Former minister Albayrak spotted watching football derby in hometown

Duvar English

Former Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was spotted while watching a football derby between Galatasaray and Trabzonspor at the Şenol Güneş Stadium in the Black Sea province of Trabzon on Sept. 12.

Albayrak's father Sadık Albayrak and his son Mehmet Akif were also seen watching the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

The photo showing Albayrak at the tribune has been shared on social media.

Albayrak resigned from the Treasury and Finance Ministry with a statement on his Instagram account in November 2020, citing health issues. After his resignation, Albayrak was only seen twice in the public, once during Friday prayers in Istanbul's Çamlıca district and the other at a shop.

Sept. 12 marked the third time that Albayrak was seen out in the public since his resignation.

Although Albayrak was previously seen as the most second powerful public figure after Erdoğan, he completely disappeared from the public arena following his resignation.

In December, Turkish Twitter users started to ask about his whereabouts, with even the hashtag of #BeratAlbayrakNerede (Where is Albayrak) going trending. At the time, there were even speculations that he moved abroad.

Before his resignation, Albayrak was often front-and-center of major political developments, with many suggesting that he was being groomed to eventually replace Erdoğan, despite no mention of such plans.

Albayrak's Nov. 8 resignation came amid escalating fallout over Turkey's collapsing economy and plunging currency. Since then, the former minister has not made any public comments.