Historic losses for the 'Big Four'

The publicly traded companies of Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Trabzonspor—known as the "Big Four" in Turkish football—reported a loss of 5.6 billion Turkish Lira in the first nine months of the 2024-25 season.

According to the nine-month financial statements submitted by the clubs to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) and reports from independent auditors regarding previous periods, all four clubs spent more than they earned.

Although Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray announced profits for the first nine-month period between June 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, the total loss for all four clubs reached 5.6 billion Turkish Lira when adjusted according to the independent auditors' reports from the previous period.

The periodic currency equivalent of this loss is 147.9 million euros.

UNCOLLECTIBLE INTEREST INCOME RECORDED AS REVENUE

The four major clubs are traded on the stock exchange under the names Galatasaray Sportif Sınai ve Ticari Yatırımlar AŞ, Fenerbahçe Futbol AŞ, Beşiktaş Futbol Yatırımları Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, and Trabzonspor Sportif Yatırım ve Futbol İşletmeciliği Ticaret AŞ.

These companies are linked (as a group) to the clubs' associations (which have gained the status of sports clubs under the new law) and/or their other companies (GS Store, Fenerium, Kartal Yuvası, TS Club, FB TV, GS TV, etc.). These associations and companies are listed as "related parties" in the financial statements.

These publicly traded companies are consistently in a position of being creditors to these related parties, and interest is charged on these receivables.

For example, when Club A's publicly traded company X presents its economic reports, it states that it has a non-commercial receivable of amount Y from related parties and that interest of amount Z has been charged on this receivable, which is then recorded as income for the company.

Independent auditors, who examine the companies' financial statements at the beginning and end of the season, have clearly and explicitly explained the situation in their reports for many years as follows:

"The Group has non-commercial receivables from related parties in the amount of Y, and there is no specific maturity date for these receivables. The Group has recorded interest income of Z for these receivables; however, no collection has been made regarding these receivables. Due to uncertainties regarding the maturity and method, no opinion could be formed regarding the collection of the aforementioned receivables."

In other words, there is no collection of the "interest income from related parties" that the companies record as revenue, nor is there a positive outlook regarding its realization.

TRABZONSPOR RECORDS HIGHEST LOSS

When the interest recorded as revenue is excluded in accordance with the auditors' past reports, Trabzonspor is the club with the highest loss at 1.97 billion Turkish Lira (52.07 million euros).

The Bordeaux-Blues are followed by Beşiktaş with a loss of 1.44 billion Turkish Lira (37.93 million euros).

While Fenerbahçe closed the period with a loss of 1.12 billion Turkish Lira (29.72 million euros), Galatasaray could not prevent a loss of 1.07 billion Turkish Lira (28.19 million euros).

The income/expense table for the four club companies for the period between June 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, is as follows:

News Source: 12punto