Chaos, Controversy, and Record Transfers: The 2025–26 Super League Kickoff
- Esil Korkmaz
- Sep 9
- 14 min read
The 2025-26 season of the Trendyol Super League started with many controversies and surprises, as famous coaches left and unexpected transfers were completed. The big three, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Beşiktaş, are more unpredictable than they have ever been, and the rivalry for first place is more competitive, with pricey lineups and new teams.
The Turkish Super League is the top-tier professional football league in Türkiye, featuring 20 clubs competing in a round-robin format across the season. Known for its passionate fan culture and intense rivalries, particularly between the “big three” of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş. Clubs fight not only for the domestic title but also for qualification to European tournaments, with the league champion earning a spot in the UEFA Champions League. The Super League is marked by high-profile transfers, unpredictable outcomes, as well as a lot of controversies regarding referee decisions.
Before delving into the Turkish league, it is essential to understand the events that triggered the major changes and to consider their broader context. Before the start of the league, in the middle of July, Benfica announced that Orkun Kökçü had been transferred to Beşiktaş. According to a statement from the Portuguese team, it was reported that the midfielder was loaned with a mandatory purchase option with a fee of 25+5 million Euros. This early transfer pleased Beşiktaş fans after a rough season. The signature ceremony for Kökçü lured in 20k fans to the stadium, as Kökçü was known to be a Beşiktaş supporter and wanted to play for the club from an early age.
In response to this transfer, on July 30, it was announced that Victor Osimhen was coming to Istanbul to sign a contract with Galatasaray after many discussions with Napoli, his former club, which led Osimhen to make some controversial social media posts targeting Napoli. The reason behind those posts was claimed to be that Osimhen accepted Al-Ahli's 80 million euro offer. However, when Napoli raised the transfer fee to 85 million at the last minute, the Saudi club withdrew from the deal. This development, in which the player experienced great disappointment, led to a complete break in relations with Napoli. Galatasaray will pay a total of 75 million euros to Napoli for Osimhen. Of this amount, 40 million will be paid upfront, and the remaining 35 million will be paid in two installments. Performance-related bonus clauses worth 5 million euros are also present in the agreement, so the total amount could reach 80 million euros, making the transfer the most expensive one in Turkish football history.
The amount paid for Osimhen caused many discussions on social media, as it did in the previous season, as the money that could have been used to transfer several players was all used on one person, leading many to question where Galatasaray was sourcing this kind of money from without winning any major European competitions in the last couple of years.
As all major rivals were making transfers, Fenerbahçe also had its eye fixed on some players. It was known from June that Fenerbahçe was searching for a new goalkeeper, and the first choice was Uğurcan Çakır, the captain and goalkeeper of Trabzonspor, who is currently considered to be one of the best Turkish goalkeepers in the Super League. While Fenerbahçe stated its interest in the player to Trabzonspor, the club wasn’t keen on selling the keeper to a Turkish club and was waiting for a good offer from abroad. The transfer rumors also caused a controversy between Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor supporters on social media platforms: Fenerbahçe fans were pleased with the gossip and welcoming of Çakır, whereas Trabzonspor fans were making threats left and right, stating that if he chooses Fenerbahçe, he will be left “without a community that will support him.” The controversy only grew bigger when Çakır continued in his silence and didn’t sign a new contract with Trabzonspor. Nevertheless, Trabzonspor refused to sell the player to Fenerbahçe.
Ali Koç received a lot of criticism from Fenerbahçe fans for the unsuccessful transfer because, since taking over as club president in 2018, he has failed to win the championship title, and according to popular belief on X “made a mockery of the club”. This wasn’t the only unsuccessful transfer rumor of the summer, as he failed to transfer Kerem Aktürkoğlu on time too. After the transfers from Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe had its eyes set on Aktürkoğlu, a former Galatasaray player who greatly contributed to their championships in the past years. Negotiations started with his current club, Benfica, in July, with Aktürkoğlu pressuring the club to take the offer. However, according to rumors, the transfer, which was seen as a done deal, came to a halt when the Koç management changed its offer, lowering it to 20 million euros from 25. This new development meant that, as the summer transfer season’s end and the deadline to report the team lineup to UEFA approached, Fenerbahçe made no major new transfers, or the transfers were too late. Some players who were announced in mid-July and made noise but were not deemed to be of star quality by the supporters or enough to win against Galatasaray were Archie Brown, John Duran, and Edson Alvarez. Dorgeles Nene was officially announced on August 19, too, but it was one day before the UEFA Champions League playoff stage, meaning that he couldn’t play in the playoff.
