Samet Aybaba makes explosive commission allegation: 'I do not grant my forgiveness'

Samet Aybaba, who was dismissed from his position as General Coordinator of Football Teams at Beşiktaş, spoke about the recent developments at the club.

Here are the highlights from Aybaba's statement:

"It was a process that began with the promise that football would be managed by those who come from within Beşiktaş, and that those from outside Beşiktaş would have no authority in football. It was incredibly colorful. It gave great pleasure. Afterwards, we went to Ümraniye, an incredibly scattered team... A facility that felt like it had been abandoned. I immediately prepared reports and made plans. We had one goal left: the cup.

"Those around the President worked against me"

We did a lot of things. There were promises made; our president had made promises during the congress process regarding major transfers and relationships with world-class clubs. When problems started to arise here, I stood up alone. I defended the club, the management, and Beşiktaş. Things were done against me. Most of it was done by those around the president. I made harsh statements to bring the players to their senses. Even those were used against me. Still, I didn't say a word.

"A total of 24 million Euros was paid, and we were shocked"

We had a huge problem at right-back. There were issues regarding Tayfur and Onur. They were unhappy. I said let's make a right-back transfer first. We went for Atal first. While we were talking about figures over 1 million, his agent started talking about 2.5 million euros, so we gave up. We were interested in Svensson, who left Adana Demirspor, and we signed him. When signing Svensson, there was also something called financial fair play. Names like Musrati, Renato Sanches, and William Carvalho came up. We made a decision on Musrati. We also wrote a report about Muçi. We have a report stating that it is not appropriate to sign him at high costs. We have a report about Musrati as well. A total of 24 million Euros was paid, and we were shocked.

"They made an offer with my signature, without my knowledge"

We gave a negative report regarding Joe Worrall. When pressure came from the management and the coach to sign the player, I said let's watch him again. We watched him repeatedly. We gave a report saying this player cannot contribute to Beşiktaş. My assistant called me one night. An agent friend called my assistant and said, 'I recommended the player to you, and now you are making an offer, does this suit Coach Samet?' I called the club. They told me, 'It has your signature, you are aware of it.' I called the President. I said, 'I have no knowledge of this, how is a transfer being made?' The President said, 'Let's see, let's handle it.' I said I am not part of this transfer. He said okay. They made a statement that they had given up on the player. We said let's take him on loan. We transferred him by paying 500 thousand euros and his salary.

As we entered the new season, we prepared our lists and presented them to the management. An attempt was made to create something like a transfer committee. We were going to determine a strategy; Kaan Şakul had done some work there and said, 'I expect 37 million euros in sales. Otherwise, we cannot sign players.' I said, 'It doesn't work like that in football.' They said, 'Rafa Silva is on the list you provided.' I said, 'Because you don't know football, you don't know where the matter will lead,' and I explained that this opportunity could arise for us at the slightest factor. We tried to sign Paulista before; he went to Atletico Madrid. Then he came to us. They asked about Immobile, and we gave a positive report.

Friedel started his duty. He is a board advisor. He started with the understanding that he wouldn't come to the club, he would only make sales. You know what happened afterwards. With the power he received from Kaan Şakul and the president, he started acting like the emperor of that place. I went to discuss this issue with the president and eventually wrote a letter. I said, 'I understand you are paying him a high salary, but are you paying him a commission?' He said, 'Let's give you some from the sale of Mustafa and Semih too.' What happened afterwards is pure chaos.

We got on the plane, returning from Antep. Our boys Semih, Salih, and Mert were sitting there. I said, 'We conceded an unfortunate goal, these things happen.' They said, 'Let Coach Feyyaz come too.' He spoke as well. I went downstairs, and things were in turmoil. We had held a meeting. Don't we have the right to ask such things from the players? After the Göztepe match at home, it was going to go to Coach Feyyaz. I said I would come too. Brad Friedel managed the entire setup. They were working with the coach on the tactics board. We never got involved in these matters. When Feyyaz went inside, Friedel, Kaan Şakul, and the coach were sitting there. Kaan Şakul said to Feyyaz, 'We are discussing something private, 5 minutes later, brother.' We experienced all of this. What feature did a friend (Friedel) with no experience have that would put him ahead of us?

