18.05.2026 00:40
Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk spoke after the match, where his team lost to Kasımpaşa away in the 34th and final week of the Süper Lig. Addressing the future of Lemina and Icardi, Okan Buruk said, "We are in talks with Icardi and Lemina. Progress has been made with Lemina. Our president will meet with Icardi."
Galatasaray Head Coach Okan Buruk stated that they have achieved their goals for the 2025-2026 football season. Buruk made statements at the press conference held after their 1-0 away defeat to Kasımpaşa in the 34th and final week of the Trendyol Süper Lig.
"WE COULDN'T TURN THE MATCH AROUND" Buruk, who noted that they completed a long season as Süper Lig champions, said, "We announced our championship last week. Today, our goal was to win this match as well. We did not evaluate Barış Alper Yılmaz, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Yunus Akgün, and Uğurcan Çakır, who will play for the Turkish National Team and who got a lot of playing time with us throughout the season. They wanted to rest. They served us greatly this season both in the Süper Lig and the Champions League. They also have a World Cup ahead where they will serve. We rested them so they could be ready for that. Torreira experienced a negative event last week. He also wanted to go to his country. Osimhen was suspended. Despite that, we were on the field with a good squad. We tried to score from the beginning to the end of the match. We hit the post twice. We could have been more productive, but our opponent defended very well. For them, this was a final match for staying in the league. In the second half, they stayed back and closed down well. At the end of the day, we couldn't turn the match around. I congratulate my players who wanted to do their best today after a very long marathon." he said.
"OUR GOAL IS TO BUILD A GOOD SQUAD" Buruk, who expressed that they have achieved the goals they set at the beginning of the season, said, "We had a challenging season. We played in the Champions League Round of 16, and we became champions in Turkey. We would have liked to go a bit further in Europe, but we did our best. Our goal is to build a good squad for the new season. We have started transfer work for this. From now on, we will focus on transfer work."
"THE FENERBAHÇE DERBY DETERMINED THE CHAMPION THIS SEASON" Okan Buruk stated that the turning point of the season was the Fenerbahçe derby in the 31st week, which they won 3-0. Emphasizing that they have left behind a season with a lot of matches, Buruk said, "The most critical match for us was the Fenerbahçe match we won 3-0. That derby determined the champion this season."
"THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GETS MUCH HARDER EVERY YEAR" Okan Buruk said that the UEFA Champions League, where they competed in the Round of 16 this season, gets harder every year. Upon being reminded that on the 26th anniversary of the yellow-red team's UEFA Cup victory on May 17, 2000, two important footballers of the squad faced each other as coaches, Buruk noted the following:
"Today is an important day. We celebrate the day a Turkish team won a cup every year. It was a very valuable day. Coach Emre did not play in the final because he was suspended, but I was on the field. Emre coach had a significant contribution on the way to the final. Playing in Europe, beating non-Turkish teams is in Galatasaray's genes. We need to work very hard for that. The Champions League gets much harder every year compared to the past. The squad value between teams is increasing gradually. The English, Spanish, and French teams have strengthened their squads a lot. Turkish teams are also covering ground to get closer to them. We covered significant ground this year. We will put in the same efforts from now on to reach those levels. Player quality and choices are very important to compete. You need to build squads close to them to be competitive. Galatasaray's squad value is very high compared to the Turkish League, but relegated teams in the Premier League have already reached this value. Squad value isn't everything, but as a Turkish team, we need to do things close to them to go higher. It can be considered within a long-term structuring. You can also do this with short-term ready-made players."
"AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED WITH LEMINA, OUR PRESIDENT WILL MEET WITH ICARDI" Buruk argued that the 10+4 foreign player rule announced in the Süper Lig will affect the struggle of Turkish teams in Europe, saying, "With the foreign player rule announced last week, the upcoming transfer period will be very challenging. This rule will particularly make it difficult for us to achieve our goals in the Champions League. The success of teams in Europe will be affected. We had a good year in Europe. We had plans to increase squad quality on top of that, but the new foreign player rule ties our hands. This rule changes every year. I think teams are suffering great financial losses. You have the option to take 4 players under the age of 23. We have Renato Nhaga. Excluding players whose contracts have ended or who were on loan, and including Icardi and Lemina, we have 10 foreign players. An agreement was reached with Lemina. Our president will meet with Icardi. In the current system, our 10 foreign player slots are full. We only have the option to take 3 players under the age of 23. Young and good players also don't want to come to Turkey. Or you will have to pay very large fees. Nowadays, the cheapest player talked about in Europe starts at 20 million euros. Galatasaray bought Osimhen for 75 million euros last season, but this season Osimhen's price seems cheap. Making transfers and bringing in players is difficult. The current rule will also make things harder for teams like us. Our work in terms of transfers will be more difficult."
"WITH THE NEW RULE, WE COULD FALL BELOW THE LEVEL OF LAST SEASON'S SQUAD" Buruk said that buying the transfer rights of on-loan players Sacha Boey, Noa Lang, and Yaser Asprilla is difficult under the new foreign player rule. When asked how they would decide regarding the players on loan, the yellow-red team's head coach stated, "Sacha Boey and Noa Lang are players we like and who have given us significant support. The foreign rule complicates your job. You need to make choices. Both were beneficial to us. They are players we are considering and want to take. We don't know what we will do with the new foreign player rule or how our squad planning will be. It's hard to figure this out. While setting Champions League goals and wanting to advance and improve the squad, with the new rule we could fall below the level of last season's squad."
ICARDI'S FUTURE Galatasaray Head Coach Buruk stated that Mauro Icardi, whose contract has ended, is a very important player for them.
Asked about the Argentine star's future, Buruk said: "We had a meeting with our president regarding this matter. Our president will sit down and talk with Icardi's agent. The wishes and thoughts of both sides are important. We can say something clear after the meeting. Icardi is very important and valuable to us. He is one of the most important players in Galatasaray's history. He is one of the team captains. He has done very significant services for Galatasaray. He is loved by everyone."
''AFTER WINNING THIS YEAR, OUR GOAL IS THE 27TH CHAMPIONSHIP'' Okan Buruk said their goal is to win the 5th consecutive championship, and the 27th overall. When asked if he would go to Europe if he leads Galatasaray to 5 consecutive league titles, Buruk stated: "After winning this year, our goal became the 27th championship. We want to break the target of five consecutive championships. We are focused solely on that. I am a son of Galatasaray who grew up through its youth system, was part of great successes, and has seen 11 championships—7 as a player and 4 as a coach. I entered through this door at the age of 11. Being here is very important to me. I am living my dream. I want to live this dream as long as I can. Everything is for Galatasaray's success and future. I want to be here as long as I have a duty. In football, you never know what will happen, but my first thought, wish, and dream is to experience many more championships here."