For a long time, the Turkish Süper Lig was seen as a golden refuge for football stars at the end of their careers. In the 2000s, she welcomed prestigious names like Nicolas Anelka, Roberto Carlos, Didier Drogba or Wesley Sneijder – so many players who offered international visibility to the championship without giving him real sustainable competitiveness. Turkish football was then characterized by sometimes approximate management, structurally fragile clubs, and repeated scandals, such as that of the matches faked in 2011 which had shaken the credibility of the championship. This combination of financial instability and judicial affairs led, in the 2010s, to a significant loss of speed. Less competitive in Europe, with a drop in attractiveness on the transfer market, the Turkish championship seemed to be condemned to a secondary role.
And yet, the passion for football has never weakened in the country. The stands continue to fill with fervor, the historic rivalries between Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas electrify each season, and the supporters remain among the most committed in Europe. In recent years, the Süper Lig seems to have started a real moult. The arrival of new investors, powerful sponsors, and the discreet – but very real – support of the Turkish state allowed certain clubs to find a European ambition. The level of play has risen, the infrastructure has been modernized, and recruitment is increasingly moving towards competitive players, sometimes in full force of age. Even if structural problems remain – massive debt, dependence on foreign currency, political interventions -, Turkey now displays a clear will: to make its league a real springboard to return to the concert of the great powers of continental football.
The Süper Lig attacks strong!
For a few seasons, Turkish football has displayed a renewed ambition on the transfer market, and summer 2025 has been a brilliant illustration. Several clubs of the Süper Lig, including the giants of Istanbul – Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas – carry out an offensive policy to attract big names in European football. The Fenerbahçe, with the influence of his coach José Mourinho and the mediation of Jorge Mendes, is close to recruiting Marco Asensio as well as Leon Bailey and ahead of AC Milan for Archie Brown. For its part, the Galatasaray dreams of definitively associating Victor Osimhen with his attack Arpès a fruitful loan, taking advantage of solid sponsors like the Socar Group to finance the operation. Even Besiktas, in search of renewal, target of experienced players like Mehdi Taremi and notably signed Tammy Abraham. This renewed activity is part of a context where Turkey, co -organizer of Euro 2032 with Italy, seeks to establish itself as a central player in European football. This ambitious strategy is largely based on very powerful private capital and international sponsors. The Fenerbahçe benefits from the support of the Koç family, one of the richest in Turkey, which has been injecting hundreds of millions into the club for years. Galatasaray, on the other hand, is based on partners like Sixt, the Pasifik Group, and especially the oil company Socar, capable of proposing very lucrative contracts in Osimhen in the form of premiums or image rights. However, this dynamic is based on a fragile economy. Income from TV rights are in sharp decline, while the debts accumulated by large clubs exceed two billion euros. Galloping inflation – which reached 80 % before descending 35 % – and the fall in the Turkish pound makes wages in foreign foreign currency increasingly difficult to manage.
Faced with this systemic risk, the Turkish government has favored a restructuring of debt via large national banks. Despite this unstable economic context, Turkey continues its rise in power, focusing on more reasoned purchasing strategies. The trend is for loans with purchase options or recruitment of players at the end of the contract, such as the former Bavarian prodigy Leroy Sané, or at low cost, like Eldon Shomurodov in Başakşehir and Jhon Duran in Fenerbahçe. The transfer window remains dynamic with important transactions even on the lifted purchase options: Sofyan Amrabat for 12 million in Fenerbahçe, Ismaël Jakobs for 8 million in Galatasaray, or Paul Onuachu for nearly 6 million in Trabzonspor. Besiktas also prepares a big blow with Orkun Kökçü, valued at 25 million. Overall, Süper Lig spending for the 2024-2025 season reached just over 200 million euros, confirming continuous increase compared to previous years. Although the Turkish championship remains far behind European giants in terms of value (the first league being 12 billion euros against around 1 billion for Turkey), the desire to reduce the gap is manifest. Turkish football intends to make Süper Lig a credible springboard to the continental elite. If Turkey does not yet have the financial power of the great European leagues, its dynamism, supported by influential patrons and a more targeted recruitment strategy, could well tip the balance of continental football in the years to come. A high risk bet, but with high potential.
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