Discover the more personal side of Barcelona midfielder Arda
Committed to his family and his country, a perfectionist, religious and addicted to sports... the other side of Arda
Those that know him well assure that Arda Turan is, before anything else, a good friend, someone you can count on in the good times and the bad. His humble origins, in the Bayrampasa neighbourhood of Istanbul, left a mark. In fact, his two dogs are even named Bayram and Pasa.
He’s committed to his family, who still live in the same area of Turkey, and to his country, and he always returns to the place where he grew as a footballer on the streets. He also helps economically the club where he took his first steps, Altintepsi Makelspor. Arda also has a close relationship with his brother, Okan, who’s an actor in a television series.
Arda chose Istanbul as the place to do business and opened a restaurant there: Arsiv. Situated in the Sisli neighbourhood, you can enjoy a range of Turkish gastronomic delights, all made from organic products.
Arda’s happy in Barcelona, too, although he’s created an environment where he’s surrounded by friends from his infancy to accompany him every day, such as his translator and his chauffeur, who make him feel like he’s in Istanbul.
Many ask why he’s not fluent in Spanish after arriving in the country in 2011. In reality he does speak it and understands it. In fact, when he goes to a restaurant he interacts in Spanish, but he’s a perfectionist and when it comes to speaking to the press he prefers to do so in his native tongue, making use of his inseparable translator so as not to be misinterpreted.
He’s religious and has a collection of ‘Misbaha’, a string of beads which is often used by Muslims to keep track of counting to help with nerves, anger and to recover an element of peace. Also called ‘tasbihi’ it is a form of dhikr that involves the repetitive utterances of short sentences in the praise and glorification of Allah, in Islam.
Turan is a lover of sport, too. One of his distractions in Barcelona is to get out on his bike. It’s a passion he shares with Luis Enrique. As well as watching football, he’s also a big basketball fan. He follows Galatasaray and tries to go to their Euroliga games. When in Madrid he was infatuated by the play of Sergio Llull and he has a friendship with former Barcelona player Carlos Arroyo. He’s also a tennis fan and has been to London to watch Wimbledon.
His character is open and fun. Arda is one of the players that helps create such a good atmosphere in the dressing room with his jokes… and imitations. Neymar and Ivan Rakitic are two of the players he gets on best with at Can Barça. Last season his great friend was Dani Alves.
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