Turkish Super League Sees Star Signings Including Mohamed Salah and Israeli Player Amid Financial Concerns
The Turkish Super League kicked off its new season with a dramatic 2-2 draw between Galatasaray and Corum, marking another summer of significant player acquisitions despite ongoing financial controversies. In recent years, Turkish clubs have repeatedly broken transfer spending records, but this summer showed a relative slowdown, especially for Galatasaray, which spent only 3.5 million euros, mainly on loaning Leslie Ogochukwu from Burnley. This cautious approach contrasts with the previous summer when Galatasaray made a record 75 million euro signing of Victor Osimhen.
While Galatasaray is grappling with a massive debt of 484 million euros and a modest profit of 12.8 million euros last season, it retained key players like Osimhen, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Wilfried Singo, and Davinson Sanchez. Their rivals, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, invested heavily this summer, spending 87 million and 67 million euros respectively. Fenerbahce, which has not won the league in 12 years, made high-profile signings including Mason Greenwood (39 million euros), Sidiki Sheriff (18 million), Dat Morichi (15.5 million), Nathan Ake (8 million), and Romelu Lukaku (6 million), signaling a strong challenge to Galatasaray's dominance.
Besiktas, the 2021 league champions and 2024 Super Cup winners, appointed Vincenzo Italiano as coach and made notable acquisitions such as Leandro Trossard from Arsenal for 18 million euros, Orkun Kökçü for 30 million euros, and goalkeeper Alexander Nübel from Bayern Munich for over 6 million euros. Another rising force is Trabzonspor, which shocked Europe by signing Mohamed Salah on a free transfer from Liverpool, along with other notable players like Ruslan Malinovskyi and Sidney Lopes Cabral. Reports also suggest Darwin Núñez may join the club.
A unique story this season is Amedspor, newly promoted to the top tier from Diyarbakir, the unofficial Kurdish capital in Turkey. The club features Israeli international Dia Saba, who played a key role in their promotion. Amedspor's presence adds a distinctive cultural dimension to the league, despite the challenges posed by political tensions and racism in Turkey. The Turkish Super League thus enters the season with a blend of star power, financial scrutiny, and diverse narratives shaping its competitive landscape.
