FRIDAY- 19th November, 2021: Legendary Turkey striker Hakan Sukur now make a living driving Uber in the United States of America after retiring from professional football.
This was revealed in a compilation by Mirror Football of former elite footballers who now ply their trade doing something completely unexpected.
Sukur banged in 51 goals for Turkey over 112 appearances – including the quickest World Cup goal ever in just 10.8 seconds at the 2002 tournament in South Korea.
His exploits at the tournament helped Turkey finish third, their best ever performance till date.
At club level he won the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) with Galatasaray in 2000 and the Coppa Italia with Parma in 2002.
Since his retirement from the game, Sukur has hit the headlines for various reasons, including a warrant put out for his arrest in Turkey which forced him to flee to America.
Now residing in the USA, Sukur told German outlet, Welt am Sonntag (via The Star ): “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.”
The warrant was put out for his arrest due to allegations Sukur was involved with the Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETO), who are also linked with the failed coup of Turkey’s government in 2016.
Sukur protests his innocence, though, stating: “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 have nothing left, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan took everything: my right to liberty, freedom of expression and right to work.”
