{"id":659784,"date":"2025-09-20T02:12:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=659784"},"modified":"2025-09-20T10:06:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T14:06:18","slug":"heavy-spending-fails-to-lift-galatasaray-and-turkish-super-lig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/09\/20\/heavy-spending-fails-to-lift-galatasaray-and-turkish-super-lig\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy Spending Fails to Lift Galatasaray and Turkish Super Lig Clubs in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For the 2025-26 European season, the Turkish Super Lig entered five teams. Champions Galatasaray went straight into the Champions League league phase. Fenerbahce reached the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Samsunspor and Besiktas had opportunities to qualify for the Europa League, while Basaksehir featured in the Conference League qualifiers.<\/p>\n<h2>Turkish Super Lig\u2019s Big Spending Meets Early European Struggles<\/h2>\n<p>All five clubs have already suffered significant defeats \u2014 a reputational blow for a league that spent a record-breaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.turkiyetoday.com\/sports\/turkish-super-lig-clubs-smash-359m-summer-transfer-record-climb-to-8th-worldwide-3206899\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u20ac421 million<\/a> in the summer transfer window, ranking eighth worldwide. While global headlines have focused on Saudi Arabia\u2019s heavy spending, Turkey\u2019s traditional \u201cbig four\u201d \u2014 Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas, and Trabzonspor \u2014 have also splashed the cash, using European football as a lure for high-profile signings.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the country\u2019s economic challenges, stadiums remain packed and atmospheres world-class. The Super Lig has attracted global names, not just fading stars, but continental success continues to lag behind. The Turkish national team, absent from the World Cup since their 2002 third place run, still leans on both domestic and European-based talent like Orkun Kokcu from Fenerbahce and Baris Alper Yilmaz from Galatasaray.<\/p>\n<h3>Besiktas Turmoil After European Exits<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2235235330\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2235235330?et=ERjFtwSzQ9NGEOKPdeQAnw&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=JGdnm7QwX5M8Ab0RaK5G29uhTZWX7l2ZgfueKOYeI_k=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For Besiktas, European humiliation hit hard. First, they were crushed 6-2 on aggregate by Shakhtar Donetsk, a club that lacks a permanent home due to the war in Ukraine. Then came disaster in the Conference League playoffs, where a red card to Felix Uduokhai doomed their home leg against unheralded Swiss side Lausanne. In the aftermath, the club <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/football\/articles\/ce83xln99wlo\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sacked former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer<\/a>. Now under returning coach Sergen Yalcin, Besiktas did sign notable players \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/11\/03\/striker-tammy-abraham-roma-struggles\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Tammy Abraham<\/a> from Roma, Orkun Kokcu from Benfica, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2019\/10\/11\/consistency-wilfred-ndidi-leicester-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Wilfred Ndidi<\/a> \u2014 but early league results remain poor.<\/p>\n<h3>Jose Mourinho\u2019s Fenerbahce Failure<\/h3>\n<p>The biggest early headline came from Jose Mourinho\u2019s Fenerbahce, who fell 1-0 on aggregate in the Champions League playoffs to Benfica, failing to score in Istanbul. Mourinho was swiftly dismissed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/sports\/soccer\/mourinho-back-at-benfica-25-years-on-revered-but-a-risk\/ar-AA1MPjUs\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">only for Benfica to appoint him<\/a> as their manager days later.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;Joining Fenerbah\u00e7e was a mistake&#039;: Jos\u00e9 Mourinho confirmed as Benfica\u2019s head coach\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M4idlxL5_e4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Fenerbahce now compete in the Europa League league phase, with notable fixtures against Aston Villa and Nice. New manager Domenico Tedesco, the former Belgium boss, inherits a squad stacked with incoming talent this transfer window:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jhon Duran (loan, ex-Aston Villa and Saudi League transfer from Al-Nassr)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2018\/12\/07\/ederson-the-man-who-makes-the-difference\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Ederson<\/a> (ex-Manchester City goalkeeper)<\/li>\n<li>Kerem Akturkoglu (Turkish international striker, ex-Benfica)<\/li>\n<li>Marco Asensio and Milan Skriniar (ex-PSG)<\/li>\n<li>Sofyan Amrabat (ex-Fiorentina)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/07\/06\/raul-jimenez-and-mexico-secure-2nd-consecutive-gold-cup\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Edson Alvarez<\/a> (loan, West Ham and Mexico international)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This talented roster just defeated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-in\/news\/world\/andre-onanas-behaviour-in-trabzonspor-dressing-room-speaks-volumes-after-man-utd-exit\/ar-AA1MJYXW\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andre Onana\u2019s Trabzonspor<\/a>, but fan patience is thin after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6377300\/2025\/05\/24\/jose-mourinho-fenerbahce-future-job\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mourinho\u2019s failure<\/a> to close the gap with Galatasaray despite bold claims by club leadership. The last three matches h2h with Galatasaray saw Fenerbahce turn in poor, bland performances, and their European performances under Mourinho were just as bad.<\/p>\n<h3>Galatasaray\u2019s Transfer Star Power<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2232257142\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2232257142?et=M3H2jbfsTVxKh2gbOvQA6g&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=Son79z72oR7IFWZ94h_NtC4WvTxwbheMfUvdLDdsMBA=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Galatasaray, Turkey\u2019s most successful European club, carry the league\u2019s hopes again. Historically, they remain the only Turkish side to win a European trophy \u2014 the 2000 UEFA Cup and Super Cup \u2014 and their 2012-13 Champions League semifinal run with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.futbolekonomi.com\/index.php\/general-issues\/2536-how-galatasaray-lured-didier-drogba-and-wesley-sneijder-to-turkey.