After the unsuccessful attempts, Jose Mourinho, Fenerbahçe’s coach, started giving statements about the Ali Koç management, stating that none of the transfers he asked for were made. His statements were applauded by fans, as he wasn’t afraid of speaking up against the management that was clearly failing in one of their major responsibilities.
However, the praises came to a stop on August 16 when Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe tied with Göztepe, which has only ascended to the main league in recent years, in the first match of the Super League. It’s important to mention that Fenerbahçe supporters were displeased with Mourinho’s performance in the 24-25 season too, and even pressured the management to go for a coach change because the defensive football played by Mourinho wasn’t applicable to the Turkish league. In response to the backlash, Koç stated that they will be moving forward with Mourinho for the 25-26 season too, as agreed by the contract. Mourinho blamed the lack of transfers for the team’s Göztepe failure and stated that they will be focusing on the UEFA Champions League Qualifiers.
In the qualifiers, Fenerbahçe was matched with Benfica, Aktürkoğlu’s club. The playoff stage consists of two matches played by the teams that have been matched. After the two matches, the scores are added, and the winner is determined accordingly. In the first match, Fenerbahçe tied with Benfica, but in the second match, the Turkish team lost with a goal from Aktürkoğlu, being eliminated from the UCL. The irony of Fenerbahçe’s elimination became the topic of jokes on social media, as the team was eliminated by the very person they failed to transfer. If the transfer had been completed, the team would have had the possibility to advance to the league, but the dream came to an early end, increasing Fenerbahçe’s UCL longing to 17 years. The elimination, of course, also caused major backlash towards Ali Koç because of his lack of success in transfers and his stubbornness with Mourinho.
His stubbornness with Mourinho also became one of Koç’s biggest mistakes for his chances in the upcoming club president elections, as Mourinho continued with controversial statements like ”If the Champions League had been vital for my club, something would have been done in the transfer window between Feyenoord and Benfica,” or, “I don't think Fenerbahçe has a transfer list.” While Mourinho was right about transfers being late or preferred ones ending with failure, it isn’t correct to say that absolutely no transfers were done, as the Alvarez, Brown, Semedo, Skriniar, and Duran transfers were all welcomed positively from supporters and were seen as concrete steps to strengthen the defense line, as well as help out En-Nesyri in the offense.
Nevertheless, the elimination and the statements attacking the management were the last drop for Ali Koç, as he sent off Mourinho after the statements, even though he stated before that they would continue with him in the 25-26 season. The announcement came abruptly, on the morning of August 29, leaving Fenerbahçe without a coach for the Super League match on August 31 against Gençlerbirliği.
After being fired, Mourinho continued to decrease Ali Koç’s chances for the upcoming selection with more fierce statements, outright calling the management incompetent: “This separation should have happened earlier; it has lasted too long. The mentality managing Fenerbahçe is in a terrible state. I have never worked with such incompetent management before. It's straightforward; I said I want Kerem Aktürkoğlu immediately, but they couldn't handle it. I have a lot to say!”
Fenerbahçe wasn’t the only team in the big three left without a coach, as Beşiktaş reached a similar end. After being eliminated from the UEFA Conference League, Beşiktaş announced that they will no longer move forward with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their coach for the 25-26 season. Solskjaer’s reaction was much different from Mourinho’s as he stated that “Criticism is normal, we were eliminated from Europe. However, I must also say this: Beşiktaş is a stronger team compared to last year. I tried to do what was right for Beşiktaş every day. The responsibility is mine, the blame is also mine. I accept this.” Two days later, one of the old legends of Beşiktaş, Sergen Yalçın, was announced to be the new coach. Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe had some meetings with Ismail Kartal, who has coached the team three times before in the 14-15, 21-22, and 23-24 seasons. However, no new coach has been announced yet.
While the two other major Turkish teams were trying to solve issues with their coaches, Galatasaray continued with their transfers, the newest being Wilfried Singo. The team is set to pay AS Monaco a transfer fee of 30.7 million Euros for the Ivorian right-back. Additionally, 10% of the profit from any future sale of the player will be given to Monaco. With this development, Galatasaray made the second most expensive transfer in Turkish football history, the first remaining Osimhen.
Though no new transfers were made and no agreements were signed with a new coach, Fenerbahçe still went on to defeat Gençlerbirliği with a score of 3-1 on August 31, under the guidance of the temporary coach Zeki Murat Göle, the assistant coach, displaying that it’s possible to win with the current lineup. However, it should be noted that Gençlerbirliği only advanced to the league this year; therefore, this victory can just as much be a result of the inexperience of their opponent.
The win thrilled Fenerbahçe supporters, but what followed in the next few hours made the night of August 31 a historical one. All the transfers that were expected in the previous months happened in one night, with three players being confirmed to sign with Fenerbahçe and the club officially announcing them in the following days.
