"Brad Friedel responds to commission allegations live on air."

Brad Friedel, who was dismissed from his position as a board advisor at Beşiktaş, made striking statements regarding the commission allegations and controversial issues surrounding him.

"TOO MANY LIES HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT ME"

Friedel's statements to HT Sport are as follows;

"There will not be an interview where I will reveal Beşiktaş's secrets. So far, I have remained silent out of respect for Beşiktaş due to the matches against Hatayspor and Maccabi. Unfortunately, too many lies have been told about me.

"I CAME TO BEŞİKTAŞ AFTER GETTING APPROVAL"

On May 10, I received an offer to become the sports director of Beşiktaş. My lawyer in the USA had discussions with Kaan Şakul and Hasan Arat between May 10 and June 2. All our conversations were about me becoming the sports director. Two days before I arrived, I had a meeting with President Hasan. I was asked whether my title would be that of a presidential advisor. I asked whether my duties and responsibilities would remain the same, and once I received approval, I came to Beşiktaş."

"I HAVE ALWAYS FOLLOWED GALATASARAY"

I played football with Tugay for 10 years. I spoke with Burak Elmas in Turkey. He was a personal friend, and I always communicated with him. I have always followed Turkish football and Galatasaray.

"I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS"

• Were you only responsible for the sales part at Beşiktaş?

I was never informed about such a thing. Until 6-7 days ago, I was not aware of this because I did not use social media.

STATEMENTS OF SAMET AYBABA

The words of Samet Aybaba were translated to me. I understand that Samet is a legend for Beşiktaş fans. I was not aware of the dialogue between Hasan Arat and Samet Aybaba. I also did not know what he would be dealing with. I can understand his anger from his job description perspective.

"WHY IS HE ANGRY WITH ME?"

I never understood why Samet Aybaba was initially angry with me. I am not a bad person by nature. If there are lies about me, I will of course defend my rights. I try to be constructive when there is a problem.

THE SEPARATION PROCESS FROM BEŞİKTAŞ

I was sleeping around 11 PM. Someone called around 10:30-11:00. I learned this from the person in charge of performance. Sercan Dikme said he was one of the first to tell me, but that is incorrect. President Hasan Arat apologized to me for this situation. He thought another manager had told me, but that was not the case.

"I NEVER INTERFERED WITH TACTICS"

When I first arrived, we had 56 players. We had 23 foreign players, and I needed to reduce this to 12. Then it increased to 14. Some names in the club made statements suggesting that we would sell many players, which complicated our work. As we know within the club, we needed 2-3 transfer periods as planned. Hasan, Hüseyin, Kaan, and I formed a committee consisting of Gio and names from the technical staff. Kaan Şakul had no technical involvement in transfers. Both a large number of players needed to be sold, and the dynamics of transferring players who could increase their value were very difficult. Initially, I was receiving reports from Gio about the performances he expected for each position. I never interfered with tactics.

"I NEVER INTERFERED WITH GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST"

• Did you interfere with Giovanni van Bronckhorst's tactics?

This was a statement made to create problems. I never interfered with Gio in any way. I never had such authority. Sometimes he would tell me the lineups in advance. When I received performance-related data, I communicated it to my scout team. We proceeded in this way. At this stage, there was nothing financially. We communicated a list of players to Gio. We informed Hasan, Hüseyin, and Kaan about the players Gio liked. After this point, we received financial feedback to see if we could make this transfer. If we could, we continued; if not, we left it there. Some transfers were halted in the first period of the transfer season. I have no evidence as to why, but some transfers were stopped. Sometimes it is normal for this to be halted at the management level.

"THERE WAS INCREDIBLE PRESSURE"

So far, a player list of 750 has been prepared, and this list has always grown. Removing the agent issue in between is particularly difficult in Turkish football. It seems that some agents were annoyed. It also takes time to do something. Of course, to build, results on the field are needed. Unfortunately, there was incredible pressure on the technical team and players as well. If everyone knows that you want to sell something, and if the Saudi market is collapsing compared to the past, and if the salaries of players in the club are very high and there are no offers from Europe except for the top 5 teams and under-21 players, we had to create many salary quotas just to register the players we would sign. From the perspective of European football, we had a transfer season that could be considered successful. We needed time, but there was incredible pressure.

