Dursun Özbek makes statements on Muslera and Osimhen

Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek made statements to members of the press at an event held at the Kemerburgaz Metin Oktay Facilities in honor of the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. Özbek said, "We are celebrating the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day the day after we won the championship. Happy holiday to our nation."

"WE DESIRE FOR OSIMHEN TO STAY"

When asked about the chants for Nigerian star Victor Osimhen during the Kayserispor match, Özbek said, "Osimhen received great cheers not only yesterday but also at the Turkish Cup final in Gaziantep. It is clear that our fans love Osimhen very much. Osimhen is a good football player and has a very high sense of belonging to Galatasaray. Both our board of directors and our fans desire for such a player to be at Galatasaray. We are listening to these calls. The most important decision here belongs to Osimhen. He is a young player. He has thoughts on how to develop his career. We have not yet shared those with him. We will talk in the coming days about how he will respond to this outpouring of love. Our board will make a decision within the framework of the decision he makes. Let there be no hesitation about this. Like every Galatasaray fan, our management wants to see Osimhen in the squad next season, especially for the Champions League campaign."

"OUR ENTIRE EFFORT IS TO CHASE THE 6TH STAR"

Responding to a question about his 2017 statement, 'We will wear the 5th star before Fenerbahçe wears the 4th,' the yellow-reds' president said, "I said something like that in 2017. Within the framework of that day's discourse, it has gained value today. We should leave it there. Our entire effort will be to chase the 6th star. We will continue this effort starting from next season."

Stating that their work on the squad to compete in the UEFA Champions League is ongoing, Dursun Özbek said, "Participating directly in the Champions League gives us the opportunity to open the season a little later and prepare more. This is a good thing. We had been waiting for this result for more than a month. Therefore, we started our work to build the squad that will go to the Champions League 1-1.5 months ago. We will work to fulfill these after the season opens."

"ICARDI IS A VERY IMPORTANT ASSET"

Stating that Argentine footballer Mauro Icardi, who has been away from the pitch for a long time due to injury, is in good condition, President Özbek said, "I met with Icardi yesterday. I found him extremely fit and ready. He is coming back very prepared. He continued his training in his home country. Icardi is a very important asset for Galatasaray. He will be very beneficial to us next season."

Özbek also noted that efforts are ongoing to hold the championship celebrations at the Yenikapı Event Area.

"MUSLERA WANTS TO RETURN TO HIS COUNTRY"

Regarding the situation of Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who has been with the team for 14 seasons, Özbek said, "I spoke with Muslera. His family lives in his homeland. He also wants to return to his country. I spoke with him about staying with us for one more season. However, he is very insistent on leaving. We will continue to insist as well."

When asked, "Do you promise the fans a 'strawberry' (star) signing?", the president of the yellow-reds concluded his remarks by saying, "I promise the fans a team that will compete well in the Champions League. We couldn't do that last year. Hopefully, we are preparing well for this season. We aim to be successful in Europe as well."