Behind Galatasaray s 1:0 Liverpool is the third largest net spending in the world in terms of Turkish super transfers

If the three words Türkiye appear in a transfer rumor, it often does not mean that this is such a big news. On the contrary, the protagonist of this rumor will be regarded as a joke. The common sentence pattern people use is - a certain player is no longer able to do it, he will go to Turkey soon.

Roberto Carlos, Podolsky, Van Persie... The joining of well-known stars in Turkey is often regarded as a signal of their upcoming retirement.

In addition to the low competitive pressure, these well-known stars have another purpose to join the Turkish Super League - to earn a generous salary before retiring to provide more guarantees for their future lives. For three Turkish Super League giants, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, providing competitive wages is usually not a problem, all of which are located in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.

Now things start to change.

The Turkish Super League's net transfer expenditure (buyer expenses minus seller income) ranked third in the world, second only to the Premier League and the Saudi Premier League.

According to data from the transfer market website, the total expenditure on the signing of the Turkish Super League this summer was as high as 348 million euros, ranking 7th in the world. Among them, the recruitment expenses of the three giants alone reached 276 million euros, accounting for 80% of the total recruitment expenditure of the entire league.

Galatasaray just beat Liverpool 1-0 at home in the Champions League. Considering that their signing costs more than Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, it can only be said that their investment has paid off. This summer, they broke the previous transfer fee record in the Turkish Premier League three times: including 30.8 million euros to introduce defender Singo from Monaco, 27.5 million euros to introduce Turkish national team main goalkeeper Chakir from Trabzon Sports, and 75 million euros to buy out Osmeen from Naples. In addition, Sane, a free agent who left Bayern, also joined with a high salary.

Fenerbahce also spent a lot of money, including introducing Aktilcoolu from Benfica for 22.5 million euros, in addition, Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, Real Madrid's "famous" Marco Asensio, and renting a young Colombian striker Duran from Saudi Arabia who returned to Europe.

So, what is the reason behind the increase in spending? Do Turkish Super League teams have the potential to challenge European veteran teams?

Although Galatasaray just beat Liverpool, the overall level of the Turkish Premier League is surprisingly low compared to the number of well-known players in the league.

The well-known players who are now playing in the Turkish Super League include Gundogan, Icardi, Onana, Abraham, Fred and Semedo, and in terms of coaches, not long ago, Mourinho and Solskjaer were the head coaches of Fenerbahce and Besiktas respectively.

Opta ranks the competitiveness of the Turkish Premier League in the world, down from the top leagues in Sweden, Poland and Japan, as well as the second leagues in England and Italy.

This is because the Turkish Super League is not just the three giants, but more of the uncompetitive bottoms like Kojaeli Sports and Kayseli Sports. Their spending in the transfer market this summer will only consolidate and expand the gap between several giants and other teams. However, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce want more than just catching up with each other in the domestic arena, they want to start a real competition in the European arena again. The last time they had the opportunity to compete like this was a long time ago.

The major giants rely on land sales to support club expenses, both clubs hope to raise funds through real estate transactions in Istanbul and alleviate rising debt burdens to achieve this goal.

Galatasaray sold its training ground to the governing body of the Istanbul Municipal Government, raising funds for the purchase of Osmeen.

It is estimated that Galatasaray's sale of the Floria plot in the upscale and elegant seaside area has earned 480 million euros in revenue, of which the first payment is 42.8 million euros. After the training ground was sold, the club moved north to Kemer Bugatz, which was closer to the home court. Galatasaray also ended a credit restructuring process in July to settle long-term debt and interest. Turkey’s top clubs have been carrying huge debts for years, and while the sale of the Florian plot has brought a temporary boost, the early repayment of Turkish bank loans due in 2030 should have a tangible long-term impact on Galatasaray’s financial situation.

