Galatasaray VP sends warning to Juventus and Inter: ‘Not the result of luck’
Galatasaray vice-President Abdullah Kavukcu has warned Juventus that last week’s 5-2 victory in the Champions League was ‘not the result of luck’ and says that he is ‘sure’ that Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu will play for the club at some stage in his career: ‘We’ve never hidden our interest’.
The Galatasaray executive spoke in-depth to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the second leg of their Champions League play-off round tie against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night.
Galatasaray thumped Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul last week, which leaves Luciano Spalletti’s side needing a victory by three goals to keep the tie alive and a victory by four goals if they are to avoid a penalty shoot-out.
Galatasaray VP: ‘The 5-2 against Juventus was not the result of luck’
“The 5-2 against Juventus was not the result of luck,” Kavukcu told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We want to raise the bar, we’re only at the beginning of our project,” he warned.
Despite their enormous advantage at the half-way stage of the Champions League play-off tie, Kavukcu insists that there is still work to do against the Bianconeri on Wednesday night.
“I’m aware of our strength, but Juve are still Juve and it will be difficult to defend the result at the Allianz Stadium,” he said.
“Spalletti is a great coach and has real champions in his squad. If we scored five goals, it is thanks to our fans, who created a crazy atmosphere, and also thanks to those players who took to the pitch. We’re building a team of top players. We want to become the best in the world.
“It will take us a few years, but the project is well underway. Our fans are scattered all over the world, and players settle in quickly in Istanbul. When we present our plans to them, it’s difficult for them to say no to playing for us.”
Among the star players of this current Galatasaray side is former Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who joined the Turkish giants in a permanent, €75m deal last summer after spending the 2024-25 season on loan in Istanbul.
“People talked about it like it was a crazy investment when we signed him. I think Victor has proved everyone wrong considering that his value has doubled. We know that he’s one of th best centre-forwards in the world and we want to achieve big goals together.”
It is no secret that Galatasaray have been eyeing another Serie A star to add to their ranks. Inter midfielder and Turkiye national team captain Calhanoglu has been the subject of interest from Galatasaray in several of the recent transfer windows.
The most recent approach for Calhanoglu came in January.
“Yes, we made another attempt for Calhanoglu,” Kavukcu said. “There was a discussion with Inter directors, but we were told that Hakan would not leave during the winter window.
“We’ve never hidden our interest. Hakan is an icon of the Turkish national team and is a Galatasaray supporter. I don’t know when, but I’m sure that one day he will play for us.”