Star player signs contract with Fener
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 15, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Fenerbahçe has completed the signing of Turkish international Mehmet Topuz, ending a two-week long debate over the future of the star player.
Topuz signed a three-year contract, reportedly for 3.5 million liras a year and Kayserispor will get 7.5 million euros.
The former Kayserispor player was in the center of a transfer saga, stuck between two bitter rivals, Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe, who began a war to sign him, fueling debate on which parties have the power to work a transfer deal.
Beşiktaş was the first team to agree on terms with Topuz, who would later pose for the media with a Beşiktaş jersey. But Topuz still had one year left in his contract with Kayseri, so legally, the route that Fenerbahçe followed was just, according to FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. The world football’s governing body rules state that players under contract are not allowed to make transfer talks without the club’s consent.
That was the way Fenerbahçe followed, the club agreed with Kayserispor first, forcing Topuz, who announced that he was "born a Beşiktaş fan and would not play for Fenerbahçe if paid 50 million liras," to settle terms and put pen to contract.
The Beşiktaş side was a little bitter about the transfer. "I am happy not to have Topuz on our team," said Levent Erdoğan, deputy chairman of Beşiktaş. "It is obvious that the player does not have the fundamentals of being a member of the Beşiktaş community. In both cases, Beşiktaş is the winner here."
Fenerbahçe announced that a ceremony would be held today at 11.30 a.m. at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium to introduce Topuz to media and fans.
The former Kayserispor player was in the center of a transfer saga, stuck between two bitter rivals, Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe, who began a war to sign him, fueling debate on which parties have the power to work a transfer deal.
Beşiktaş was the first team to agree on terms with Topuz, who would later pose for the media with a Beşiktaş jersey. But Topuz still had one year left in his contract with Kayseri, so legally, the route that Fenerbahçe followed was just, according to FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. The world football’s governing body rules state that players under contract are not allowed to make transfer talks without the club’s consent.
That was the way Fenerbahçe followed, the club agreed with Kayserispor first, forcing Topuz, who announced that he was "born a Beşiktaş fan and would not play for Fenerbahçe if paid 50 million liras," to settle terms and put pen to contract.
The Beşiktaş side was a little bitter about the transfer. "I am happy not to have Topuz on our team," said Levent Erdoğan, deputy chairman of Beşiktaş. "It is obvious that the player does not have the fundamentals of being a member of the Beşiktaş community. In both cases, Beşiktaş is the winner here."
Fenerbahçe announced that a ceremony would be held today at 11.30 a.m. at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium to introduce Topuz to media and fans.