Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain learned a lot about a different football culture - and about himself - during his spell at Besiktas.
The former Arsenal and Liverpool star made the move to the Super Lig in summer 2023 and spent just two seasons at the club before having his contract terminated in August this year.
'Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was great, I loved working with him' Oxlade-Chamberlain on tumultuous Besiktas spell
Signed during Senol Gunes' time in charge of the club, Oxlade-Chamberlain went on to work under Burak Yilmaz, Riza Calimbay, Serdar Topratpe (who had three caretaker spells in that period), Fernando Santos, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and finally - briefly - Sergen Yalcin.
That was a far cry from what the England international was used to having only previously played under Alan Pardew and Nigel Adkins at Southampton, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Speaking to Ben Foster and Tom Ochoa on Fozcast, Oxlade-Chamberlain said: "I always wanted to play abroad. I wouldn’t sit here and say Turkey was the first place that I had in mind, that just fell into place when it did, so I thought. 'why not?'
“There were good things about it, and things I struggled with because of what I’m used to. I was at Arsenal and Liverpool for so many years, and I’ve got a much bigger appreciation for England and the Premier League, how things are run and how business is done – just how the setup is very professional.
"It’s different there, the ownership of clubs, the change-over in managers that you can have – it’s a lot more volatile. That was a big shock for me, whereas some lads who I was playing with out there weren’t as fussed, and were more used to these things. That’s all they knew – they never played in England.
"The fans are amazing – the big derbies, you’re like 'wow'. You play Galatasaray or Fenerbahce, the atmosphere is frightening – super, super loud, and the fans are crazy.
"If you win those games, or if you manage to score in one of those games, you’re set. I scored in two derbies against Fenerbahce and one at Galatasaray, which gave me a lot of credit.
"If you win those games, it’s massive – the noise is electric. The flipside of that is that if things don’t go well, some of the stuff that goes on out there is different to here. The fans have a lot more say, they’ll turn up to the training ground and let you know regularly if they’re not happy.
"I didn’t mind any of that stuff – it’s just different to get used to. The manager change-overs – I think I had eight managers in two seasons. There were four presidents as well...that and eight managers is difficult.
"When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in towards the end, that was the most settled I felt and the most I enjoyed it for sure – he was great, and I loved working with Ole."
"I was a bit of a hermit; I didn’t do much. I spent a lot of my time there on my own.
"I knocked around with some of the lads but it’s different when you’re that age and you’ve got a family – but I didn’t have my family there with me. I wouldn’t go out for the family days out, and the young boys are doing what the young boys do.
"I spent a lot of time on my own. Usually, you won’t catch me at a restaurant sitting on my own, but I had to learn to do that. Two years of that every day – breakfast and dinner on my own.
"I had a nice little spot though that’s my regular where they knew my order. I had a corner table, AirPods in, iPad out, watch something or email whoever – but it was lonely. I have a newfound appreciation for lads when they are coming across [to the UK] on their own, for sure. You just take that for granted."
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
