02.04.2026 21:20
Umut Meraş, a football player from Eyüpspor who has also worn the jerseys of the Turkish National Team and Beşiktaş, stated that he was invited to every national team camp while playing football in Le Havre, but after signing a contract with the black-and-whites, he was never called up again, which he found to be a very interesting situation for himself.
Umut Meraş, the experienced left-back of Eyüpspor, one of the teams in the Trendyol Super League, made statements to İHA reporter regarding the national team, Beşiktaş, and his transfer dreams.
''IF AN OFFER COMES, I WILL LEAVE IMMEDIATELY''
Umut Meraş responded to the question, "If another offer comes, will you go abroad?" by saying, "I will leave immediately. I could leave tomorrow, for example (laughing). Actually, my dream was the English Premier League. Because I think it is the most challenging, compact, and enjoyable league in the world. In terms of fans, stadium, game, and tempo... Of course, to be honest, I don't think I can realize this dream at this age. They have their criteria. To be able to transfer there, you need to be currently national. The budgets are already very high there. But of course, I have the thought of going back to Europe right now," he answered.
''WHEN IT COMES TO BEŞİKTAŞ, I WAS NOT CALLED TO THE NATIONAL TEAM''
Umut Meraş explained that he was invited to every national team camp before transferring to Beşiktaş, but he was never called after signing a contract with Beşiktaş, saying, "I transferred to Beşiktaş, signed the contract, and since that day, I haven't gone to the national team even once. I don't know why. It's the discretion of the coaches in the national team at that time. Of course, it was an interesting situation. I never went to the national team, even though I played 28 matches in my first year at that time. I was playing in the Champions League, and I was invited to every camp before that. Then there was a change in the national team, and Stefan Kuntz came at that time. Suddenly, I was not called. We were doing well with the national team; we had qualified for the European Championship. I came to Beşiktaş. It is one of the biggest clubs in Turkey, but I was never called to the national team even once. It was very interesting for me. I was even questioning myself, 'Is there a problem with me?' but being called from the French 2nd League and not being called from Beşiktaş is a bit strange," he expressed.
''WE CAN ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN THE WORLD CUP''
Umut Meraş expressed his belief that the national football team, which gained the right to participate in the World Cup after 24 years, will be successful, saying, "Because there are very talented players. For example, I really like Kenan, and Arda is already... Hakan is the captain there. Right now, the synergy is also nice. With such energy and synergy formed, why not? We can go there and achieve success as well," he said.