Liverpool's failure and the rising ambition of Turkish football

To be honest, Liverpool’s defeat to Galatasaray was no surprise. Everyone knows that visiting Istanbul, Turkey, is never easy. Early Wednesday morning, when Arne Slot’s team entered the 53,978-seat RAMS Park stadium, they were overwhelmed by the red and yellow on all four sides of the stands, and almost all the fans stood up to dance and light flares.

Every time a Liverpool player gets the ball, there is deafening booing and whistles from the home fans. This creates a frenzied, tense atmosphere that sometimes forces even experienced players to act on instinct.

But that's not all. Galatasaray's victory is also the result of a plan to restore Turkish pride in Europe.

Premier League champions Liverpool fell in Istanbul.

Fans will remember the distant past when Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, the three teams based in Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city, impressed when they faced the big boys of the Old Continent. They also had some achievements, such as Galatasaray winning the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in 2000, after beating Arsenal on penalties in the final, or Fenerbahce reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League in 2012/13, a season in which Galatasaray also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Some stars, of course, in the later stages of their careers, also played in Türkiye, such as Darius Vassell, Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Drinkwater, or Roberto Carlos and Robin van Persie.

However, the imprints have been quite limited, and Turkish football has been in a long period of decline. According to Opta, the Super Lig is ranked 20th in the world , below the top leagues in Sweden, Poland and Japan as well as the second tier in England (Championship) and Italy (Serie B).

Now is the time for change, as debt burdens are no longer a problem for Türkiye’s big clubs. Galatasaray recently sold its Florya beachfront estate for €480 million. They settled their long-term debt and interest, then completed a credit restructuring in July.

The stands in Türkiye are always on fire, becoming a terror for visiting teams.

Fenerbahce did the same, selling a 61,000 square meter plot of land owned by the club in the Atasehir district for 90 million euros. At the same time, they are no longer in the debt restructuring program with the Turkish Banks Association. With many long-term commercial contracts, Fenerbahce also increased their revenue from 175 million euros to 350 million euros.

With the money coming in, clubs started spending big. Last summer, the Super Lig spent 348.75 million euros on transfers (the big three Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas spent 276 million euros, accounting for 80% of the total), the 7th highest in the world. In terms of actual spending, they ranked third, behind only the Premier League and the Saudi Pro League.

Galatasaray, who beat Liverpool, have spent more than PSG, Bayern and Inter in the 2025 transfer window. Major signings include defender Wilfried Singo from Monaco (€30.8m), goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir from Trabzonspor (€27.5m) and Victor Osimhen from Napoli (€75m). Leroy Sane arrived as a free agent but earned a salary that exceeded his expectations after leaving Bayern.

Super Lig is currently gathering many famous stars at the peak of their form.

With Fenerbahce, a large sum was spent, including 22.5 million euros to Benfica to get Kerem Akturkoglu, besides the famous deals named Ederson, Marco Asensio and Jhon Duran.

Big spending naturally comes with big ambitions. Jose Mourinho was sacked not long ago just because he could not get Fenerbahce through the Champions League play-off round, despite facing a difficult draw (Benfica). Before that, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also lost his job at Besiktas because of the defeat in the Conference League play-off round.

Although it is still early days, Galatasaray's victory is a great encouragement for the Turks' aspirations to conquer Europe. With improved finances, smart transfer plans and a long-term plan in place, they are fully capable of becoming a formidable force.