Galatasaray President Reveals: ‘We Wanted To Sign Hakan Calhanoglu, Inter Milan Didn’t Want To Sell Him’ | OneFootball

The President of Galatasray says that the club wanted to sign Hakan Calhanoglu, but that “Inter Milan didn’t want to sell.”

Galatasaray President Okan Buruk spoke to Turkish outlet Now Spor, via FCInterNews, about his club’s highly public pursuit of the Nerazzurri midfielder this summer.

Turkish champions Galatasaray spent several weeks chasing Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu this summer.

However, the Istanbul giants never managed to make an offer that convinced Inter.

In the meantime, though, the transfer rumours were rampant. Furthermore, they made some waves in the Inter squad.

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez all but called Calhanoglu out.

Speaking frankly after Inter’s Club World Cup exit against Fluminense, the Argentine implored “whoever wants to leave, leave.”

Then, the following day Calhanoglu responded to Martinez’s comments with a social media post of his own. He not-so-subtly commented that “respect is a two-way street.”

Galatasaray President: “We Wanted Calhanoglu, Inter Didn’t Want To Sell”

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Galatasaray President Okan Buruk looked back that “Hakan was a player we really wanted to sign.”

“He’s a huge Galatasaray fan,” he said of Calhanoglu. “He made a big statement about making a major sacrifice in the future.”

Buruk revealed that “we made another attempt to sign him last week.”

“But Inter said that they weren’t willing to sell him.”

“They said that they would if we made a much higher offer,” Buruk added.

“But we made an attempt,” the Galatasaray President made clear.

Buruk then noted that “Ilkay [Gundogan] sacrificed some of his wages, and Hakan would have done the same.”

“But his club expected a high fee. For Inter to sell to us, we would have had to spent €40-45 million.”

“He’s a top player,” Buruk said of Calhanoglu. “That’s why a deal for him was so hard for us.”

“There was another attempt last week. Hakan also made sacrifices.”

“But Inter said that they didn’t want to do the transfer,” claimed the Galatasaray President. “The reason the transfer didn’t happen is because Inter didn’t want to sell him.”

“And I don’t think anything would have changed that,” he concluded.