Fenerbahçe President: Real Reason Lookman Transfer Collapsed

Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran has, for the first time, revealed the behind-the-scenes reasons why negotiations with Atalanta for Ademola Lookman failed during the last winter transfer window.

Speaking to HT Spor, Saran admitted that communication issues and timing complications ultimately derailed the deal, despite full agreement within the club’s technical staff.

‘We were not well understood in the Lookman transfer. This is mostly due to us. We could not communicate well with him,’ Saran said.

He stressed that contrary to speculation, the collapse was not due to a letter of guarantee.

‘Everyone wanted it. ‘He wanted it, this didn’t want it’ are all lies. I went abroad just for this job. I talked to the player’s agent. I told him that I would meet Lookman in Morocco at the African Cup, and he liked it very much.

‘That evening, while meeting with Atalanta’s managers, I got up in a hurry for obvious reasons and returned. When this happened on the other side, of course, it was uncertain for them to suddenly leave the table. That was the breaking point of the transfer.’

Saran also addressed broader financial challenges at the club, noting: ‘Fenerbahçe has no income problem, no income generation problem. There is an expense problem. Players who are not in the squad, who do not wear the jersey, who do not play are paid a lot, and there are not one or two such players, but many players leftover from previous years.’