: Let’s say you’re on stage, but it’s the last transfer day and a sports director wants to talk to you. What are you doing?
Meral: Then I’ll do it! Then it will happen right then and there. Before the concert, during or after, it doesn’t matter! (laughs) I make no secret of the fact that, in addition to my music career, I also work in football. I’m known as Mero, so people know what’s going on.
Transfer market: Why should a footballer seek advice from your consulting agency?
Meral: With me, young players know that I have been through exactly what they are going through. I also come from the street, I also played on the football field and I was also in the NLZ. I am one of them and approach things differently than the run-of-the-mill consultants. I now also know what it’s like to deal with influential people; I’ve been at the table for a long time and I’m respected. A combination like this doesn’t happen often and I’m sure I can use it profitably for my boys.
Transfer market: How often do you use Transfermarkt?
Meral: I always go to the website and look for the profiles of my friends or other players. As a footballer, Transfermarkt is simply part of it, and now as a consultant it will of course become even more so.
Interview: Pascal Martin (p_martin)