FORMER Tottenham and Liverpool defender Steven Caulker has opened up about a "painful" 18 months in Turkey.
The 31-year-old, who also featured for the likes of Swansea, Cardiff, QPR and Southampton, left the UK in 2019 to join Alanyaspor.
Two full seasons with the top-flight club saw them finish fifth and seventh in the Turkish Super Lig, while they also reached the Turkish Cup final.
And at that point in his career Caulker was loving life on the continent after recovering from alcohol and gambling addictions.
Speaking on LinkedIn at the end of last month, he said: "My four years in Turkey have come to an end. It's certainly been an experience.
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"I came here on the 3rd of January 2019 after being invited over here for a trial. At the time I had been without a team for five months and had been training alone in the woods next to my house.
"Every club I called in Europe had read/heard the stories of me being an addict and wouldn't touch me with a bargepole.
"Turkey was different, they didn't care about my past.
"I gave a good account of myself during the 10-day trial and the rest is history. I went on to play 85 games for Alanyaspor during the two most successful seasons in the club's history. Top 5 finish, a cup final, a semi-final, and I had the chance to play again in the Europa League qualifiers.
"Life was great, I was in [the] team of the season two years running, I was sober, and I had an apartment situated on the beach front.
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"But I wanted more."
It was at this point that things began to spiral for Spurs' homegrown talent.
In 2021, he signed for Turkish giants Fenerbahce on a two-year deal but never played a single game for the club.
A change in management just days after his arrival saw Caulker left out in the cold as he was sent out on loan to Gaziantep.
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When he returned to Fenerbahce at the end of last season, he was released despite having another year left on his contract.
Caulker, who won one cap for England under Roy Hodgson before switching allegiance to Sierra Leone, continued: "I signed for Fenerbache. The Turkish giants. I was picturing [Mesut] Ozil whipping the corners in and me tucking them away at the front post.
"The day of me signing, I gave a 10-minute interview in Turkish, just like I had dreamt of doing with my agent when we first arrived in 2019. It was a fairytale.
"Then two days later the bubble burst, a new manager came in out of the blue and decided from day one that he didn't want me. He then spent 2 months humiliating me before sending me out on loan.
"The past 18 months have been painful. I have spent most of it angry at myself for choosing to join Fenerbahce and then whilst not thinking clearly, made another wrong decision in the summer to stay in Turkey when I had opportunities elsewhere."
Caulker joined another Turkish top-flight side, Fatih Karagumruk, on a free transfer in the summer.
But his two-year deal with the side - who are managed by Italy legend Andrea Pirlo - was ripped up at the end of December by mutual consent.
Now Caulker is returning to England and keen to put that chapter of his career behind him.
He said: "Anyways, that led me to yesterday, my birthday. The day where I gave myself the best possible present by setting myself free, and today I am heading back to the UK to spend some much needed time with my family ❤️.
"Am I scared? Yes a little. 31 years old, unemployed with a lot of responsibilities on my head. But after the journey I've been on for the past 15 years, I trust myself to deliver in whatever way God has planned.
"Do I have regrets? Yes, a few. Mostly the time I've lost trying to prove myself worthy to others when in truth they simply don't give a s***.
"What will I do differently? I will be sure to check that the manager actually wants me first ????."
Caulker left Spurs after just one year in the first-team - featuring 28 times in the 2012/13 campaign.
He joined Cardiff and played all 38 games of their 2013/14 Premier League campaign which saw them relegated back down to the Championship.
Another top-flight spell with QPR followed, but once again they dropped down to the second tier where Caulker remained for two more seasons.
Short loan spells with Saints and Liverpool saw him play just 12 times, before another fruitless period at Dundee led him to Turkey.