Galatasaray Sportif A.S. The vice president answered questions from members of the press.
Here are Erden Timur’s statements;
“This year we are different. My experience last year and this year. We talked about Saudi Arabia with the big club owners and sporting directors in Europe. It was a difficult transfer period. We have prepared well with our Scout team since the beginning of the year. We were specially prepared. Over a thousand players were examined. I hope the next transfer period will not be so intense and difficult.
“NOTHING ABOUT COMPENSATION”
We did not receive such an application. However, it will. We examined the issue with the lawyers and then we decided. There is no negativity. There will be no compensation whatsoever. A small risk overall. It will also be deducted from the player. Galatasaray has no risk.
Nicolo Zaniolo wanted to go when it came to the Premier League. He left with a record rental fee. There is a high contingent fee. Figures with bonuses of € 40 million. I don’t remember individual bonuses. We bought it for 15 million €. We made this sale for more profit. We can also ask Nicolo Zaniolo to come back and play for us next year. These roads are always open.
No opposing team manager says ‘We made a mistake’. I made 1 mistake, someone else makes 10. It’s very easy to do scribbling. We don’t want to condescend to those things. We want to transform Turkish football. We will announce the budgets and payments at the council committee. The players we bought have a transfer value of 149 M€. There is no such thing in Turkish football. Not even half! We bought it for € 30 million, including the signature fees. Last year, we spent €43 million on transfers. This year it’s even lower. I don’t understand technically why they’re questioning this.
Players came, it is said that they cannot play. There is such a thing as a spending limit. We had to focus on free players. Our spending limit has increased in the last 4 days after qualifying for the Champions League.
“MONEY DOESN’T CAUSE PLAYERS”
Top players are not worried about money. They already have money. There are many players who do not care about the 3-5 million difference. The player finds money, but what he finds more is intimacy, peaceful environment. That’s why they prefer you. Like the Mauro Icardi example.
I see how much our transfers take place in the world press. Our competitors are also included. We cannot raise Turkish football in any other way. We need to be the 6th league in Europe. I am very happy to improve the transfer quality of Turkish football and other clubs.
“WE CLOSED FOREIGN TRANSFER”
If we find a very nice local football player, if there is an opportunity transfer, we will take it. We closed the foreign transfer
We set the target too high. If Matias Vecino had come two years ago, it would have been a huge transfer. Kerem Demirbay in the same way. These clubs are owned by the fans. You have to think about the future. Our spending limit didn’t exist until we secured the Champions League. We got about 25 million euros from there. We couldn’t explain this because managers and players don’t talk to you.
Our transfer limit is low because the money we get from previous sponsorships is clear. We didn’t want to sell Victor Nelsson, Sacha Boey, Lucas Torreira. We didn’t want to sell Nicolo Zaniolo at a profit of 5 million. We have targeted 30 million euros and above. Shall I tell them before the transfer? How do we bargain then? This pressure of the fans pushes the administration to populism. I resign, but I don’t do populism.
“WE HAVE AGREEMENT WITH AMRABAT”
We largely agreed with Sofyan Amrabat. With Fiorentina, we were at a level where we could reach a point. On Wednesday evening, Manchester United came and the player had said before, his old coach was also there … He waited for us, rejecting the very big teams, but it did not happen.
Okan Hodja wanted 6-8. Tanguy Ndombele is 8 more players. We talked to Matías Vecino and agreed with his club. Around 23:30 Maurizio Sarri did not approve the transfer. He even reacted. It was an advantage to have Tottenham, they always score high but then lower it. There was a big difference between us on Saturday regarding Davinson Sanchez. We thought that the transfer could not be made. We even told Okan Hodja that he would not. It was Davinson’s last year, too. We thought they would play as the 3rd defender. Is it the final bluff or is it the truth? We also raised the figure of € 1.5 million. We’ve been seeing each other for two months. It started at 25. They stopped at 16 for quite a while.
The level of the Turkish League has increased, it will increase even more this year. This year we will do a lot of different work. A year of solidarity and concentration. Calling Galatasaray fans. What is solidarity? It’s about protecting all kinds of things. The challenge is to be together. It should be seen as a liberation struggle. Let’s protect our players. There should be no reaction when our players lose the ball. We make a distinction between domestic and foreigners… Let’s support no matter what. If we’re going to be champions, we’ll be together. If we become champions by dividing, let’s not be. I read a manifesto, I have to repeat it. “What has been done to disrupt our concentration. And more will be done. We need to be vigilant against everything. We will not do bad and unethical things. We will not allow those who do.
“DO NOT HALAL YOUR RIGHTS”
Do not give your rights to those who make transfer news! I just don’t! This is damage to Galatasaray! Let what is taken be taken, let the offended be offended! Why should the number go up when you can lower the good player to be recruited? Everything sucks. If 500 news are coming out, 490 are wrong.
The group is tough in the Champions League. But let’s put this team in the Inter jersey, shall we say it’s difficult? Don’t be afraid to dream. We cannot say that we dream of being lynched on social media. What’s going on, Galatasaray is losing.
Total sponsorships amounted to 53 million euros. 30 million euro this year’s stadium and other sponsorships. There are sponsorships related to athletes. Beşiktaş also met with the sponsors for the transfer of Sergio Ramos. That is a normal thing. This sponsorship income is a record, it will increase even more. It was 17 million euros last year, 53 million euros this year.”