A former Barcelona winger has been pictured looking unrecognizable from his playing days, despite retiring just a year ago.

In an image shared by the Barca Manager on Twitter, he now wears a gray beard that he didn’t have during his playing days and has aged him considerably.

The 36-year-old is the same age as former team-mate Lionel Messi, who made his debut against Inter Miami on Sunday night, but some observers don’t believe it.

One fan commented on Twitter that he “looks 45” while another added, “This can’t be true”.

As a player, he scored 15 goals for the Catalan giants in 55 games in five years (although three were on loan from the club), and won La Liga and two Copa del Rey.

The forward has enjoyed greater success during his earlier stint at Atletico Madrid, winning another league title, the Europa League, and reaching the Champions League final.

In international football, he is the fifth-most capped player of all time for the national team with 100 appearances and led his side to the semi-finals of Euro 2008.

His playing career ended in Türkiye with Galatasaray, and he now leads Eyupspor in the country’s second division.

The player in question is Arda Turan, whom fans will remember as an exciting talent, who acted as a dependable player at the Nou Camp despite never making regular appearances.

It was a difficult team to join, as he arrived for £29m at a team that had just won the treble with Messi and Neymar operating widely.

Turan’s coaching career in Türkiye began in April last season when he joined Eyupspor with eight games left.

He got off to a bad start as their first game was lost 0-1 without a shot on target, but they made it to the playoffs after finishing sixth.