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Football

12th Aug 2018

Galatasaray official blames Donald Trump for club’s lack of signings

Wayne Farry

Donald Trump

You may not be aware of this, but Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America

To be fair, he’s a quiet, solemn man who likes to keep himself to himself, so if you haven’t heard the name “Donald Trump” uttered throughout the past three years then it is entirely understandable.

Nonetheless, he is the president of the United States and as such his decisions have a major impact on both his country and the world at large.

If he publicises a book written by a member of FOX News’ team of cogent moderates, that book is going to sell like hot cakes on a cold day. If he gives out about NFL players taking the knee to protest racial inequality and police brutality, those players are going to be accused of a lack of patriotism by his supporters.

And, as it turns out, if he criticises the nation of Turkey then that criticism could mean that the country’s football clubs struggle to sign players during the transfer window.

According to the vice president of Turkish Super Lig side Galatasaray, Abdurrahim Albayrak, it is partly Trump’s fault that his side have struggled to finance signings this summer.

That is because Turkey’s currency, the Turkish Lira, is in a bit of trouble recently, a situation which many believe was exacerbated by a Trump tweet announcing tariffs on steel and aluminium due to Lira’s recent slide.

Turkey’s currency has been in a nosedive since the start of the year, losing 34 percent of its value against the dollar in that time. As such, it has drastically affected business being done in the country, and football clubs are not different.

According to Albayrak, the Lira’s plunge has led to Galatasaray’s debt increasing by 25 percent, meaning that the club cannot afford to buy any new players.

His exact words were: “There is a man in America… God damn him, he ruined us. I’m talking about Trump … Allah’s punishment ruined us. Nor can you remove it because our debt has increased by 25 percent in one day.”

Expect a calm and measure response from Trump describing Galatasaray as a “Z-list club” any day now.