×
  • Sports - Sports
  • Updated: January 15, 2020

Hero To Zero: Former Turkish Football Star Turns Uber Driver

Hero To Zero: Former Turkish Football Star Turns Uber Driver

 

Former Turkey international and FIFA 2002 World Cup star striker, Hakan Sukur, has revealed he now drives Uber to make ends meet after he was exiled from Turkey.

Sukur, 48, a former Inter Milan and Galatasaray player, who led Turkey to third place at the 2002 World Cup, also revealed he also sells books to survive.

His life took a dramatic turn after retirement, as he entered politics and was elected to Parliament, but in 2011 had an acrimonious falling out with President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan after being accused of participating in a failed coup along with many others, thus prompting him to go into exile.

Speaking to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Sukur said: “I have nothing left, Erdogan took everything: my right to liberty, freedom of expression and right to work.

“Nobody seems able to explain what my role in this coup was supposed to be. I never did anything illegal, I am not a traitor or a terrorist.

“I might be an enemy to this Government, but not the state or the Turkish nation. I love my country. After the split with Erdogan, I started to receive threats. My wife’s shop was attacked, my children were harassed, my father put in prison and all my assets confiscated.

“So I moved to the United States, initially running a café in California, but strange people kept coming into the bar. Now I drive for Uber and I sell books.”

Sukur played a key role as Galatasaray beat Arsenal in the final of the UEFA Cup  (now Europa League) in 2000, becoming the first Turkish club to achieve the feat.

On 29 June he scored the fastest ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, netting against South Korea 10.8 seconds into the third-place play-off.

Related Topics

Join our Telegram platform to get news update Join Now

1 Comment(s)

See this post in...

Notice

We have selected third parties to use cookies for technical purposes as specified in the Cookie Policy. Use the “Accept All” button to consent or “Customize” button to set your cookie tracking settings