Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı has described taking the Tigers into the Premier League as the greatest achievement of his business career, as his side prepares to start life back in the English top flight against Manchester United on Saturday.
In a new BBC Radio Humberside interview released ahead of Hull's eagerly anticipated Premier League return, the Turkish media mogul reflects on his extraordinary journey from sports reporter and television personality in Türkiye to owner of an English Premier League football club.
Acun, as he is affectionately called by Turks, is one of the most recognisable faces in Türkiye, where his hugely successful television career as a presenter and producer has resulted in him being dubbed "Türkiye's Simon Cowell".
He jokes about the extent of his fame in the BBC interview: "I always make the joke, if somebody doesn't know me, he's not Turkish."
Yet Acun’s journey has also been punctuated by profound personal tragedy. The BBC interview touches on the death of both his parents in a car crash when he was a young man and the devastating effect it had on him.
"It ruined my life. For one year, I didn't go out of my house," he says. "But on the other hand, of course, I became a survivor."
That resilience would become a recurring feature of Acun's career. He entered broadcasting as a sports reporter in his mid-20s before becoming one of Türkiye's biggest television stars and entrepreneurs, building the international Acun Medya entertainment group and eventually pursuing another long-held ambition — owning a football club.
And when the search for an English club brought him to Hull, it was an unexpected reminder of Istanbul that helped create an immediate connection with the city.
Recalling his first visit, Ilıcalı tells the BBC: "I passed from a bridge and the bridge — you will check this bridge — even the construction is the same, it looks like the Bosphorus [First Bridge]. I got the feeling and [the] feel-good factor was top."
The Humber Bridge, which Acun crossed on that visit, bears a striking resemblance to Istanbul's first bridge across the Bosphorus, originally known simply as the Bosphorus Bridge and today officially named the 15 July Martyrs Bridge.
The affinity Acun felt with Hull ultimately led to Acun Medya completing its takeover of the club in January 2022.
Four-and-a-half years later, the Turkish businessman has achieved the dream that drove his investment in English football: taking Hull City into the Premier League.
When the BBC asks where winning promotion ranks among everything he has achieved in his life and career, Acun does not hesitate.
"In my business career, number one."
He then puts into perspective just how extraordinary the journey feels for someone who grew up as a passionate football supporter without the wealth he enjoys today.
"I didn't have enough money to afford to buy these [football] shirts, now I am the owner of a club in the Premier League," says Ilıcalı. "You can't imagine what it means to me."
That Premier League adventure finally begins on Saturday, when Hull welcome one of the biggest names in world football, Manchester United, to the MKM Stadium.
For Acun, it will be the culmination of a remarkable personal and professional journey: from a young Turkish football fan who could not afford the shirts he wanted to the owner of a club competing on arguably the world's biggest domestic football stage.
From Championship outsiders to Wembley glory
When Acun’s company completed its takeover of Hull City in January 2022, the Turkish entrepreneur made no secret from the outset that his ultimate ambition was to restore Premier League football to East Yorkshire.
Four-and-a-half years later, that goal was realised in dramatic fashion.
Hull had narrowly avoided relegation to League One in 2024-25, yet under Bosnian coach Sergej Jakirović they staged one of the Championship’s most remarkable turnarounds the following season.
After finishing sixth, the Tigers defeated Millwall 2-0 on aggregate in the play-off semi-final before beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at Wembley on 23 May.
The decisive goal could scarcely have been more dramatic: Oli McBurnie struck in the 95th minute, sending Hull back into the Premier League for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Hull strengthen heavily for life in the Premier League
Promotion has prompted an extensive rebuilding of the playing squad as Hull try to ensure their Premier League return lasts longer than a single season.
The Tigers have so far made 11 senior first-team signings, among them experienced former England goalkeeper Jack Butland, Japan international Hidemasa Morita, former Newcastle United defender Matt Targett, Greek goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, Senegalese centre-back Nobel Mendy and Australian defender Lucas Herrington.
Also arriving are Jens Hjerto-Dahl, Elliot Stroud, Óscar Zambrano and Lucas Gourna-Douath, while Wembley play-off hero Joe Gelhardt, who spent last season on loan at Hull from Leeds United, has returned on a permanent deal.
A 12th summer recruit, 18-year-old defender Ben Robinson, has also arrived from Preston North End, although he was signed initially for Hull’s Under-21 squad rather than Jakirović’s senior team.
Written off again
Despite the investment and the remarkable nature of last season’s promotion, Hull begin the campaign among the bookmakers’ favourites for relegation.
That appears to suit an owner who has repeatedly said he enjoys being the underdog.
Speaking shortly after promotion, Acun remarked of predictions for Hull’s chances of survival: “They’ve given us a 25 per cent chance to stay in the league, and I like it.”
There can hardly be a bigger stage on which to start proving the doubters wrong.
Hull’s first Premier League match since May 2017 is against one of world football’s biggest clubs, Manchester United.
For Acun, however, simply seeing the Tigers lining up opposite Manchester United in a Premier League fixture will mark the fulfilment of the ambition that first brought him to East Yorkshire.
Four years ago, the Turkish media mogul arrived in Hull dreaming of England’s biggest footballing stage.
On Saturday lunchtime, Hull City will finally step onto it.
Hull City v Manchester United takes place at the MKM Stadium on Saturday, 22 August, kicking off at 12.30pm BST. The match will be available to watch live on TNT Sports in the UK.
Main photo, top, of Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı celebrates with the EFL Championship Playoffs trophy on the balcony of the Hull City hall during the Hull City Promotion Bus Parade, 25 May 2026. Photo © Mitchel Davidson / Alamy
