Navigating Integration in Türkiye: A Player’s Story

How is your integration going in Türkiye?

“I didn’t want to join Turkey but my opinion has already changed. After a few days, I found pleasure again and everything is more pleasant than I anticipated. My partner was a little afraid of life there. She didn’t see herself settling in Türkiye. When I was supposed to get on the plane, I turned around. I had a bout of stress. I missed my flight and returned to Düsseldorf airport thinking I was going to take the next one. I walked alone for an hour and a half to finally get home. I took the plane two days later and I don’t regret my choice.”

How did your transfer go?

“I signed on the last day of the Belgian transfer window but no document had been sent. I later learned that La Gantoise was interested. I wanted to go back but everything was not clearly communicated to me. Michel Louwagie was initially reluctant about my arrival in Ghent before agreeing to collaborate when he understood that Hugo Cuypers was going to leave (Editor’s note: to Chicago). The deal would have collapsed because another agent acted as intermediary.”

Mogi Bayat?

“I think so but it didn’t matter to me. I wanted the transfer to happen. My first week in Türkiye was complicated because of this. There was obviously an agreement with La Gantoise but I was told nothing. Otherwise, I would have pushed to sign there. But as they didn’t tell me anything, I signed in Türkiye. We will see in a few years if I have the chance to return to Ghent. There I am focused on my new club and I feel really good there. Life is pleasant, well organized and I am lucky to live by the sea.”

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You wanted to stay in Belgium to stay close to your son Mason. Isn’t the distance difficult to manage?

“I only see him when I pass through Belgium. I am with him for five days then I don’t see him for two months. It’s difficult.”

Why didn’t you sign with OHL or Mechelen who were interested and could have allowed you to stay in Belgium? Were you too expensive?

“I never discussed numbers with these clubs but money was not my priority.”

And could you have stayed another six months at Anderlecht and completed your contract?

“I thought about it with the desire to be champion but this title would not have been mine. Afterwards, I think I will be entitled to part of my champion bonus (laughs). I will donate it with great pleasure to a good cause.”

How were you received in Anderlecht during your visit just before joining us?

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Riemer is a good person even if he found excuses not to make me play.

“I received a very warm welcome. Brian Riemer? I never had any problems with him. He explained to me why I wasn’t playing. I didn’t agree with him but at least he was honest on that level. For other things, I sometimes wondered if I should shake hands with someone who was lying to me. In the end, I was always respectful because I think he is a good person.”

What was his explanation for keeping you apart?

“There was the fact that I was at the end of my contract and that I was making a lot of money. But I wasn’t the only one, several players earn more than me. Then, youth had to get their chance. It was nonsense, excuses not to make me play. Two months after pushing me out (Editor’s note: end of August), the staff took me back.”

In January, they chose to promote Nilson Angulo in your place…

“And they told another player (Editor’s note: Alexis Flips) that if he stayed, he would get more playing time. Be honest, say that you don’t need me anymore, that I don’t deserve to play . There have been too many words and lies and too little truth.”

Like this famous friendly match affair, explain…

“I was not selected to face Kortrijk and I had to play a friendly against Beveren. I got a phone call before the match saying I could play but only 30 minutes. To put who in my place? Justin Lonwijk and other players like that. Lonwijk was on loan (Editor’s note: and already left this winter for Fortuna Sittard) so I don’t understand the logic given that the fact that the club was not going to be able to sell me was used as an argument for my sidelining. I didn’t want to play any more and then I told myself that refusing would mean Anderlecht was right.”

Have you had any moments of feeling really fed up?

“I had two very complicated weeks. I didn’t want to come anymore, but I did it anyway. I finally got my act together and I think we saw that when I was called back. If I was preferred to others to replace the injured, I owe it solely to my work.”

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I’m not a fan of Fredberg and I don’t believe what he says.

Your relationship was more tense with Jesper Fredberg…

“I spoke very little with him but when he was supposed to have a meeting with my agent, he wasn’t even at the club. OK, you don’t want me anymore but being present on a date is a minimum. He talked a lot about me and got stuck in his own lie. I’m not a fan of him. If he says something, I don’t believe him.”

This resentment dates from your failed transfer to Sint-Truiden this summer for which you consider that he did not help you because he asked you to sit on a nice sum of money.

“He told me I had to make concessions if I wanted to leave. But it’s not my problem if Anderlecht decided to offer me this contract when I arrived. I had decided not to give up, not to give any gifts. He did everything to convince me. ‘You may no longer be on the field or in the selection.’ I told him it was no problem, that I would continue training. Sometimes amazing things happen.”

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I was no longer injured at the end of January but the club played with my feet so me too.

There were also two stories about your absence from training: the club said you were injured and you considered yourself ready to travel with the group to Tunisia…

“It was the most painful moment for me. I wasn’t hurt. I had some pain but two other players (Editor’s note: Vertonghen and Dolberg) were really injured and left with the group. The team manager knew five days in advance who was in the selection for the internship. I felt like I wasn’t going to be there but I heard the news from club physios and not directly from the coach. The minimum amount of respect would have been to warn me in advance and not just before departure. There, I got fed up and decided not to do anything for ten days. ‘If you say I’m hurt, then there’s not much I can do.’ I ran a bit with a physiotherapist. In January, I only trained once with the group. If you play with my feet, I do it too. I was perfectly fit to train.”

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Would you have agreed to be a shadow player until the end of the season and just come and help when the team needed you?

“Riemer asked me if I preferred to play 90 minutes with Sint-Truiden or 15 with Anderlecht. I told the truth: playing with Anderlecht, even if it meant starting on the bench. I wanted to end my time at Anderlecht on a good note. Score, be champion. But it didn’t work.”

We have sometimes told you on the sidelines of the group, particularly during team building…

“I once left a party with the team because I felt bad. I was sick for two days. Then, I didn’t feel like I was part of this group.”

Some have said that you have been sick a lot in recent months. Were you acting?

“No, I really got sick four times. Before the match in Eupen, I was ill during the week and I was able to train the last two days. The coach didn’t select me. I came out after training on the day of the match. It was said about me that it was not logical for me to go out if I was not fit to play. But it was a staff decision. I wasn’t feeling good about myself at that time, which explains why I felt bad several times. The mind weighs on the body. I was told that I shouldn’t be negative given what I was earning but it was hard to see that the club was doing everything to push me down. I had lost my motivation but I found it again. Anderlecht failed to break me.”

2024-03-27 19:00:00
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