Social media platforms first started to excite with news when Kerem Aktürkoğlu deleted all of his posts with Galatasaray from his Instagram and X accounts, even his photograph with Fatih Terim, the legendary Turkish coach who used to work at Galatasaray. Later, it was rumored that he would land in Istanbul at around 10 PM, causing thousands of fans to wait for him at the airport to welcome him to the club. After his landing, in a statement he gave at the airport, Aktürkoğlu stated, "Firstly, I am very happy. I am very happy to have joined our community, Fenerbahçe. I am very happy to be a part of Turkey's biggest and most honorable club. From now on, I will give my all to fight for our community and for Fenerbahçe. Hopefully, it will end in a championship." His statement took social media by storm; right until these transfer rumors, Aktürkoğlu was thought to be one of the most loyal Galatasaray players and was known for making controversial statements regarding Fenerbahçe and its members, even getting into fights with Mert Hakan Yandaş during matches. To say the least, he got major backlash from Galatasaray supporters after his statements and being seen with a Fenerbahçe scarf around his neck at the airport.
In the following days, Aktürkoğlu signed a contract with Fenerbahçe and stated that to play for Fenerbahçe was a childhood dream of his, posting an old picture of himself at home with a Fenerbahçe jersey. He changed his profile picture to a photo of himself in the Fenerbahçe jersey, and Mert Hakan Yandaş even deleted a post from his Instagram account that targeted Aktürkoğlu, displaying a gesture of kindness and welcoming the player to the club.
Marco Asensio was also seen to arrive in Istanbul in the late hours of the night. The 29-year-old midfielder previously played for Mallorca, Real Madrid, Espanyol, Aston Villa, and Paris Saint-Germain. In the following days, Fenerbahçe announced his arrival on social media. The transfer is thought to have cost the club 15 million euros.
The last surprise of the night was Ederson Santana de Moraes, a Brazilian goalkeeper playing for Manchester City. After Muslera's departure, Galatasaray was interested in Ederson as a new goalkeeper, making a strong effort for the transfer. However, Fenerbahçe’s intervention convinced the Brazilian goalkeeper and Manchester City. It was stated that Ederson would earn a net salary of 11 million euros each year starting from the 2025-2026 season. Reports indicated that Ederson's transfer fee was recorded as 11 million euros plus 2 million euros in bonuses. The news sparked outrage among Galatasaray supporters, who had been confident that Ederson would arrive in Istanbul wearing red and yellow. On the other side, Fenerbahçe fans wasted no time mocking their rivals on social media, celebrating the transfer as a major victory in the eternal battle between the two clubs.
In response to this development, Galatasaray came to an agreement with Uğurcan Çakır, the keeper whom Fenerbahçe initially had their eyes set on. Trabzonspor agreed to sell Çakır to Galatasaray for a total payment of 36 million euros, consisting of a guaranteed fee of 33 million euros and a conditional bonus of 3 million euros as the contract termination fee.
In terms of total transfer costs, however, Ederson surpassed Çakır, with his deal amounting to 44 million euros compared to the latter’s 42.5 million. Fans on social media were quick to compare the two goalkeepers, pointing out that while their transfer fees were nearly the same, Ederson’s global reputation and experience make him stand out far more than Çakır. People have also compared their match statistics on apps like Maçkolik, but most ultimately found it illogical to compare the statistics of a keeper in the Premier League to one in the Super League because of the clear difference between their level of difficulty.
While three star transfers were made in one day, some players were also loaned and sold. For instance, the wonder-kid Yusuf Akçiçek was sold to Al Hilal for 22 million euros plus 15% of the revenue from the next sale of the player. Diego Carlos, on the other hand, was loaned to the Italian club Como, as he wasn’t able to get many minutes in Fenerbahçe because of his injuries. Sofyan Amrabat was another player who was loaned off, as the club came to an agreement with Spain’s Real Betis. Livakovic was the last one to leave, as he was loaned off to Spain’s Girona. It was also rumored that Szymanski was told by the management to look at other clubs, and Trabzon was interested in signing the player, though the possibilities of such a transfer are low considering what happened with Çakır.
Fenerbahçe’s transfer strategy this season reflects a clear attempt to build a more balanced and competitive squad both in the Super League and in Europe. The signing of Ederson, a goalkeeper with a greater number of major tournament experiences and a more modern style than Livaković, immediately strengthens the backbone of the team. In defense, Archie appears to be a better fit for left-back than Kostić or Levent, while Semedo offers a far more reliable option at right-back compared to Mert and Osayi. The tactical flexibility of Asensio, deployed in a role similar to Tadić, combined with the scoring power of Kerem, adds variety to the attack. Meanwhile, Semedo and Asensio’s crossing and passing quality, Brown’s ability to link up play, and the pressing intensity of Kerem and Oğuz are expected to create space and opportunities for strikers like Duran and En-Nesyri. Overall, Fenerbahçe’s summer transfers not only address past weaknesses but also provide the foundation for a more stable and ambitious performance both domestically and in European competitions.
