13.07.2026 23:30
Galatasaray's former head coach Fatih Terim made statements regarding the Erling Haaland transfer he wanted to realize during his time at the yellow-red club. Terim stated that the Norwegian footballer turned away from the yellow-red club's door.
Galatasaray's legendary technical director Fatih Terim shared one of the biggest missed transfer stories in the club's recent history with such clear details for the first time. The experienced manager revealed that Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who took the World Cup by storm, once turned away from Galatasaray's door.
NECATİ ATEŞ AND ÜMİT DAVALA WENT TO WATCH
Fatih Terim stated that Haaland came onto their radar when he was still playing for Molde and starting to shine. Saying that he immediately sent his staff to Norway after receiving a positive report from the scouting team, Terim said, "A positive report came for Haaland. So I sent Necati Ateş and Ümit Davala to watch him. We had training. Just as I was leaving, they called me 2-3 times. I said, 'What's up, guys?' They said, 'Coach, let's sign him immediately. Otherwise, this place is full of agents, they will take him.'"
"WE COULDN'T COVER THE AMOUNT AT THAT TIME"
Despite his assistants' excited call, the only and biggest obstacle to the transfer was the financial budget constraints of the yellow-red club at that time. Stating that they made every scouting move to add the young talent to the squad but economic conditions were not favorable, Terim described the missed historic opportunity with these words: "But we couldn't cover the amount at that time. We have such an important adventure. If we could have managed it a bit, we would have taken him then."