Atletico Madrid star Arda Turan stated that he learnt most of his life lessons growing up in the streets of Bayrampaşa, Istanbul.
“You play matches in the neighbourhood to win a can of coke because you do not have the money in your pocket to buy one,” Turan told Milliyet.
“All you have is your talent growing up playing football in the street. Your word is everything in that environment.”
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Turan admitted that growing up in a rough neighbourhood taught him responsibilities and toughened him up at a young age.
“The street teaches you a lot, it teaches you to keep your word, to man up, the street has its own rules, its own laws and that is how I grew up,” he added.
“There was nothing better than playing football back then, even street football has its own rules, for example if another player other than the keeper tries to save the ball with his hands two penalties were awarded, these are the unwritten rules of Fair-Play in the street.”
Turan joined Atleti on a record Süper Lig transfer fee from Galatasaray in 2011.
The 28-year-old became the first Turkish born player to win the La Liga as Atleti won their first league title since 1996 last season.
