Emre Belözoğlu's statements on Ali Koç and Aziz Yıldırım

Manager Emre Belözoğlu made statements on many topics, from his role as sporting director at Fenerbahçe after retiring from football to his career goals, the July 3 process, and the fraud case involving former Denizbank branch manager Seçil Erzan, known in the public eye as the "Fatih Terim Fund".

"THOSE I HAVE CROSSED OUT WILL NO LONGER BE IN MY LIFE"

Emphasizing that he worked with two powerful presidents at Fenerbahçe, Aziz Yıldırım and Ali Koç, Emre Belözoğlu said:

"I have no resentment toward anyone. Life is not that long. In the end, professional decisions are made. I have shared experiences and memories with Mr. Aziz Yıldırım and Mr. Ali Koç. There have been times when we disagreed, but when we see each other, I hug both President Ali and President Aziz, and we sit and talk. We exchange messages on holidays and religious nights, and we talk about both our sorrows and our good days. There are great sorrows for me, but these are not sorrows that have no place for Fenerbahçe in my career. There are people in my relationships, which I have individualized a bit more, who have caused me great grief and disappointment. Life sometimes underlines people, and sometimes it crosses them out. Fenerbahçe, Aziz Yıldırım, and Ali Koç are among those underlined for me, but there are also many people I have crossed out. Those I have crossed out will no longer be in my life."

STATEMENT ON THE SEÇİL ERZAN CASE

Emre Belözoğlu made the following statements regarding the fraud case in which he was a victim, known in the public eye as the "high-yield secret fund":

"We entered into an investment through my cousin, thinking we were performing a banking transaction. Later, on the second or third day, we witnessed the situation changing color. We were given papers stating that a banking transaction was being performed. We still did not trust this and filed a complaint against her to the bank, bringing in the bank's inspectors. Later, we exercised our legal rights by requesting the police to come. We are currently following this process. Unfortunately, there is a group that feeds on people's pain and the difficulties they have experienced in a populist way. All I can say to them is, may God give them a conscience. Here, we believed in things given to us with papers produced by the bank itself, saying that a bank manager—not a supermarket employee—was performing a banking transaction. Other than that, I have nothing to say."

"JULY 3 WAS A VERY DIFFICULT PROCESS"

Emre Belözoğlu stated that they went through very difficult times during the July 3 process, but that he was honored to have stood by Fenerbahçe during that period.

Emphasizing that many segments were against Fenerbahçe at that time, Belözoğlu said, "It was a very challenging process for us. It was a process where our executives were in prison, and there was no one at the head of the club except for an Ali Koç and an Aykut Kocaman. We, as athletes and team captains, took ownership. The fans kept Fenerbahçe and the community alive. Today, when we talk, we sometimes remember the experiences with a smile, but it was very difficult. People within communities and fanbases in Turkey can also forget this process. We really needed to be by Fenerbahçe's side on the day of the July 3 process, and we were."

Expressing that Turkish football was also harmed during the July 3 process, Belözoğlu said, "It was one of the most unfortunate events that could have happened for our country and the sports community. The number of fans decreased, investors decreased, and interest in sports decreased. It should not be evaluated only through Fenerbahçe; there is a smear on the big picture. Fenerbahçe became champion again later in a much stronger way. In fact, we lost the championship in the last match of the season following the July 3 process," he said.

"PLAYING FOOTBALL AT FENERBAHÇE IS NOT EASY"

Reminding that the Fenerbahçe team bus was shot at after the July 3 process, Belözoğlu said, "The events happened one after another... Playing football at Fenerbahçe is not easy. Even when things are going successfully, being there is not easy. Championships are not enough for Fenerbahçe; it is a difficult community. Easy things were not experienced. It was necessary to understand the foreign players as well. Not everyone may want to remain in the middle of such a slander; it is a serious burden. I have no regrets about where we stood that day, and I felt a great honor to be at Fenerbahçe during that period."