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder<\/a> is still celebrated.<\/p>\n<p>Having lost only three league matches in the past two seasons, Galatasaray doubled down on glory in the 2025 window. Their <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2025\/09\/napoli-victor-osimhen-galatasaray-al-hilal.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">biggest coup<\/a> was signing striker <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/12\/23\/victor-osimhen-target-of-top-clubs-in-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Victor Osimhen<\/a> permanently from Napoli, after his 26 goals on loan in 2024-25. Other additions after their 148 million in spending include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wilfried Singo (Monaco)<\/li>\n<li>Ismail Jakobs (Monaco, loan made permanent)<\/li>\n<li>Ugurcan Cakir (Trabzonspor goalkeeper)<\/li>\n<li>Przemyslaw Frankowski (Lens, Polish defender)<\/li>\n<li>Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich, German international)<\/li>\n<li>Ilkay Gundogan (ex-Man City and Barcelona, German international with Turkish heritage)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They had already brought in Roland Sallai, Carlos Cuesta, and Gabriel Sara from Norwich last window, building both prime-age talent and veteran depth. The club has built around Osimhen, Nigeria&#8217;s biggest star, and a player who was embraced by Turkish fans.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victor Osimhen Welcomed by Galatasaray Fans\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f0RKwvRaMFw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Domestically, Galatasaray started 5-0-0, but their European opener was a disaster: a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/live\/cx2368pj402t\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt<\/a> despite an opening goal that was assisted by Leroy Sane. Adding insult to injury, the go ahead goalscorer for Frankfurt was Turkish international Can Uzun, a teenager. Galatasaray Manager Okan Buruk now faces scrutiny, especially with Osimhen sidelined due to injury. Veteran Gundogan insisted the loss came down to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/en\/lists\/better-team-ilkay-gundogan-launches-defence-galatasaray-man-city-explains-5-1-champions-league-demolition\/blte48179cb756db0c1#cs53de42925e120c3a\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mental mistakes, not talent<\/a>. The next big test is against Liverpool in Istanbul at Rams Park on September 30. The English champions also spent big on the transfer market and brought in global superstars, as they were unwilling to rest on their laurels. The fan reception for that match will be compelling, and Galatasaray must perform well at home, if they are to survive the Champions League, league phase.<\/p>\n<h3>Samsunspor and the Rest<\/h3>\n<p>Elsewhere, Basaksehir fell 5-2 on aggregate in the Conference League playoffs to Universitatea Craiova, leaders of Romania\u2019s league. Their European dream ended before it began.<\/p>\n<p>Samsunspor were eliminated from Europa League qualifying by Greek side Panathinaikos, losing 2-1 on aggregate after failing to score at home. They now drop into the Conference League alongside Mainz and AEK Athens. Samsunspor have a side of mostly European players under 30, and have recruited heavily outside of Turkey including Denmark&#8217;s Carlo Holse.<\/p>\n<p>With five Brazilian starters, G\u00f6ztepe are second in the league and chasing Europe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2231815560\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 74.07407% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2231815560?et=OFOdryrxT4ZeEALsWvONlQ&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=2Aj7BxeJbS11HcwLVwfZJdeDmaFLvVR1Mu0NUjWR0tM=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"440\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Turkish football is again facing a familiar story: domestic hype, marquee transfers, global recruitment, and passionate atmospheres \u2014 but limited progress on the continental stage.<\/p>\n<h3>Make-or-Break Season for Turkish Football<\/h3>\n<p>With more global eyes on the Super Lig than ever, in part due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportspro.com\/news\/super-lig-turkey-tff-digiturk-broadcast-rights-2024-2027\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BeIN Sports\u2019 broadcast deal<\/a> and the host of international names in the league the pressure is immense. If the \u201cbig four\u201d deliver, Turkey can justify its record transfer spending. If not, fans will be left with d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu: a league rich in drama but short on European success, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/soccer\/news\/investigation-underway-after-turkish-super-lig-match-between-trabzonspor-and-fenerbahce-descends-into-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">endless arguments<\/a> about refereeing. club politics, government interference, and match-fixing.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Imago Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the 2025-26 European season, the Turkish Super Lig entered five teams. Champions Galatasaray went straight into the Champions League league phase. Fenerbahce reached the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Samsunspor and Besiktas had opportunities to qualify for the Europa League, while Basaksehir featured in the Conference League qualifiers. Turkish Super Lig\u2019s Big [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":659785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[378,8687,8431,2],"tags":[634,3804,630,6308,138,32605,2605,32606,1465,4293],"class_list":["post-659784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-champions-league","category-europa-conference-league","category-europa-league","category-featured","tag-besiktas","tag-fenerbache","tag-galatasaray","tag-istanbul-basaksehir","tag-jose-mourinho","tag-samsunspor","tag-super-lig","tag-turkish-football","tag-turkish-super-lig","tag-victor-osimhen"],"modified_by":"Steen Kirby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659784"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":659802,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659784\/revisions\/659802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}