‘I moved from Scotland to play in Turkey – I thought I was getting kidnapped’
Ex-Rangers striker Kenny Miller admitted he thought he was getting kidnapped after joining Turkish side Bursaspor.
The Scotsman has been around the block in his football career but it wasn’t until 2011 that he signed for a club outside out of the UK when deciding to join Bursaspor after a three-year spell in his second stint for Rangers.
The now 44-year-old was enjoying the best goal-scoring season of his career, having bagged 22 goals in 25 games for the Scottish giants before opting for a mid-season move to Turkey.
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Upon his arrival there, Miller admitted he was positively surprised about the reaction of fans towards him as he exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “When I landed at the airport, you’d have honestly thought they were signing Lionel Messi!
“I said to my agent at the time “do they know it’s only me they’re signing?! It was wild!” The former Scotland international enjoyed a hectic journey in the airport that left him worrying he was the victim of a kidnapping.
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“We were getting hustled and bustled and even got separated at some point while some of the club’s representatives got me into a car, I thought I was getting kidnapped or something,” he added. Despite the fanfare about his arrival in Turkey, he spent just six months with Bursaspor after failing to settle in the country where he played 15 games and scored five goals.
While his time in the Super Lig was short, Miller only has fond memories of his European venture, calling the mid-season move an “incredible experience”. He said: “I don’t regret my time in Turkey at all, but I suppose one slight regret would be that I wish I’d have seen the season out with Rangers.
“I loved it out in Turkey, I thought the style of football really suited me and the club, and the people surrounding the club, really couldn’t do enough for me,” he continued. “They really tried to help me settle; I never wanted for anything. But it just never worked out with my family situation”.
