The national football player Orkun Kökçü, who plays for Benfica, made striking statements to TRT Spor. Orkun also made a remarkable transfer confession regarding Beşiktaş. "I STRUGGLED IN PORTUGAL"Orkun's statements are as follows; "When I first came to Portugal, I faced some difficulties. I came to Portugal at the age of 22, and until that age, I was living with my family. I struggled with issues like cooking and cleaning; however, my parents supported me by trying to visit me every week. Now, after 15 months, I can say that I have completely adapted to living here. "BEŞİKTAŞ THOUGHT 1 MILLION DOLLARS WAS TOO MUCH"At one point, my transfer to Beşiktaş was on the agenda. At that time, I was in the U19 team at Feyenoord, and they had promised me a chance to join the first team, but they didn't keep that promise after the camp started. I was very upset. I called my father and said, 'I want to leave.' My father was getting to know Erdal Torunoğulları at that time. I insisted on Feyenoord to let me go to Beşiktaş. We met and discussed. Feyenoord didn't want to let me go, but they said 'okay.' At that time, Beşiktaş thought 1 million dollars was too much for my transfer fee. "CLUBS IN THE TOP 6 OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE WERE INTERESTED IN ME"When my former coach Arne Slot came to the job, I had a significant breakthrough in performance during his first season. That year, we reached the final of the Conference League, but unfortunately, we lost. Still, I believe that my performance that season was very good. During the summer, I actually wanted to transfer; some of the big clubs in the top 6 of England were interested in me. We had serious discussions for the transfer, but it didn't happen at the last moment. The following season, Arne Slot made me the team captain, and this responsibility further enhanced my performance. REASON FOR CHOOSING BENFICAAt the end of the season, we became champions, and I was selected as "Player of the Year" in the Netherlands. In the middle of the season, we started transfer talks with various clubs, including the English Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Benfica. When I realized that Benfica was seriously interested in me, I evaluated the situation with my family. I decided to go to Benfica, thinking that instead of staying on the bench in England, I could play regularly at Benfica and further improve my performance. KEREM AKTÜRKOĞLU'S WORDSKerem Aktürkoğlu's transfer to Benfica was also very good for me. I think it affected my performance. Kerem adapted very quickly. We want to do better things there and reach better places. "VAN PERSIE TAUGHT ME TO PLAY VERTICALLY"We played together with Robin van Persie for one season. I knew him from Arsenal, Manchester United, and Fenerbahçe. He loved to mentor young players. He taught me that I needed to play vertically.
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