"MY JOB WAS NOT JUST TO SELL"

My job was not just to sell players. I was involved with the scout, analytics, performance, and medical departments. Some teams in Europe also received their money late. I think Kaan is being blamed excessively. Kaan was not involved in any aspect of the transfers technically. I absolutely understand why the fans are upset; I have been in football for a long time, and I completely understand this.

"I WILL NOT NAME NAMES"

I understand that someone is unhappy behind the scenes. This is directed at just one person.

• Who is this unhappy person behind the scenes?

It is already clear that what has been done so far will not be successful in the long term. We were laying the groundwork for long-term success. I will not name names at this time.

ALLEGATIONS ABOUT COMMISSIONS

• What do you think about the commission allegations?

I will answer with three points. First, I have never received a commission or bonus from Beşiktaş. Second, if Samet published my contract, and if this contract is correct and he published it, then the Beşiktaş Club acted against the confidentiality provisions of the contract. This is unethical. Third, if the contract published by Samet Aybaba contains false information, then manipulation is taking place here. Manipulation is being done through Fırat Günayer and Sercan Dikme. I will adhere to the confidentiality of the contract.

"MANY THINGS ARE BEING PRESENTED TO THE MEDIA TO MAKE ME AND KAAN LOOK BAD"

After being dismissed, it was said that I wanted to hold a meeting with the players, which Hüseyin rejected. This is a lie. I only had a good relationship with Hüseyin, and I still do. It was said that I could not go to the Turkey-Wales match because all my expenses were cut. I have a photo from the match, which is also incorrect. It was said that I went to Hungary by myself because Hüseyin did not send me, which is also a lie. Many things are being presented to the media to make me and Kaan look bad. I knew that some information had been leaked since the end of July. My only job was to work with Hasan, Hüseyin, Kaan, and Gio to build the best squad for Beşiktaş.

ROSIER TRANSFER

• There were claims that Valentin Rosier was sent to Leganes for free and that he had close ties with the president of Leganes.

Who is the president of Leganes? Can I search on Google? Jeff Luhnow. I have never met him. Who said I had a close relationship with the president of Leganes?"

• It was written like that on social media.

Rosier was very good a few years ago; I do not question his talents. His market value dropped during his time at Nice. He was not happy. He had a very heavy contract.

"I THINK WE WERE SUCCESSFUL"

We had 56 players. 31 of them needed to leave. Everyone knew we had to sell. We acted within this environment. Also, know that when offers came to the players, they were much lower than the salaries they earned. No Western European club offers a transfer fee for your player over 28 years old. At the same time, there was a compliance process with regulations. There were days when we worked 20 hours; if you had been in my room that day, you would have seen that we were successful. Considering what Hasan, Hüseyin, Kaan, I, Gio, and the technical team did, I think we were successful. Of course, some things could have been better. We acted in the most successful way along with what was done within the club.

JOAO MARIO TRANSFER

I do not understand why the Joao Mario transfer is being talked about so much. Who did not want Joao Mario? No one is naming names. We looked for a left winger for months. Maybe the club is still looking. A transfer was wanted for a left winger. Unfortunately, just like with Angelo, someone leaked the name. Chelsea was not pleased when they saw the news in the media. Still, we had a good chance for this transfer. Unfortunately, on the last day of the Saudi transfer, he went for a transfer fee of 23 million euros. We could not compete with that.

UDUOKHAI, IMMOBILE, AND NDOUR TRANSFERS

Felix was a player who could bring future profits in terms of age and quality. His speed and strength are undeniable. Cher Ndour was a promising player around 19-20 years old. Can Keleş is very young and a good player. From the moment we got him, all the words around were very negative. It was bad that journalists claiming to be from Beşiktaş spread such negative statements. He was a player who could be both loaned and sold in the future.

I cannot give figures regarding the transfer, but both are very good people. They are very talented players. Both are at different points in their careers. We brought in four experienced players: Rafa, Immobile, Mario, Paulista. We brought in the other four players for investment purposes. Felix is a strong and good player, a good person. Ciro is the same.

WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT FOR BEŞİKTAŞ?

We had a good preseason. But the real strength of the club would be evident with the first bump. When we lost to Ajax away, all the background events and the information given to social media, the media's pressure on the players, and the pressure on the management and the coach were growing. At this stage, the only thing to do was to win matches, and this was becoming increasingly difficult with that pressure. It was about what was happening inside.