football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

Don Balón ''Don Balón'' is a Spanish weekly sports magazine specializing in Spanish and international football. The magazine was published in Barcelona between 1975 and 2011. It was distributed on five continents. Since 2011 ''Don Balón'' has been a ful ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

Manisaspor Manisaspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Manisa. Originally formed in 1931 as Sakaryaspor, the club changed its name to Manisaspor on 15 June 1965.2005–06 season. In the 2005–06 season, Turan scored two goals for the team based in

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

. Turan was recalled to Galatasaray for the start of the 2006–07 season and quickly broke into the first team. It was during this time that he received his first senior international call up. He helped Galatasaray qualify for the following season's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

group stage. Turan continued his development in the 2007–08 season, scoring seven goals in the second half of the season. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Turan was handed the captaincy of Galatasaray and given squad number 10, which had previously belonged to

Metin Oktay Metin Oktay (2 February 1936 – 13 September 1991) nicknamed the Crownless King () by Galatasaray S.K. (football team), Galatasaray fans, was a Turkish people, Turkish association football, footballer and one of the most successful goal score ...

and Hagi; Turan previously wore number 66. As captain at the start of season, Turan guided his team to six consecutive league wins games which put Galatasaray comfortably at the top of the table. In the 2010–11 season, he was troubled with injuries and played a limited number of games. By the end of the season, he had played in only 12 league matches, scoring two goals; and in three Turkish Cup matches, where he scored one. His impressive performances over the last four years of his Galatasaray career lead to interest from Spanish club

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

.

Atlético Madrid

In the late hours of 9 August 2011, it was announced Turan would be joining Atlético Madrid for a €12 million transfer fee plus bonuses, making him the most expensive Turkish footballer of all-time.

2011–12

He was handed the number 11 shirt and made his

2011–12 La Liga The 2011–12 La Liga season (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st season of the top level Spanish association football competition. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and concluded on 13 May 2012. Real Madrid won a ...

debut on 28 August 2011 against

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

, entering as a substitute in the second half. He made his

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

debut on 15 September against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, starting the match and assisting a goal. On 18 September, he was again selected for the starting XI and provided two assists. On 25 October, Galatasaray club president

Ünal Aysal Ünal Aysal (, born 2 June 1941) is a Turkish businessman. He was the chairman of Galatasaray S.K. Business career He graduated from Galatasaray High School in 1961. He then studied law at Istanbul University and later at University of Neuchâte ...

stated Turan will come back to Galatasaray in the future under

right of first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...

that was signed between Galatasaray and Atlético during an interview with Lig TV. On 30 November, Turan scored his first goal for Atlético in a Europa League match against Celtic with a powerful volley. On 11 December, he scored his first

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

goal with a driven volley just outside the box. In the Europa League match that followed, he netted again in a 3–1 win against

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. Turan scored two goals in two minutes as Atlético defeated Espanyol 3–1 on 22 April 2012 to move his side into seventh place in the league standings and just three points behind

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

for the final Champions League spot. On 9 May, in the

2012 UEFA Europa League Final The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, the 41st season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA (after the UEFA Champions League), and the 3rd season ...

against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

, he made an assist to his teammate

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios F.C., Millonarios. Nicknamed "El ...

, which made the score 2–0.

2012–13

Turan's number was changed from 11 to 10 before the 2012–13 season. He began his season with a game-tying long-distance screamer in Atlético's 1–1 La Liga season opener against Levante. He then won the

2012 UEFA Super Cup The 2012 UEFA Super Cup was the 37th UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. It was played ...

with Atlético against Champions League victors Chelsea, assisting Falcao for the third goal of the game in a 4–1 victory. On 16 September 2012, he scored the third goal of the game against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

in a 4–3 home win.

2013–14

He was instrumental in Atlético's wins in their first two 2013–14 Champions League matches against

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

and

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, scoring a goal in each match. On 30 April 2014, he scored the last goal of a 3–1 away win against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League, sending Atlético to the final for the first time since 1974.

2014–15

On 13 September 2014, entering the match as a substitute one hour into the match, Turan scored the decisive goal in the 76th minute for Atlético in their 1–2 away league win against derby rivals

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. After the match, Atlético manager

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970), nicknamed "El Cholo" (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He has been the manager of club Atlético Madrid since December 2011 mak ...

hailed Turan's impact on Atlético's game. On 1 October 2014, Turan scored the only goal of the match in the 1–0 win against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the group stage of the 2014–15 Champions League season. On 28 January 2015, in the 47th minute of the home leg of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

quarter-final against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Turan threw his boot in the direction of the assistant referee, when he was denied a free-kick for an alleged foul by

Ivan Rakitić Ivan Rakitić (; born 10 March 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for HNL club Hajduk Split. Rakitić started his professional career at Basel and spent two seasons with them before he was signed by Schalke ...

