The cold between Fortuna Sittard and Burak Yilmaz seems out of the blue. The Turkish top striker reported back to training on Wednesday. In addition, the Limburg Eredivisie club has paid the overdue salaries for the month of March.
Star player Yilmaz caused a sensation on Sunday evening with a message on social media, in which he alluded to a departure. He not only surprised fans and followers with this: the management of Fortuna Sittard also read the message with raised eyebrows.
The folds have now been ironed out, although it is still not entirely clear why Yilmaz suddenly seemed to say goodbye to the club. The 37-year-old attacker reported back to the club on Wednesday and trained with the rest of the selection.
Yilmaz’s stay in Sittard can be called wonderful anyway. The 77-time international of Turkey surprised friend and foe last summer by signing a contract with Fortuna. The fact that the Limburg club is in Turkish hands undoubtedly played a role in that decision.
Fortuna pays overdue salaries
The soap around Yilmaz was not the only issue that caused unrest at Fortuna this week. At the beginning of this week it was announced that the club was late in paying the players’ salaries. This caused the necessary uncertainty within the selection.
The players would consider a strike, but this fire has now also been extinguished. The club has paid the back wages. General manager Ivo Pfennings says in conversation with The Limburger that it was a one-time problem caused by unforeseen costs at the stadium. The Yilmaz case was separate from the payment arrears.
Despite all the unrest, Fortuna is heading for survival in the Eredivisie. The team of coach Julio Velázquez currently occupies eleventh place and is eight points above the relegation zone.
