Benfica chief: Player wanted out, his attitude sealed the deal | OneFootball

The president of a European club revealed that it was a Benfica starter who made the deal move forward during a complicated time.

Dismissed from the technical command of Fenerbahçe, José Mourinho saw the president of the Turkish club comment on the context that led to the separation between the parties. For Ali Koç, president of the Istanbul giant, the way the exit from the millionaire competition occurred was "unacceptable" and he also revealed that it was Kerem Akturkoglu who made the deal move forward at a time when it seemed it wouldn't leave Benfica.

"A painful separation. Our chemistry was good, the successes were evident. Bringing him here was already a great success. Above all, it was difficult to part with someone who was my friend." The leader confesses that the elimination from the Champions League playoff was the last straw.

"When we brought Mourinho, we knew he played with a strong defense. But at the end of the season, we talked about the need to play more aggressively. Our DNA is to score 99 goals and accumulate 99 points. Being eliminated by Benfica is not a problem, but the way we were eliminated is unacceptable. That made me feel that last season's football would continue," he explained.

The president considered that the football presented by the Turks was not desirable: "At this point, we parted ways because we believed this squad would play better football. This football works in Europe, but in Turkey, we have to dominate most games. In every game, we struggle to recover and take the lead."

Regarding the signing of Kerem Akturkoglu, Ali Koç confided that the player's will was decisive: "We stayed in Portugal after the game against Benfica to conclude the transfer of Kerem Akturkoglu. We returned because the transfer was not progressing, but Kerem showed an attitude that allowed us to sign him," he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.