. After the match, however, he was not handed a ban for the incident. Atlético were eliminated from the tournament as the match ended with a 2–3 defeat, 2–4 defeat on aggregate. On 22 April, Turan was sent off for a foul on

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captain (association football), captains Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey, Monterrey. Regarded as one of the gr ...

as Atlético lost 0–1 at Real Madrid to be eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Barcelona

On 6 July 2015, Barcelona announced the signing of Turan from Atlético for €34 million, plus €7 million in variables. The contract would run for five seasons, but Turan would only be able to debut for the Catalans in January 2016, after Barcelona's transfer ban had been lifted. On 29 December 2015, Turan picked number 7 for his shirt. Starting the match in the starting line-up, Turan made his debut on 6 January 2016 in a Derbi barceloní encounter against Espanyol in the first leg of the round of 16 of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, which ended 4–1 for Barcelona. He placed a shot in the second half that was saved by Espanyol goalkeeper Pau. Turan played his first Liga match with Barcelona on 9 January 2016, the 17th matchday of the season, at home against

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. The match ended 4–0, with Turan assisting

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

's opening goal. On 17 August 2016, Turan scored twice and Lionel Messi once as Barcelona earned a 3–0 second-leg victory over

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

to win the 2016 Supercopa de España 5–0 on aggregate. On 7 December 2016, Turan scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona during a Champions League group stage match against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

. He became the sixth player in ''Barça'' history to score a hat-trick in the Champions League, after Messi,

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

,

Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (; born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo, is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as ...

,

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian Association football, football administrator and former Football player, player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. He is often regarded as one of the ...

and

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...

. This also marked Turan's first hat-trick in European competitions.

İstanbul Başakşehir (loan)

After not playing a single game for Barcelona in the 2017–18 season, Arda was loaned out to Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir for the remainder of the season and two more, in the winter transfer window. He made his debut for the club in a

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

match on 21 January 2018, coming off the bench in the 65th minute mark and scoring the third goal in the 3–0 away win over

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

. On 4 May 2018, Turan was sent off in a league match against

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

for pushing an

assistant referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

after disagreeing with a ruling. He received a 16-match ban from the Turkish Federation's disciplinary board, the longest punishment ever issued to a player in the country. 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.

Return to Galatasaray

On 5 August 2020, Galatasaray announced the signing of Turan on a two-year deal. Due to a long-term injury to goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, he was made the club's captain. He played his first official match of the 2020–21 season against

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

in the Super League on 12 September. The next season, he played only seven matches and scored no goals.

Retirement

On 12 September 2022, Turan has shared via his social media account that he "hung up" his football boots. His retirement announcement also came along with a formal retirement video, put together by the Libre Channel.

International career

Turan was a Turkish international regular, having made over 90 appearances for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

at senior level. He made his debut in the 1–0 friendly victory over

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

on 16 August 2006, having worked his way through the youth national team at the under-19 and under-21 levels. He scored his first international goal on 25 May 2008 in a friendly against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Turan featured in nine of Turkey's 12 qualification matches for

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

, and starred in the finals of the tournament itself. Turan scored two goals during Turkey's progression to the semi-finals. The first was a last-minute winner against co-hosts

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in their second group stage match to eliminate them from the competition. His second came in the final group stage match against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, in which a draw would see a penalty shootout being played to determine who would go through to the quarter-finals because both teams had identical records. He scored Turkey's first goal in the second half, beating goalkeeper

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...

with a low shot, which led to Turkey coming from 2–0 down to win the match. He also successfully converted a spot-kick in the penalty shootout against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the quarter-finals, taking Turkey to the semi-finals, where they were eventually knocked out by losing finalists

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Turan scored two goals during the qualification rounds of the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, but ultimately Turkey failed to qualify from their group. After a qualifier in September 2008 between

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and Turkey – the two sides having historical political problems – both teams received a

FIFA Fair Play Award The FIFA Fair Play Award is a FIFA recognition of exemplary behaviour that promotes the spirit of fair play and compassion in :association football around the world. First awarded in 1987, it has been presented to individuals (including posthu ...

for 2008. Turan scored the Turkish national team's 600th international goal in a 2010 World Cup qualification game, against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

on 5 September 2009. he scored four goals for Turkey during the qualification rounds of the

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, two against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, one against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and one against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Turkey, however, could not qualify for the final stages of Euro 2012 after being eliminated by Croatia in the play-offs. In June 2017, Turan attacked verbally and tried to strangulate journalist Bilal Meşe in a plane trip back from a game against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. He then stated that he didn't feel any remorse and that he would not be playing for Turkey anymore. However, after the sacking of head coach

Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...

and the new coach

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national football team, Romania national team. He i ...

expressing his wish for Turan to return, he declared in August that he would resume playing for Turkey. He was granted his 100th and final international appearance for Turkey in the 3–0 defeat to

Iceland national football team The Iceland national football team () represents Iceland in men's international Association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland, and have been a FIFA member since 1947 and a UEFA member since 1957. ...

in 2018 World Cup qualifying group match in October 2017.

