Newsletters
Fenerbahce presidential candidate Hakan Safi turned the club's extraordinary general assembly into a transfer spectacle on Saturday, announcing player agreements with Mason Greenwood, Luis Suarez and Merih Demiral from the congress podium, one day before members choose between him and former chairman Aziz Yildirim.
Speaking inside the Chobani Stadium, Safi told delegates that weeks of groundwork had produced three signed deals: a four-year agreement with Marseille forward Greenwood, who scored 26 goals across all competitions last season; a deal with Sporting CP striker Suarez, who reportedly pledged to become the Turkish league's top scorer; and the return of Türkiye international center-back Demiral from Saudi Arabia. "Believe me," Safi told the hall, "there is more to come."
Italian football legend Paolo Maldini attended in person, drawing chants from the gallery. Safi had previously named Maldini, the architect of AC Milan's recent championship revival, as his intended football director.
Two members of his management team, he said, were waiting in London to finalize additional signings pending his election mandate. Greenwood appeared to signal his own interest independently, following Safi's personal social media accounts in the days before the congress.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed discussions over Suarez's arrival but noted that no fee agreement with Sporting CP had been reached, with Safi unlikely to make a formal club-to-club approach before winning the vote.
Aziz Yildirim, who led Fenerbahce for 20 uninterrupted years before stepping down in 2018, took a markedly different tone.
He cautioned delegates that naming players before deals are done damages the club's standing, and questioned the basic mechanics of Safi's claims, noting that any transfer requires agreement from the selling club, not just the player. "If Messi is needed, Messi comes. If Ronaldo is needed, Ronaldo comes," he said. "Listing player names to gain prestige doesn't suit me."
Yildirim anchored his appeal in institutional loyalty rather than marquee signings, telling supporters he had missed singing championship songs with them at the stadium and vowing they would do so again. "It is Fenerbahce that made me Aziz Yildirim," he said.
The winner inherits a complicated picture. The club carries a debt of approximately 26.2 billion lira as of February 2026, and the victor will serve only a one-year term, since outgoing chairman Sadettin Saran called an early extraordinary congress before completing his two-year mandate. Both candidates have also pledged to expand the stadium capacity to roughly 64,000 seats.
Fenerbahce has not won the Süper Lig title in 12 years, a drought both men placed at the center of their pitches. Safi framed Sunday's vote as a choice between "the energy and hunger" of a new generation and those content with mediocrity. Yildirim, who brought players including Roberto Carlos and Dirk Kuyt to the club during his tenure, argued his record speaks for itself. The vote takes place Sunday.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
