Turkish midfielder Mehmet Topal joins Basaksehir

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Istanbul Basaksehir football club signed Turkish midfielder Mehmet Topal on free transfer on Monday.

Istanbul Basaksehir said on website that it transferred Turkish international Topal as the 33-year-old defensive midfielder inked a 1+1 year contract with his new club.

The club's chair Goksel Gumusdag said that they are very happy over Topal's arrival, praising the player for his contributions to Turkey's national football team for nearly 10 years.

Topal previously played for Turkish Super Lig archrivals, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce as well as Spanish club Valencia.

From 2006 to 2010 he was a Galatasaray player, then he joined Valencia.

In July 2012 Topal returned to Turkey to play for Fenerbahce.

During his seven year spell at Fenerbahce, he scored 24 goals and produced 25 assists in 298 club appearances.

He won the Turkish Super Lig titles with Galatasaray (2008) and Fenerbahce (2014).

Topal was a free agent as Fenerbahce mutually terminated his contract in June.

Topal played for the Turkey national team in the UEFA Euro 2008, helping the Turkish team reach semifinals in this tournament co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.