Galatasaray and Turkish national team veteran Arda Turan, who also played for European giants like Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, retired from football on Monday.

The 35-year-old issued an emotional message on YouTube to announce his retirement from the sport.

"I want to start by telling you a secret. I fell in love with football. Then I threw myself on the street and the rest came." said Turan, who discussed his career in detail in the message.

He thanked all the people, particularly former Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim, who played an important role in his career.

Turan started his senior career with the Lions in the 2005/06 season, making his mark in Turkish football over five seasons.

He then moved to Spanish giant Atletico Madrid in 2011, making 128 appearances in total. He scored a total of 14 goals for the La Liga side over four seasons.

Turan then made a dream move to the Catalan giant Barcelona. However, he struggled for form there making only 36 appearances over five seasons.

The midfielder eventually returned to Turkey representing Galatasaray and Başakşehir over the past few seasons.

Turan also made 100 appearances for the Turkish national team scoring 17 goals in a 16-year career with the Crescent-Stars.