Once upon a time, Hakan Sukur would have been hailed in the streets of Turkey, the country's greatest ever goalscorer and a national icon following the 2002 World Cup - now he cannot return to his home country without receiving death threats.
The former striker, who netted 51 times for his country across 112 appearances, now earns his living driving for Uber and selling books in the United States.
His dramatic fall from grace stems from a bitter dispute with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"I have nothing left, Erdogan took everything: my right to liberty, freedom of expression and right to work," Sukur told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Hakan Sukur scored the quickest World Cup goal of all time and helped Turkey finish third at the 2002 World Cup
|GETTY
Should he return to Turkey, the former hero faces arrest on charges of rebellion against the state.
Sukur's legendary status was cemented during Turkey's remarkable run to third place at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
In the third-place playoff against the host nation, he etched his name into football history by scoring after just 10.8 seconds – a record that still stands as the quickest goal ever netted at a World Cup.
He also provided two assists in that 3-2 victory, earning him a State Medal of Distinguished Service, one of Turkey's highest civil honours.
The bulk of his career was spent at Galatasaray, where he remains the Turkish top flight's all-time leading scorer with 295 goals across 545 appearances over three separate spells.
Hakan Sukur was awarded the State Medal of Distinguished Service, one of Turkey's highest civil honours
|GETTY
He also had stints at Blackburn Rovers and Inter Milan before retiring in 2008.
His troubles began when he entered politics following retirement. In 2011, Sukur won a parliamentary seat representing Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).
However, he later resigned from the party amid internal disagreements and began associating with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamic cleric and rival of the president.
Following Erdogan's election to the presidency in 2014, Sukur faced charges in February 2016 for allegedly insulting him on Twitter. He had been critical of government moves to close schools linked to Gulen's movement.
Months later, military factions attempted to overthrow Erdogan in a failed coup. The government blamed Gulen's movement, designating it a terrorist organisation.
An arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Sukur, forcing Turkey's record goalscorer to flee his homeland for America.
The Turkish government seized all of Sukur's assets, including his properties, businesses and bank accounts. His nationality was also stripped from him.
His father was imprisoned and reportedly died of cancer while incarcerated, with Sukur never able to see him again.
Despite denouncing the coup attempt, Turkish state media labelled him a "fugitive member of the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation".
"Nobody seems able to explain what my role in this coup was supposed to be," Sukur told Welt am Sonntag. "I never did anything illegal, I am not a traitor or a terrorist."
His name has become so toxic in Turkey that a commentator for state broadcaster TRT was dismissed at half-time during the Qatar World Cup simply for referencing his 2002 record.
17 hari menuju piala dunia 2026
— PAPAN TENGAH (@papantengah) May 25, 2026
Ini adalah momen dimana Hakan Sukur melakukan gol tercepat di piala dunia 2002, saat menghadapi tuan rumah Korea Selatanpic.twitter.com/KWzToPZOFS
Yet Sukur maintains hope of returning.
"It's my country; I love my people, even though their ideas about me are distorted by controlled media," he told the New York Times in 2018.