Barca star Arda Turan's career lies in tatters after extraordinary gun incident

Remember when Arda Turan was Turkey's young prince at Euro 2008?

Then 21, he seemed to glide through the midfield, pirouetting past players and demonstrating a belting shot in scoring the last minute winner that eliminated the co-hosts Switzerland.

It was a tournament that saw Turkey go all the way to the semi-finals, an achievement that looks all the more impressive given they've only made one finals since - Euro 2016 in France, where they exited in the group.

After all that, it was quite surprising that it took three years for one of Europe's powerhouses, Atletico Madrid, to buy him from Galatasaray.

Four seasons, a LaLiga title and a Champions League final injury heartbreak later, he signed for Barcelona in a deal worth £30million. Turan's career trajectory appeared to be heading ever skywards.

It didn't quite work out that way. Turan has not only faded away on the field, with some considering him one of their worst signings of modern times, but an astonishing moment of madness off the pitch looks set to haunt him forever.

After playing 55 times for Barcelona in his first two seasons there - all that following a false start with Barca banned from registering new players by FIFA - he was sent out on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir in his homeland.

The fact this loan agreement was of two-and-a-half year duration suggested that Turan's career had peaked pretty much the day he was unveiled at the Nou Camp.

He made his debut for the Turkish club in January 2018 but in May of the same year he got into serious trouble for shoving a linesman during Basaksehir's 1-1 draw against Sivasspor.

It seemed the pressure of a tight title race with Galatasaray got the better of Turan, who lost his head and was initially handed a 16-match ban by the Turkish football federation.

This was later reduced to 10 on appeal but it was a serious stain on his reputation nonetheless. This is a player who, after all, had represented his country 100 times and a substantial number as captain.

But that was small fry compared to his next moment of madness on a night out in October 2018.

According to accounts in the Turkish press, an altercation broke out after Turan approached the wife of the Turkish pop star Berkay Sahin in a nightclub.

Turan was alleged to have told Ozlem Ada Sahin: 'You're very pretty, if you weren't married I wouldn't let you get away.'

It is cringeworthy enough before you consider that Turan had got married to Aslihan Dogan in March of the same year and she gave birth to a son the same month as the nightclub incident.

Berkay confronted Turan and ended up with a broken nose for his troubles, leaving him needing hospital attention.

Turan, supposedly on the premise of apologising, later went to the hospital. For whatever reason, the footballer took a gun with him, presented it to the singer and said 'shoot me if you want.'

Berkay refused the offer but after a conversation, Turan picked up the weapon and fired it into the ground. Naturally, this caused mass panic in the hospital.

At one point, Turan was facing a jail term of between three and 12-and-a-half years on charges of sexual harassment, inflicting intentional injuries and causing panic by shooting a firearm.

In the end, he received a suspended jail sentence of two years and eight months in a much publicised trial.

It was little wonder this served as a major distraction from playing for Basaksehir, with Turan in and out of the side this season and last while also picking up various injury niggles.

Basaksehir had already fined Turan about seven months' wages following the shooting incident and now the club have terminated his loan deal.

The latest reports from Spain now suggest that Barcelona won't be taking him back either, so the next step for the 32-year-old remains to be seen.

He is really too young to retire, having made his last international appearance in 2017 and still playing at a high standard in Turkey this season.

But there is certainly cause to wonder what might have been for a player who signed for Barca at a time they were the reigning European champions.

It appears an in-built hot streak - Turan once threw his boot at a linesman while playing for Atletico - proved the downfall of one of the most gifted members of Turkey's golden generation.