Why Turkey’s football clubs can pay more cash for talent
Paradoxically, it may have to do with the country’s troubled economy
FOUR OF THE five priciest transfers in European football this summer involved England’s cash-soaked Premier League. The fifth was more unusual. Victor Osimhen, a Nigerian striker, left Napoli, the Italian champions, for Galatasaray in Turkey’s Super Lig. The €75m ($87m) transfer fee was the biggest in Turkish history, more than triple the old record. Mr Osimhen will earn €15m a year after taxes, comparable to top players in England and Spain. Nor was it a one-off. Galatasaray and their crosstown rivals, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, have signed loan deals for high-profile players from Europe and even Saudi Arabia. Continental clubs are tightening belts. What is happening in Istanbul?
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Sublime sport”
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