Ahmet Yilmaz Calik, a former Galatasaray and Turkish international lost his life in a car crash on Tuesday morning, January 11, 2022 weeks before his wedding.
Based on information available to Futballnews, Ahmet Yilmaz Calik who died aged 27, decided to use his day off to travel to Ankara in Turkey to finalize preparation for his wedding.
Unfortunately for the 27-year-old former Konyaspor center-back, the car he was driving lost control and went off the carriageway. The car crash-landed in a ditch so badly that the footballer couldn’t escape.
According to reports in Turkey, the horrific accident happened around 9 am local time on Tuesday morning, January 11, 2021.
The accident was so bad that the car overturned before he landed in the ditch. When Emergency services arrived at the scene of the accident, Ahmet Yilmaz Calik was confirmed dead at the spot.
It was confirmed that the late footballer who had been contracted to Konyaspor since 2020, was the only one found in the wrecked car.
Afterward, the late football star was buried in Elmadag Cemetery that same day according to Islamic rights.
Spor Arena reported that Ahmet Yilmaz Calik was planning to get married in February this year before his sudden demise.
The late footballer played for all the age-grade teams in Turkey. He made just 8 appearances for Turkey’s senior team between 2015 and 2017 in which he scored a goal.
He started his professional football career at a Turkish side Gençlerbirliği in 2010. He joined Galatasaray in 2017 and left the club in 2020 for Konyaspor, his last club before his death.
Turkey’s youth and sports minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu said: “I have learned with deep regret that our national football player Ahmet Calik, who plays for Konyaspor, passed away in a traffic accident on the Ankara – Nigde highway.
“May God have mercy on the late Ahmet Calik, who also served in our national team. My condolences to his family, Konyaspor, and the entire football community.”
While Konyaspor tweeted: “We are in deep sorrow to have lost our player Ahmet Calik who earned our fans’ and city’s love since the first day he arrived at Konyaspor.”
Seni Unutmayacağız… #AhmetÇalık pic.twitter.com/pXVZql0qYH
— İttifak Holding Konyaspor (@konyaspor) January 11, 2022
Also, the Turkish FA said in a statement: “It is with deep sadness that we learned that Ahmet Calik, football player of Ittifak Holding Konyaspor, who also played in our national team, passed away as a result of a traffic accident. May Allah have mercy on the deceased.
“Our condolences to his family, relatives, Ittifak Holding Konyaspor Club, and the Turkish football community.”
As of the time of publishing this report, the investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Mario Balotelli pays his last respect to Ahmet Yilmaz Calik
Mario Balotelli took to his Instagram story recently to mourn the demise of Ahmet Yilmaz Calik. In his post, the 31-year-old out of favor France international shared a picture of the late footballer and with “Rest in Peace” in the caption.
A check on the background of the two footballers showed that they had never played in the same football club. Hence, it is not clear why Balotelli decided to take out time to pay tribute to the late footballer.
Balotelli is currently playing for the French lower league side Adana Demirspor.
