Galatasaray is among a number of Turkish clubs whose debt is mounting.GETTY IMAGES
Turkey’s top football clubs such as Galatasaray and Fenerbahce "will have their mounting debts restructured but not written off" by the country’s banking association as top-tier teams have racked up more than 10B lira ($1.86M) in debt, according to Tuncay & Gumrukcu of REUTERS. The "Big Four" clubs -- which also include Besiktas and Trabzonspor -- "have spent heavily to attract foreign stars." Poor domestic and int'l results "have exacerbated the debts they have amassed." Over the weekend, Turkish media reported state lender Ziraat Bank would restructure the debts of the 18 clubs in Turkey’s Super Lig. However, the Turkish Banking Association (TBB) said that "no single bank would be transferred the debts of the clubs, and instead all banks would continue to manage their own loan risks." The TBB said, "It is out the question for the debts to be erased or for there to be pricing that is out of market pricing standards in the restructuring." As the clubs "struggle with their debts, they have started to offload valuable players to alleviate some of the financial burdens -- putting the teams under more pressure on the pitch." Fenerbahce, a "regular contender for the league title in previous years," is in 17th place. The club has debts of nearly 4B lira ($740M) (REUTERS, 1/7).