Managerial career

Eyüpspor

On 14 April 2023, Turan was appointed as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...

club

Eyüpspor Eyüpspor Kulübü, known as ikas Eyüpspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional association football, football club located in the Eyüpsultan district of Istanbul. Their colours are lavender and yellow. Their home ground is Eyü ...

on a one-and-a-half-year contract. His first game in charge, on 16 April, resulted in a 1–0 away loss against Göztepe, completing the game without any shots on target. On 7 April 2024, he guided his club to secure promotion to

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

for the first time in their history, after defeating

Altay Altai or Altay may refer to: Places *Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia In China *Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China *Altay City (阿勒� ...

4–1. On the final matchday of the 2023–24 season, the club clinched the division title with a commanding 4–0 away win against

Erzurumspor Erzurumspor was a sports club located in Erzurum, Turkey. The football club played in the Turkish Regional Amateur League. The club also played in Turkish First League between 1998 and 2001. It fell into money shortage since 2000 and gradually f ...

. On 25 May 2025, Turan has announced that he will leave Eyüpspor as his contract was ended.

Shakhtar Donetsk

On 27 May 2025, Turan became the head coach of Ukrainian club

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

, signing a 2-year contract.

Outside football

On 16 November 2008, Turan collapsed during a match against İstanbul BB. After being rushed to hospital, he was diagnosed with

cardiac arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beat ...

. The day after the incident, doctors declared that Turan was in good health and that extreme exhaustion caused the arrhythmia. In November 2009, he suffered a minor bout of

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...

but recovered within a few days to resume training. In January 2009, he was involved in a car crash in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Turan suffered no serious injuries and continued training with only cuts and bruises. Turan dated Turkish actress

Sinem Kobal Sinem Kobal (born 14 August 1987) is a Turkish television and film actress. Career At the age of thirteen, She started her acting career in the sitcom ''Dadı'' which adaptation of "The Nanny" as Dilara Giritli. She had lead role in fantasy chil ...

from August 2009.Arda's Interview
", Ligtv.com.tr. Retrieved 13 January 2010. The pair became engaged in January 2010, splitting in late 2013.
", Ayakligazete.com.tr. Retrieved 13 January 2010. Turan married Aslıhan Doğan on 11 March 2018.

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

attended the wedding where he was acting as a witness of the marriage. In October 2018, the couple's first child, a son named Hamza Arda, was born. Another son named Asil Aslan was born in June 2020. Arda Turan received a suspended sentence of 2 years and 8 months after being found guilty of firing a gun to cause panic, illegal possession of weapons and intentional injury. Turan got into a brawl with Berkay Şahin in 2018 which ended with a broken nose for the pop star. Turan appeared at the hospital with a gun, allegedly begging for forgiveness from Şahin, panic ensued after the footballer fired the weapon at the ground. Turan will not serve his jail term if no further incidents occur for five years.

Charity

Turan is also known for his humanitarian work, especially in the helping of sick children. On 11 May 2014, Turan was announced as a goodwill ambassador for the

Khojaly massacre The Khojaly massacre (, ) was the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces and the 366th CIS regiment in the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992. The event became the largest single massacre throughout the entire Nagorno-Ka ...

. His ambassador activities are aimed to raise awareness about this issue and promoting world peace.

Media

In January 2010, Turan was voted as the third-most popular European footballer of 2009, as well as the 14th-most popular footballer in the world, by the

International Federation of Football History & Statistics The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

(IFFHS). He was featured on the cover of the video game ''

FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and Australia and 26 September in the ...

'' in Turkey. Together with his future teammate Lionel Messi.

Politics

Turan is known for his long-standing support of President of Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

.

Personal life

Turan is of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

descent through his mother.

Career statistics

Club

International

Source: International goals :''Turkey score listed first, score column indicates score after each Turan goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Galatasaray *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 2007–08 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2004–05 Atlético Madrid *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

: 2013–14 *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

*

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

: 2011–12 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

*

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Barcelona *La Liga: 2015–16 *Copa del Rey: 2015–16, 2016–17 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

İstanbul Başakşehir *Süper Lig: 2019–20 Turkey *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

third place:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Manager

Eyüpspor *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

FC Barcelona official profile
* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turan, Arda 1987 births Living people People from Fatih Footballers from Istanbul Turkish Muslims Turkish people of Albanian descent Turkish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Galatasaray U21 footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Manisaspor footballers Atlético Madrid footballers FC Barcelona players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Süper Lig players La Liga players UEFA Europa League–winning players Turkey men's youth international footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Turkey men's international footballers Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games medalists in football UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2016 players FIFA Men's Century Club Turkish expatriate men's footballers Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Turkish football managers Eyüpspor managers FC Shakhtar Donetsk managers Süper Lig managers TFF 1. Lig managers Ukrainian Premier League managers Turkish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Ukraine Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine People convicted of illegal possession of weapons 21st-century Turkish sportsmen

Club career

Galatasaray

Atlético Madrid

2011–12

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

Barcelona

İstanbul Başakşehir (loan)

Return to Galatasaray

Retirement

International career

Managerial career

Eyüpspor

Shakhtar Donetsk

Outside football

Charity

Media

Politics

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

External links