There is a famous picture in Turkey, taken at the wedding of one of the country's biggest players, the UEFA Cup winner and the player who led the team to the World Cup semi-finals.
In the photo is Hakan Şükür and beside him, there are two "witnesses", current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Cleric Fethullah Gulen. A marriage is supposed to be one of the most important points in a man's life, but it was not like this for the well-known footballer.
The woman with whom she married then has died while her father was imprisoned. The player is now in exile.If he ever returns to his homeland, he will face charges of insulting the president and rebellion against the government. Would face life imprisonment. Sukur is in danger of the death penalty. He will never see his father again and with him has lost his place.
Many players have had a downfall in life, but nothing can be compared to Sukur's story of both the heights and the depths he touched. He was a legend, is called "Bull of the Bosphorus" in a place where the players eat, drink and sleep.
He was also the record scorer for Galatasaray and his country. Fans of other Turkish giants, Fenerbahce and Besiktas respected him.
He played 9 times for Blackburn Rovers in the 2002-03 season, scoring twice. He gained fame in the 2002 World Cup, scoring against South Korea at 10.8 seconds in the playoffs. It was the fastest goal in an international tournament.
After closing his career at the age 36, he worked as an expert and then entered politics. Sukur represented the religious and conservative AKP, the ruling party today. But suddenly, the picture came out of focus, and all that was achieved was multiplied by zero.
His marriage ended with divorce. Former wife Esra lost her life in the 1999 earthquake that took the lives of at least 17,000 people in Izmir and Istanbul.
Sukur was an expert at TRT, the national television channel. He was aware and appeared serious, always interesting and intriguing in his comments. She married again and had three children. His political views made him deputy for the Justice and Development Party, Erdogan's Party. But Sukur maintained a close relationship with Gulen, the other man in the wedding photo.
In 2013, when the government decided to shut down schools, a type of training center run by the "Hizmet" movement, Sukur resigned from the governing party and passed as an independent MP.
Football seemed too far and at this time the first problems started. He faced many controversies especially during a university audience.
"I am Albanian, as such I am not a Turk," dangerous words at the best time in a country where words like "Albanian" and "Kurd" can be seen as against the prevailing nationalism.
In 2016 Sukur was charged with insulting the president on social media. A trial in absentia began in June. Sukur insisted he did not intend to offend the president, but prosecutors said Twitter posts were clearly related to Erdogan.
The failed coup of the state occurred in July.
More than 300 people lost their lives. In the months that followed, 120,000 people lost their jobs and 50,000 were arrested. Anyone who liked Gulen was suspected. An arrest warrant was issued for Sukur in August.
Prosecutors in Sakarya province accused him as members of an armed terrorist group, Anatolian state agency said, referring to what Ankara calls a terrorist organization.
Sukuri had a chance to give up on Gülen and secure his freedom and security. Sukur's father, Selmet, was captured in a mosque in Adapazari and was charged with financial coup support. Their possessions were confiscated.
Sukur managed to escape the US. In June his father was reportedly dead of cancer without regaining freedom.
Sukur remains in exile, surrounded by the memories of the excellent football career.
But a sensible man who lost Turkey when he played abroad finds his missing name at the place he once went to the stadium and on the street, writes The Guardian.