"I was receiving a lower salary than Coach Gio's assistant"

As for the salary issue... I am receiving less money from the club than the salary received by Coach Gio's assistants. I never talked about money for a single day, then the President said, 'Let's put this in order, talk to Mr. Hüseyin.' I prepared a contract. 3.5 months passed, he didn't ask anything, didn't call. I understood that he was not sincere in this offer.

"They signed the players we opposed, and we paid extra when sending them back"

Joao Mario, Ndour, Emirhan Topçu, Can Keleş, and Uduokhai. We opposed all of them. We said Beşiktaş does not sign young players. If it does, it does so with a purchase option. Regarding Joao Mario, he is not a winger. He is heavy, like a central midfielder. We wrote a report saying our team does not need him. An agent friend offered Felix. We watched him, we looked. We didn't write him on our list. They said we can buy him for 3 million. Afterwards, he was bought for much higher costs. There was Colley, he was our cheapest player. If you are going to sign a player for such high costs instead of him, he needs to be better. We paid extra when sending these players away. We also gave our report regarding Can Keleş. We said we need a clearer player. Unfortunately, he was also signed. We expressed our thoughts regarding Emirhan. Ideas came regarding other players as well. We gave a negative report for all of them. Afterwards, we completely broke off, they cut off communication. They managed the subsequent process together with Friedel, Kaan Şakul, the president, and Coach Gio.

"I didn't resign when I saw it going bad, I chose to fight"

Why didn't I resign? Does someone who has entered Beşiktaş resign when they see things going bad? They stay, they struggle, they fight, they oppose. I spoke everywhere. I spoke in technical terms. Everywhere they say, 'Coach Samet is talking.' I told the coach the same things when the camp process ended. I said, 'Two 6s and Rafa Silva cannot play on the wing.' We talked about many technical issues, such as the camp process being too light. We heard that the players were uncomfortable with the leaves. We talked about the fact that the players were not being approached well.

"I am calling on Kaan Şakul to resign immediately"

Finally, the President asked me for a report on our current situation. He said, 'Let Feyyaz and Veli also give a report.' Since we were not the ones managing this process, I asked for the report to be given by Brad Friedel, the coach, and Kaan Şakul. I said, 'My President, I never leave anyone halfway, but if you have a disposition, do what is necessary.' A day later, the CEO of Beşiktaş called me and asked, 'Coach, do you have any economic requests?' I never talked about money. I am calling on Kaan Şakul to resign immediately. He says, 'I didn't do these things in any matter,' but we know everything. He should resign for the interests of Beşiktaş.

"There is no granting of forgiveness"

"I do not grant my forgiveness to anyone. The message came to me via WhatsApp, there is no granting of forgiveness. If they tell me to stand guard tomorrow, I will stand guard at the Nevzat Demir Facilities. There is no such world, friends. They are not aware of who they are dealing with. They are not aware of our feelings. We have completely broken off."

"We would always accept a duty at Beşiktaş, but..."

We would always accept a duty at Beşiktaş, but not right now. We have experienced many things. The people who caused this are still in the management. I would accept any kind of duty afterwards. Regarding the presidential candidacy, we support anyone we believe will manage Beşiktaş correctly. I cannot decide what will happen in the future; if circumstances go elsewhere, we will sit down and talk with our community.

"There is an urgent need for a football mind"

Beşiktaş urgently needs to act together. There is an urgent need for a football mind. That's why they brought us in, but shortly after, they never asked us anything. People who have given their hearts to Beşiktaş should stop saying 'I will be president,' etc. What can't you share? There is a value at stake. If the goal of all of you is to support this, come together.

"I wanted Sergen Yalçın"

I wanted Sergen Yalçın. He said, 'Okay, brother.' The President called me and said, 'Don't talk about anything when you go.' If I were to talk to Sergen Yalçın, we would say, 'We are handing over our club to you, what are your conditions?' I would talk about the team, and I would cry a little bit because I was on the club's side, complaining about the economy. Then he would have come running.