Early years Bolat began his professional career at age 17 with
Genk in 2005, but only managed a handful of matches in the league, including three starts. He transferred to
Standard Liège on 29 December 2008, six months before his contract was due to expire with Genk. He had previously been linked to both
Fenerbahçe and
Trabzonspor of the Turkish
Süper Lig.
Standard Liège Bolat is reported to have moved to Standard Liège for a transfer fee of just €150,000 in the January 2009 transfer window, on a 4.5-year contract.
2008–09 season Bolat was Liège's preferred starting goalkeeper in the second half of the
2008–09 season due to
Rorys Aragón losing favour. Bolat started the last seven matches of the season and kept five clean sheets, conceding only two goals: one in a 3–1 win against
Germinal Beerschot and another in a 4–1 win against
KV Mechelen. Bolat started the
UEFA Cup match against
S.C. Braga on 26 February 2009, and managed to keep a clean sheet during the first half. However, he was substituted off at half-time for the experienced Rorys Aragón, as the match finished 1–1. In the final match of the 2008–09 season, Standard needed to win their match away to
Gent in order to force a
play-off against
Anderlecht for the championship title. (If both points and number of matches won are tied, then a two-legged play-off decides the ultimate winner.) Standard were 1–0 ahead until the 92nd minute, when a penalty was awarded against them. Bolat became the hero of the night as he pulled off a magnificent save from
Bryan Ruiz, ensuring the play-off. Standard went on to win the resulting play-off, winning 2–1 on aggregate, with Bolat keeping another clean sheet in the process, and were crowned champions on 24 May 2009. In his first season, he managed to keep six clean sheets out of nine matches and also saved a penalty. Winning the league automatically qualified Liège for the group stages of
UEFA Champions League in the
2009–10 season. English
Premier League clubs
Manchester United and
Arsenal were said to have made an offer for him in May 2009.
2009–10 season Prior to the start of the
2009–10 season, Bolat helped his side to a 2–0 win in the
2009 Belgian Supercup final against
Genk on 27 July 2009. In Liège's final
UEFA Champions League group stage match, against
AZ on 9 December, Bolat pushed upfield when a free-kick was awarded in the 95th minute, and he scored a headed goal to tie the match at 1–1. The draw clinched third place in the group for Liège and gave them a place in the
UEFA Europa League at the expense of AZ. This enabled Bolat to earn his place in history as the first goalkeeper ever to score a goal in open-play in the UEFA Champions League.
Porto Bolat joined Portuguese
Primeira Liga club
Porto on 30 July 2013 on a free transfer, signing a five-year contract.
Kayserispor On 24 January 2014, Bolat joined Turkish side
Kayserispor on loan, for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.
Galatasaray On 22 July 2014, Bolat joined
Süper Lig club
Galatasaray on a one-year loan.
Club Brugge On 23 July 2015, Bolat joined
Club Brugge on loan from Porto for the
2015–16 season, after Brugge starting goalkeeper
Mathew Ryan left the side to join
Valencia.
Nacional Bolat joined
Primeira Liga side
Nacional on 31 August 2016, on a one-year loan.
Arouca On 31 January 2017, Bolat left
Nacional and joined
Arouca on loan until the end of season, after only playing one game for Nacional.
Royal Antwerp On 17 July 2017, Bolat returned to Belgium, joining
Royal Antwerp on a three-year contract.
Gent On 27 August 2020, Bolat joined rival
Gent on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.
Westerlo On 2 June 2022,
Westerlo announced the signing of Bolat, on a four-year contract. On 5 February 2025, Bolat was loaned to
Kasımpaşa until the end of the 2024–25 season. ==International career==