By Prof. Dr. Cem Başlevent | Bosphorus News Sports Desk
Cem Başlevent, born in Istanbul in 1973, holds a master's degree and PhD in economics from Boğaziçi University. He taught at Istanbul Bilgi University from 2000 to 2023 and currently serves on the faculty of Istanbul Kültür University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. His academic research covers labor force participation, political preferences and life satisfaction.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Bosphorus News.
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The Süper Lig's four biggest clubs are spending record sums on transfers even as their combined debt has climbed toward 85 billion lira, according to a beIN Sports Türkiye report. Turkish football fans usually expect the same club to win the title each year, yet interest across the league feels unusually high this season.
Galatasaray already fields a strong squad, and Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor have all made major transfers of their own, giving supporters across the league reason for optimism. Players earning 10 million euros a year, once rare, are becoming common, up from the 4 to 5 million euro range typical until recently. Fenerbahçe has long been associated with big-spending transfer windows. Even Beşiktaş, nicknamed the "college team" during its 1980s Metin-Ali-Feyyazlı era (editor's note: a giant club that carried a college club spirit under the presidency of legendary club president, the late Süleyman Seba), has moved far from that identity.
Marquee signings this summer, including Mohamed Salah's move to Trabzonspor along with Dušan Vlahović and Mason Greenwood, have turned global attention toward the league. Climate and the passion of Turkish fans appear to be drawing more players to Türkiye over Saudi Arabia. Türkiye's recent hosting of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals adds to that profile. Spain's Super Cup will move to İstanbul Olimpiyat Stadium from February 2 to 7, 2027, after a scheduling clash with the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, and the 2027 UEFA Conference League final is also set for Türkiye.
The financing behind these transfers deserves scrutiny. Three of the four big clubs, all except Beşiktaş, exited a 2021 Banks Association debt-restructuring agreement, which freed up room for transfer spending. Trabzonspor's transfer strategy has also improved its income-to-expense balance, and combined ticket, box and jersey sales tied to Salah's arrival are expected to cover much of his transfer cost.
A theory circulating on Turkish social media holds, without evidence, that football, "the opiate of the masses," is being used to divert public attention from economic, political and judicial developments, with the suggestion that big clubs have access to financial resources beyond what is publicly visible. This claim could not be independently verified.
Despite the record spending, only one club will win the title, and other fan bases will be disappointed again. European success would ease that disappointment and protect clubs' finances, but a mismatch between spending and results could bring disappointing developments for supporters in the medium term.
Sources: TC Lira, beIN Sports Türkiye, Bosphorus News review, editing and translation.
TC Lira is Bosphorus News' official Turkish-language partner site.