Turkish media: Mircea Lucescu insulted Besiktas

Turkish media reported details of the negotiations between former Dynamo Kyiv coach Mircea Lucescu and the Besiktas management.

The portal Fotospor.com published Lucescu's statements during negotiations with Besiktas representative Samet Aibaba in Bucharest. Because of these statements, in the end, no final agreement was reached with the Romanian specialist.

"Besiktas has become unrecognisable. I watched the matches. The team is in a difficult situation. Only I can save them."

"Nobody knows the Turkish league better than me. A new coach won't be able to recognise that. If you invite a specialist who doesn't know the championship, it will make the situation even worse."

"I work as long as my health allows. We will draw up my contract accordingly. You know what kind of salary I received while working in Turkey and Ukraine. That's why we are talking about money."

"I deal with transfers. I choose the players, bring them in. No one can interfere with my work during the transfer. I have made millions of dollars on the sale of Shakhtar players. I can also do it at Besiktas."

"I choose my assistants. I will invite both Turkish and foreign."

The source in his piece labelled these talking points as insulting to Besiktas, after which Aibaba broke off talks and contacted Fernando Santos, with whom the final agreement was reached.