Former Turkish international footballer Ersen Martin has passed away at the age of 44.
Martin had spells at some of Turkey’s most prominent clubs, including Besiktas and Trabzonspor having come through the ranks as a striker at the academy of German club Nuremberg.
After retiring in 2013, Martin is thought to have suffered a ruptured aorta – the vessel that carries blood from the heart to the abdomen – in 2022 that left him hospitalised at Istanbul Siyami Ersek Heart Hospital, the player receiving treatment for some time before passing away.
An aortic rupture occurs after a tear in the layers of the blood vessel’s wall, which causes blood to leak out, and is often as a result of a large aortic aneurysm that bursts, which in turn inhibits the pumping of blood around the body.
Reports from Turkey indicate that he was last intubated in hospital on March 10, before his death in hospital.
Fellow ex-club Trabzonspor offered a similar statement: ‘We have learned with deep sadness the news that our former football player Ersen Martin has passed away. May God have mercy on Ersen Martin who lost his life; We offer our condolences to his family, loved ones and community.’
Though the player never featured for Galatasaray, he had an affiliation with the team’s head coach Okan Buruk from their time together in the national set-up.
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