Thus, Ali Koç has spent an enormous sum of money this summer, completing a series of high-profile transfers and sending away players who had been heavily criticized. However, many argue that the real motivation behind this aggressive transfer campaign is the upcoming club elections. Since taking office in 2018, Koç has failed to deliver a league championship, and bringing in star names allows him to present himself as a president who has finally built a squad capable of success. Critics point out that most of these transfers were pushed through after José Mourinho’s departure, as the Portuguese coach had openly highlighted Koç’s poor record in transfer agreements. In this sense, the timing and scale of the spending appear less like a purely sporting strategy and more like a political maneuver aimed at securing votes and extending his presidency. Furthermore, his late signing of Aktürkoğlu cost Fenerbahçe approximately 30 million euros, since the team would have been given that sum as a bonus had they qualified for the UCL. Additionally, his wrong judgement of signing Mourinho as the coach and sending him away before the end of his contract cost the club an additional 15 million euros as compensation.
Fenerbahçe has officially appointed Domenico Tedesco as their new head coach, signing him to a two-year contract following the dismissal of José Mourinho. Tedesco, who previously managed the Belgian national team, is set to lead the club after an eight-month hiatus from club football. Despite the club's announcement, fan reactions have been largely negative. Many supporters had hoped for the return of former manager İsmail Kartal, who led the team to 99 points in the 2023–24 Super League season, and were also excited about the possibility of Zinédine Zidane taking over. The decision to appoint Tedesco has been met with disappointment, with fans expressing their discontent on social media and in various fan groups. This development highlights the ongoing tension between Fenerbahçe's management and its supporters, as the club navigates its coaching choices amidst high expectations. It also means that as of September 9th, 339 of the 2,645 days that Ali Koç has served as the president of Fenerbahçe have been spent without a head coach. He has also made history as the first club president to submit Fenerbahçe's UEFA Europa League squad without a head coach.
Nevertheless, with Aziz Yıldırım announcing that he won’t be running for president, Ali Koç remains one of the strongest candidates. Yıldırım commented on the election stating that "The season has begun, transfers have been made, and in a situation where the candidates for the head coach have rejected Fenerbahçe by saying, 'I do not accept the responsibility of the squad I did not build,' a congress to be held and being a candidate in this congress does not mean anything more than factionalism to me. On this occasion, what I want to say to the Fenerbahçe community is to strive together for the success of our team, to support the team for the championship we long for, and if there is an account to be seen, to leave it until the end of the season. I kindly request the public not to speculate about my name in any way regarding this matter, and I wish success to our teams and athletes competing in all branches in the new season."
While Fenerbahçe was deep in chaos, new developments occurred concerning Beşiktaş and Galatasaray, as well as the league as a whole. Beşiktaş announced that they signed Vaclav Cerny for a total of 8 million euros. Cerny’s arrival is definitely the kind of transfer that excites the fans. He was already a player who excited the supporters through rumors, and bringing in the Czech national team’s right winger feels like a move that can truly make a difference. On the other hand, Galatasaray made a transfer, recognized by Turkish football fans, as they signed Ilkay Gündoğan for merely 4.5 million euros from Manchester City. Most thought of Galatasaray’s move as a mockery of Fener signing Aktürkoğlu, since after the official announcement, Gündoğan shared a childhood picture of him wearing a Galatasaray hat like Aktürkoğlu did for Fenerbahçe.
In the grand scheme of the league, it was announced that the champion team will receive a prize of 227.8 million TL (4.7 million euros). When compared to the astronomical wages star players are earning, such as Ederson’s reported 11 million euros net per season, the league’s prize money looks relatively modest. Even the champion’s reward of 4.7 million euros doesn’t come close to covering the annual salary of a single top signing, which shows how heavily clubs are relying on sponsorships, broadcasting rights, and international success rather than domestic prize funds to sustain their big-name squads.
Hence, the 25–26 Trendyol Super League has kicked off with unprecedented drama, record-breaking transfers, and managerial shake-ups that have already reshaped the balance of the league and Turkish football. As rivalries intensify, this season promises not only fierce battles on the pitch but also a deeper reckoning with the economic realities shaping Turkish football’s future and the constantly increasing prices.
Edited by: Leyla Hacıoğlu