SPORTING DIRECTORSHIP PERIOD AT FENERBAHÇE

Emre Belözoğlu also evaluated his period as sporting director at Fenerbahçe and the transfers made during that time, saying, "The institution of sporting directorship was not a place I wanted. I wanted to work as a manager. I had conveyed this to our president, but I continued with the process and the promise I made to him at his request. Fenerbahçe's transfer limits were closed at that time. I saw firsthand how much the president struggled to visit banks one by one to get permissions. When transfers were made, everyone labeled us as magicians, and when they declared us as such, we did not accept it. Because we are not magicians who will disappear; we take all kinds of responsibility upon ourselves."

The young manager said that they made very important transfers to Fenerbahçe with limited means at that time, and continued his words as follows:

"We had no income other than the 16-17 million euros earned from the transfer of Vedat Muriqi. Today, Fenerbahçe is a 100 million euro team. As of that day, we built a 16-20 million euro team. 16 players left, 16 players arrived. Despite those conditions, Fenerbahçe lost the championship in the last week. According to whom is he a good sporting director, according to whom is he bad? According to whom is he a good manager, according to whom is he not? These comments no longer seem very sincere to me. I tried to do it by giving the maximum until the very end. Emre cannot be evaluated based on every mistake, nor can he be evaluated by saying 'Emre did the right thing' after every successful job. You cannot attribute good works to one person and bad works to another. In that process, there were Ali Koç, Emre Belözoğlu, and Erol Bulut; everyone did their best."

Reminding that they missed the championship with that squad in a Sivasspor match, Belözoğlu said, "Afterwards, we parted ways. It was a very important experience. The year I retired from football, the president deemed me worthy of this duty. Working with coach Erol was also enjoyable. He also wanted to be successful. Coach Erol also had a share in our having a chance at the championship in the last week. I don't speak as comfortably as they do; I give everyone their due."

"THE MESUT ÖZİL TRANSFER WAS NOT WRONG"

Emre Belözoğlu also stated the following regarding star footballer Mesut Özil, who joined the team during his sporting directorship period:

"I do whatever the maximum contribution is with the financial power I have. No one believed that Mesut Özil would come, but after he met with the President and me, he came with his family. He still lives in Turkey. When Mesut arrived that day, everyone came to meet him at the airport. No one can say that Mesut was unsuccessful. He did his best. In terms of the conditions of that day, the big picture is that the Mesut Özil transfer was not wrong."

STATEMENT ON ARDA GÜLER

Praising Arda Güler, who currently plays for Real Madrid, Belözoğlu said, "Arda Güler is a very special player. We used to enjoy watching Iniesta, Zidane, and Xavi. Now we have such a gem in our hands, but he needs to play. He overcame an unfortunate injury process, and I hope he will take the jersey now. We are also waiting impatiently."

Emphasizing that Ömer Faruk Beyaz is also very talented, Belözoğlu said the following when reminded that Arda Güler signed his first professional contract during his own term:

"Ömer Faruk also still has a chance to reach a higher level. There are those who contributed to the process of Arda Güler joining Fenerbahçe from Gençlerbirliği. There are executives who contributed like us at that time. Just because Emre Belözoğlu is sitting next to him while his professional contract is being signed does not mean that Emre Belözoğlu discovered Arda Güler. No one should give credence to the words 'I was the first to play him, I was the first to discover him' in the Turkish football public. If a footballer reaches a certain point, the biggest share belongs to himself and his talent. Then there is the share of those who gave him a chance, but it is not right to evaluate it through a single person. Those who do this are trying to pull the wool over people's eyes by playing to the stands. We don't have such things."

Emre Belözoğlu, who played for Inter, Newcastle United, and Atletico Madrid in Europe during his football career, also emphasized that he is very happy at MKE Ankaragücü in his managerial role, and concluded his words as follows:

"My primary goal is to be a manager who plays in European cups with MKE Ankaragücü. I don't know how close or far this is. We will see if we can do it or not. I will do everything in my power. Afterwards, of course, I want to be a manager in big leagues in Europe, but I would be very happy if I could manage one day in the teams where I have put in effort in Europe. I would like to make those who love me experience this as well."

News Source: AA