Ali Turan

Ali Turan — Biography

Ali Turan was born on 6 September 1983 in Kayseri. He began playing football with his hometown club Ağırnas Şimşekspor in the town of Ağırnas, joined the Kayserispor youth setup in 2000 and signed a professional contract with the club in 2002. He made 33 league appearances for Kayserispor in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. A knee injury in 2006 kept him out of action for a time, and after recovering he was loaned to Kayseri Erciyesspor during that season's mid-season transfer window, where he played a significant part in the club reaching the Turkish Cup final.

He returned to Kayserispor at the end of the loan and went on to captain the side, contributing to the club's Turkish Cup win in the 2007-08 season. His form earned him call-ups to the Turkey under-21 national team and the Turkey B team. In the 2009-10 season he was dropped from the squad after declining a contract extension offered to him, and publicly stated his wish to join Galatasaray; Turkey's Football Federation Dispute Resolution Board later terminated his Kayserispor contract after finding the club had failed to pay him.

In 2010 he agreed to join Galatasaray as a free agent, then moved to Antalyaspor the same season, where he played alongside Deniz Barış at the centre of defence. He later signed a two-year deal with Gaziantepspor. Joining Konyaspor in 2013, he became a key member of the squad, winning a First League play-off title, the 2016-17 Turkish Cup and the 2017 Turkish Super Cup. His Konyaspor contract was terminated by mutual consent in September 2020.