The race for the Fenerbahçe presidency is getting fiery. Hakan Bilal Kutlualp, a candidate with a strong football background, is stirring the pot. He served as a director for the Turkish Football Federation’s external relations committee. Now, he’s pointing fingers at a summer transfer deal, calling it a deliberate “trap.”
Kutlualp claims Fenerbahçe got snared by Benfica and their sports director, Mário Branco. This stings a bit more because Branco held the same job at Fenerbahçe just last season. It’s like a former ally turning the tables. “We walked right into their plan for Karem Aktürkoglu,” Kutlualp stated. His comments were reported by ‘Fanatik’.
He didn’t pull any punches. “Mário Branco boxed us in on that transfer,” Kutlualp explained. He compared it to a different era. “Back in my time, we were the ones running the show. We made the big decisions. We chose who joined the team and when.” He sounds like a coach reminiscing about his glory days.
The sting of that failed transfer runs deep. “We just couldn’t sign Karem Aktürkoglu fast enough,” Kutlualp lamented. What happened next twisted the knife even further. He reminded everyone of the goal scored by the player, described as ‘ex-Benfica.’ That single goal, a 1-0 victory over Fenerbahçe, dramatically kicked the Turkish side from the Champions League. It seems missing out on Aktürkoglu led to a painful exit from Europe’s top club competition.
