FORMER READING FC fan favourite Jem Karacan has announced his retirement from professional football at 33.
The Royals Academy graduate played 155 league games for Reading and made a total of 258 league games across his playing career,
Karacan joined Reading Academy in 2003 from Wimbledon and eventually broke through into the first-team.
The Turkish midfielder made his Reading debut in 2008 in the Championship under manager Steve Coppell.
He played 15 Championship games in his first season and scored his first goal for the club in a League Cup win over Luton Town in August 2008.
His first league goal then came in April 2–0 when he helped Reading earn a 2-2 draw against Blackpool.
He played his part in helping Reading win promotion to the Premier League under Brian McDermott in 2011/12 where he scored three times in 37 appearances.
However, he was ruled out of a crucial period at the end of the season after being on the end of a horror tackle from Leeds United’s Michael Brown which saw him on the sidelines with a broken ankle.
He reutnred to help the Royals in their Premier League campaign and played 21 league games that season in the top flight.
Despite the team being relegated, Karacan scored a memorable goal in Reading’s 4-2 away win at Fulham.
Injuries continued to blight his career and stunted his progress in his final two seasons at Reading and only managed 15 games in his final two years with the club.
After his contract with Reading expired in 2015, Karacan earned a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray on a free transfer.
He made his debut in a 1-0 win against Bursaspor in the Super Cup Final in place of Lukas Podolski.
Karacan went on to play in the Champions League that season, playing 90 minutes in Galatasary’s 2-0 loss against Atletico Madrid.
After making just two league appearances for Galatasaray, he was sent out on loan to Bursaspor where he played nine times.
Karacan then played two seasons for Bolton Wanderers before making four appearances for Millwall in 2018/19.
Spells at Central Coast Mariners in the Australian A League and League Two Scunthorpe were followed up by 15 Northern Premier League appearances for Radcliffe last campaign before he decided to hang the boots up for good.
Karacan made one final appearance in Reading colours back in the summer, appearing to play in legends match between the 2005/06 ‘106’ team and McDermott’s 2011/12 Championship winning side.