Number of the Osmayen trade is of great significance, but Galatasaray also sees it as an investment in a player. If he can recreate his 2024-25 season, his net worth may be higher next year. After coming to Galatasaray, Osmeen scored 37 goals in 41 games. More importantly, he was only 26 years old, at his peak. Of course, the risk still exists to increase the Turkish Super League value record from 20 million euros (created when Fenerbahce signed Ennesri from Sevilla last summer) to 75 million euros.

Osmain's salary is 15 million euros per year, plus 5 million euros in portrait rights fees, which is equivalent to nearly 400,000 euros per week, so his future is in Türkiye, not in England. Coupled with Türkiye's more favorable tax rates, this undoubtedly helps attract well-known players like Sane to play in the Turkish Super League, which is believed to be similar to Osmeen's salary. Now you should understand why players who are in their first year of playing (such as Sane 29 years old), not just those who are about to retire, will transfer to Türkiye.

Fenebache's situation is similar to Galatasaray, where they also sell land and reduce their debt burden.

According to the Turkish Today, Fenerbahce is selling a 61,000 square meter plot in Atathershire district, which is expected to bring in 90 million euros in revenue. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce withdraws from debt restructuring plan with the Turkish Banking Association. The club praised the move as a turning point that will allow them to shape their future. The club declared: "This decision is not just a financial choice; it is Fenerbahce's declaration of independence." Ali Coke, former chairman of the Fenerbahce club who just failed the election, said Fenerbahce also signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement worth 160 million euros and increased the club's revenue from 175 million euros to 350 million euros. This summer, Fenerbahce has brought in a series of impressive players, including Moroccan midfielder Amrabat (12 million euros, now leased to Real Betis), England teenager Archie Brown (8 million euros), Slovakia centre-back Skriniar (7 million euros) and Mali striker Dorgeles Nene (18 million euros), in addition to signing Ederson, Asensio and Aktilcoolu at a high price, as well as free Wolves captain Semedo and Duran on loan from Riyadh.

Completed the arms race and wanted to make efforts in the European arena. As the two clubs vigorously strengthened their lineup, they not only entered a fierce competition for the Turkish Super League championship, but also secretly competed in the European arena.

Galatasaray has completed three consecutive domestic league championships. They have won seven games in the Turkish Super League this season, ranking first, and are real Turkish Super League class bullies. However, in the first round of the Champions League, they lost 1:5 to Frankfurt. That game seemed to prove that compared with the second-tier European teams, the gap between Galatasaray is not a small part.

This reflects the embarrassing status quo of the Turkish clubs. Since Galatasaray defeated Arsenal in the final in 2000 and won the UEFA Cup (the predecessor of the UEFA Cup), only one Turkish team has reached the semi-finals of the European Championship, that is, Fenerbahce reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2012-13, while Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the same season.

Fenerbahce has not participated in the Champions League since the 2008-09 season. They fell in the last round of the play-offs this season, which became the last straw that prompted the club to fire Mourinho. Ironically, it was Mourinho's new boss Benfica who eliminated Fenerbahce. Mourinho's successor is Tedesco, the former head coach of the Belgian national team. Last week, he led the team to lose 1-3 to Dynamo Zagreb away in his first UEFA Europa League match.

Another giant in the Turkish Super League, Besiktas, introduced Abraham, Ndidi and others in the summer, Solskjaer still lost his job as a head coach for the same reason as Mourinho - Besiktas was eliminated by Swiss team Lausanne Sports in the European Union play-offs.

Turkish football still has a lot of room for improvement, but while reducing the debt burden, people hope that the huge summer spending of Fenerbahce and Galatasare will bring substantial changes to the team.

A country known for frequent changes of club chairman, coach and players spends a lot of money to introduce well-known stars is more like a hungry reaction. Can it make continuous and stable progress? This requires patience and long-term planning, and the Turks are not known for these qualities.

Galatasaray defeated Liverpool in the second round of the Champions League, which seems to have verified that the high investment still has a certain effect. Will this be a flash in the pan and neurotic performance? Let's wait and see.