Emre Mor uses his money to shine anew after BVB flop in the Netherlands

The once “Turkish Messi”‑celebrated Emre Mor, now 29 years old, has after a failed BVB appearance enough money to shine again at NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands. In the 95th minute he scored the winning goal, which marked his first league‑match goal after 542 days.

The expensive transfer and the expectations

Mor moved in 2017 for just under ten million euros from his home country Denmark to Borussia Dortmund. The high fee made him the most expensive winger at the club, but his career remained marked by few sporting highlights.

After a season without playing time at Fenerbahçe, which he missed due to an unregistered playing licence, he found himself as a free‑transfer player without a contract. His agent Nima Modry brought him to Carlos Aalbers, the technical director of NEC Nijmegen, who seized the opportunity to sign the former BVB flop.

The bizarre earring incident

In the Champions League qualifying match against Olympiakos Piraeus, Mor was delayed by a precisely timed two minutes and 49 seconds because he could not remove his earring. Coach Dick Schreuder eventually had to pull it off his ear – a moment he described after the game as “almost crazy”.

Schreuder later explained that he wanted to pull the earring off Mor himself because wearing the jewellery at the highest level was “terrible”. Despite the incident, Mor entered the field in the 30th minute, now without the earring, and became the decisive man.

The victory and the reactions

After a 0‑1 deficit, NEC rescued the game into extra time, and Mor scored the 2‑1 in the 95th minute for the final score. The strike brought tears to his eyes and a long‑awaited goal after more than a year.

Coach Schreuder praised Mor: “He made up for it a little by scoring the winning goal.” Former coach and TV analyst Alex Pastoor commented humorously: “I think he thought: Just cut his whole ear off!”

Personal words from the flop

Mor explained that he wears the earring from a Japanese or Chinese sleep aid and uses it not for aesthetics but for personal reasons. He emphasized that the feeling of playing after so many difficult years is “beyond words”.

Journalist Marcel Rözer summed up the evening with the words: “Argentina has the Hand of God, we have Mor’s ear.” With this he underscores the bizarre mix of sport, money and personal story that surrounds the former BVB flop.