A remarkable wave of star signings has swept through Turkish football this year, transforming the Super Lig into one of the most talked-about destinations in the global transfer market. Mohamed Salah, Romelu Lukaku, Leandro Trossard, Leroy Sané and Nathan Aké have all made the move, joined by Mason Greenwood, N'Golo Kanté and Dusan Vlahovic. Reports suggest Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Martinelli could be next, depending on how negotiations unfold.
The league's biggest four clubs — Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Trabzonspor — have driven this surge in spending, reshaping perceptions of Turkish football almost overnight. Galatasaray already boasted one of the world's most prolific strikers in Victor Osimhen, who has scored 43 league goals across two seasons plus an opener this campaign. Meanwhile, Salah's arrival at Trabzonspor stands out as the league's marquee capture; he is reportedly set to earn wages comparable to his Liverpool salary, aided by Turkey's net salary structure.
This spending spree comes at a moment when the Saudi Pro League, which made global headlines by signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar in 2023, appears to be pulling back from its lavish ambitions. Turkey's clubs have filled that gap, though the driving force behind their newfound purchasing power is unusual. Rather than stemming from a state-backed soft-power campaign or oligarch-driven investment, the shift appears tied to currency dynamics — specifically, the sharp depreciation of the Turkish lira against the euro, which has fallen from roughly €0.10 five years ago to about €0.018 today. Because clubs pay players in lira while earning euros from European competitions and international broadcast deals, the disparity has effectively expanded their financial flexibility on paper.
This is not the first time a league outside football's traditional power centers has attempted to buy its way into relevance. China previously poured resources into its domestic competition as part of a national ambition, championed by President Xi Jinping, to establish the country as a "sports powerhouse." That project ultimately faded. Russia saw a similar burst of spending when sanctioned businessman Suleyman Kerimov invested heavily in Anzhi Makhachkala, sparking a short-lived arms race among Zenit St Petersburg, Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Moscow before the funding dried up.
Brazil has also experienced periodic waves of big-money transfers, often tied to bringing prodigal stars back home. In January, Flamengo broke a Brazilian transfer record by signing Lucas Paquetá from West Ham for roughly $50m, surpassing the $32m Cruzeiro paid for Gerson just weeks earlier. Major League Soccer had its own version during the