The tale of Turkey's greatest wild child - Arda Turan

The ex-Barcelona winger is among some of the most animated players in football.

There is no shortage of craziness and lunacy in world football. Very often, we have seen some players doing some of the most atrocious stuff on the pitch, due to which they have enjoyed much fame being named as a psyche. 

We have already seen one such hothead in the form of Duncan Ferguson, whose infamous tales of mischief both on and off the pitch, caused astonishment and awe. But, if there is one player in modern football, who could compete with the Scottish fruitcake, it is Arda Turan, Turkey’s biggest headcase. The ex-Barcelona player is undoubtedly one the biggest madmen to ever grace the football pitch, and will certainly make you put your hands in your head, and render you speechless.

Here is the story of Turkey's greatest wild child - Arda Turan:

Turan’s career as a player

Although his anger and short temperedness got the better of him at times, Turan’s abilities as a player were unquestionable, and he surely is one of the brightest talents to have ever emerged from the land of four seasons. 

Arda began his footballing career with Galatasaray, playing through the youth ranks of the Turkish clubs, before finally being handed his first appearance for the first team in January 2005, at the age of 17.

The following years, Turan became a regular starter for the club, and started displaying his sheer talent and unhindered quality. He also helped his team qualify for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League group stage, and two seasons later, was awarded with the captains armband at the mere age of 21. 

This impressive work at such a young age drew attention from some of the biggest European clubs, out of which Atletico were the quickest to react, as they put pen to paper with the Turkish youngster in the summer of 2011, for a record transfer fee of €12 million, making him the most expensive Turkish footballer of all-time.

Turan spent the next four years with the Rojiblancas and enjoyed much success with the club. The player became a regular starter for the club and was a key cog in Simeone’s team that won La Liga, the Europa League, and also reached the finals of the Champions League.

In the summer of 2015, Arda was convinced that it was time for him to shine even brighter, and get even more recognition at an ever bigger club. So when Barcelona came knocking with 40 million Euros in their hands, Arda and Atletico didn’t hesitate, and the Turkishman joined the Blaugrana.

He kicked off his Barcelona career on a good note and was impressive for the first two seasons of his Barcelona career. But things took a turn for the worse in the 2017–18 season, when Arda didn’t play a single game for Barcelona and was loaned out to Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir for the remainder of the season and two more, in the winter transfer window.

With Basaksehir, things didn’t go as planned for Arda, as in May 2018, just a few months into his career at the new club, Arda was handed a 16-match ban due to Violent misconduct with the officials in a game against Sivasspor. Later, however, the ban was reduced to 10 games by TFF's arbitration board. On 7 January 2020, Turan's loan was terminated six months early by Başakşehir.

On 5 August 2020, Galatasaray announced the signing of Turan on a two-year deal. The winger made 39 more appearances for his childhood club, and officially hung up his boots in 2022, marking an end to an exciting yet bumpy career that had no shortage of drama and mishaps.

Turan’s twisted tales of roguery

We have already taken a look at Arda’s career, and all the clubs he’s been at. But there is another special element, which graces his time as a footballer, and that is the infamous tales of Turan’s madness and gag. The Turkish men comes second to none when it comes to being a lunatic both on and off the pitch. From strangling journalists to firing guns in hospitals, Turan’s tales of mischief are truly shocking.

Turan’s first big act of outrage came in 2015 when he astonishingly threw his boot at the linesman when the same didn’t award him a free kick for a petty challenge. Surprisingly, Arda wasn’t even given a red card for this incident, and no major action was taken against him. 

By 2017, Arda had made a name for himself and was considered a short-tempered player. But his fiery reputation came into the light even more, when he strangled a journalist, who publicly criticized him.

A year later, Arda marries celeb Aslihan Dogan. Soon after, a journalist asked his wife if she was satisfied with the simple ceremony. Arda responded furiously, telling the reporter "I will crush your head and eyes!".

But it wasn’t only reporters who were bestowed with Turan’s wrath, as just months into his life with Istanbul Basaksehir, Arda was handed a record 16-match ban for shoving a linesman, who didn’t rule a verdict in his favour. 

Months later, he once again displayed his sheer craziness, when he got into a fight with Turkish popstar Berkay. The row allegedly started when (recently married) Turan tried it on with Berkay's wife outside an Istanbul nightclub. When Berkay confronted him, Arda smacked the singer in the face, breaking his nose.

Berkay was carted off in an ambulance and Turan pursued him to the hospital, brandishing a loaded gun. After tracking down the stricken singer's room, he threw the gun on the table and begged Berkay to execute him. When Berkay refused, Turan went rogue again.

He fired the gun into the floor, causing petrified patients to stampede through the emergency rooms. He was later arrested for "creating panic with a firearm" and was handed a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence.

What the future holds for Arda

Despite retiring in 2022, Arda will be remembered for a long time not just in Turkey, but all across Europe for his extremist behaviour, and unwavering rouge that knew no limits. His tales will be long bestowed on his generations to come, who will remember the talented player as Turkey’s greatest wild child.