Hakan Şükür, the well-known former Turkish striker has repeatedly said again and again his real origin, that he is not a Turk, but an Albanian.
"I am Albanian. I eat in Turkey, but I am an Albanian," said Shykyr in a speech at the University of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, attended also by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in his speech said:
"Let us not be divided in Turkish , Kurdish or Albanian! We are a Government that accepts every nationality in our country. The poet Mehmet Akif, he who wrote the Turkish anthem was an Albanian. Our brother Hakan Shykyr is an Albanian, who wore more than anyone else our national football shirt. He is a son of this nation," said Erdogan for best scorer in the history of the Turkish national team.
He is known by the nickname "The Bull of Bosphorus", he became a legend in Galatasaray where he won 14 titles..