Marked for Cengiz Ünder
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Sep 2027
Whatever happens, Fenerbahce do not lose
15 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market6 Sep 2027
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Fred reports back to Fenerbahce with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Market6 Sep 2027
Nathan Aké wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Fenerbahce hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ederson signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ederson and Fenerbahce agree another 2 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ederson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Jun 2027
The fee is $14.7M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Sporting Kansas City drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Market28 Jun 2027
Besiktas say no — this time
The offer from Hatayspor for Kassoum Ouattara was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market28 Jun 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Besiktas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Kristjan Asllani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market28 Jun 2027
The name of Mustafa Hekimoğlu has come up in conversations Besiktas were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Cengiz Ünder gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The terraces28 Jun 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Dejan Joveljić
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Besiktas has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Loan watch28 Jun 2027
31 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Jun 2027
Trabzonspor come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Besiktas did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Cengiz Ünder: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Besiktas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad21 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Besiktas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Kassoum Ouattara again, and this time the name on the line is Hatayspor. Besiktas are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Felix Uduokhai, and the manager let it.
Loan watch21 Jun 2027
26 appearances at Trabzonspor and the goals keep coming. Besiktas are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Besiktas may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 May 2027
Orkun Kökçü in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Besiktas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I watch every Besiktas game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Inter runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 May 2027
Besiktas are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 75 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad17 May 2027
Kristjan Asllani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 May 2027
Cengiz Ünder knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Besiktas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Loan watch17 May 2027
16 appearances away from home and 4 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Market17 May 2027
The Amir Murillo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Besiktas know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match22 Feb 2027
Besiktas are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 52 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Cengiz Ünder: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Besiktas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Besiktas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Feb 2027
Still nobody has beaten Besiktas
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match20 Feb 2027
A 2‑1 win over Antalyaspor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.41 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.23, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Felix Uduokhai will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Nobody could get near Jota Silva
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Orkun Kökçü was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match13 Feb 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Besiktas did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Marked 8.80 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match13 Feb 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Fenerbahce leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Cengiz Ünder asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
25 appearances at Besiktas and the goals keep coming. Besiktas are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Besiktas would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Jan 2027
3‑0, and Orkun Kökçü took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Besiktas tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market25 Jan 2027
The chase for Federico Bonazzoli ended with $11.4M changing hands and Cremonese out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Match25 Jan 2027
Besiktas up to position 3
44 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market25 Jan 2027
Wilfred Ndidi hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Besiktas can pretend not to have heard.
Market25 Jan 2027
Ravan come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Besiktas did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Václav Černý was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Marked 9.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Nobody could get near Jota Silva
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Dec 2026
Derby day misery for Besiktas
Losing 0‑1 is one thing; losing to Galatasaray in a derby is a wound that takes months to close.
Market7 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Václav Černý in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Besiktas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kassoum Ouattara and Besiktas agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
6 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
$3.7M on the table at Besiktas
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Nobody could get near Jota Silva
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Cengiz Ünder gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A mark of 5.73 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 42. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Besiktas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match31 Oct 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Besiktas did not have in the autumn.
Match31 Oct 2026
Sivasspor made Besiktas work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
149% of the income goes out in wages at Besiktas
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
The one thing Milot Rashica could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad2 Nov 2026
El Bilal Touré wants a proper job in this side
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — El Bilal Touré has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Besiktas know, and have known for weeks.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 45. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Václav Černý was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market7 Sep 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Besiktas will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
330% of the income goes out in wages at Besiktas
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match5 Sep 2026
It needed Oh Hyeon-Gyu to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Konyaspor, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cengiz Ünder, and the manager let it.