Is Champions League luring big names to Turkish football?

Liverpool and Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah received multiple lucrative offers from Saudi Pro League clubs over several transfer windows, including heavy interest from teams like Al-Ittihad, but ultimately chose to bypass them in August to sign a two-year deal with Turkish club Trabzonspor.

And all of a sudden it seems the Turkish Super Lig has again revived interest among top players who are choosing to join major Turkish sides like Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor and Besiktas.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebrated move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in December 2022 had triggered some big-name signings like Neymar, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez by Saudi clubs, but it seems like players are now choosing to forego big money for a chance to play in the Champions League.

On Wednesday, former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku joined Fenerbahce. The club did not specify the length of the 33-year-old Belgian's contract, nor his transfer fee.

"It's an honour and a privilege to be joining your club and to join this club," Lukaku said in a video on social media addressed to Fenerbahce's fans.

"I'm fit, 100 per cent, ready to go."

Lukaku, who has also previously played for Chelsea, Inter Milan and Napoli in a glittering but injury-plagued career, is Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 93 goals.

He was included in Belgium's squad for the 2026 World Cup, netting three times as his country reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual winners Spain.

His arrival at the Istanbul-based club boosts further their attacking arsenal after the signing of former Manchester United winger Mason Greenwood.

Lukaku’s Belgian teammate Leandro Trossard also moved from Arsenal to Besiktas this summer, signalling an exodus to major Turkish clubs and if reports are to be believed, his former Gunners’ teammate Gabriel Martinelli is also being lined up for a move to Galatasaray.

Last season’s Super Lig champions already have several big names in Leroy Sane who moved from Bayern Munich last year. Former Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan also joined Galatasaray last year. And then there is Victor Osimhen, the prolific Nigerian striker who moved to Galatasaray two seasons back from Napoli and is currently the highest-paid foreign player in Turkey, earning almost double that of Salah.

Unlike the Saudi Pro League, top players moving to Turkey is not a new phenomenon though. Stars like Gheorge Hagi, Wesley Sneijder, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Roberto Carlos, Robin Van Persie, Mesut Ozil and Guti have all lit up the Super Lig.

But the top Turkish clubs have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of Champions League before and that is something the clubs seem to be looking to address this season. As for the plethora of stars who are again making a move to Turkey, it keeps them interested beyond just the Super Lig.

A win-win situation, if ever there was one.