Former Turkey football star Hakan Sukur, known for his career at Inter Milan, Torino, Blackburn, and Galatasaray, has disclosed that he now works as an Uber driver in the United States following his exile from Turkey.

 

The 48-year-old, who clinched 14 major titles and scored 383 goals during his club career, including the fastest ever in a World Cup in 2002, experienced a drastic change in his life after retiring. He delved into politics and became an Istanbul MP for the Justice and Development Party before later resigning in December 2013 to serve independently after a fallout with Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

 

Sukur has been wanted for arrest in Turkey since August 2016 for alleged ties to the Gülen movement and currently lives in the United States as an exile.

 

In an interview with German publication Welt am Sonntag, Sukur lamented the difficulties he faced after being accused of involvement in a failed coup by President Erdogan. “I have nothing left, Erdogan took everything: my right to liberty, freedom of expression, and right to work,” expressed Sukur.

 

Referring to the accusations against him, he stated, “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 [of] 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.”

 

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