Veteran Turkish footballer Mehmet Topal announced his retirement from football on Tuesday.
During his career, the 36-year-old midfielder represented all of Turkish football's "Big Three" – Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş.
Topal won three Süper Lig titles, one with Galatasaray in 2007-08, another with Fenerbahçe in 2013-14 and the last one with Başakşehir in 2019-20.
In doing so, Topal became the first and only football player in history to win the championship with three different teams.
He started his playing career at Yeni Malatyaspor in 2000 before being signed up by TFF 1. Lig side Çanakkale Dardanelspor in 2002.
After an impressive performance at Dardanelspor, he was snapped up by Galatasaray in 2006 at the age of 20.
He then moved to Spain's Valencia in 2010, playing 59 matches over two La Liga seasons.
The experienced football player, nicknamed "Spider," returned to Turkey in 2012 and wore the Fenerbahçe jersey for 7 years, playing in 298 matches and scoring 24 times.
He joined Başakşehir in 2019, where he won his last Turkish title. After two seasons there, he signed a one-year deal with Beşiktaş, making 10 appearances.
Topal also represented the Turkish national team between 2008 and 2018, making 81 international appearances.
