Özbek made a statement at the September ordinary council meeting of the yellow-red club held at Galatasaray High School.
Wishing the new academic year to be beneficial, Özbek said, "Education has a special importance for Galatasaray. We are a sports club whose roots are in education and born from this culture. We see it as valuable that our young people receive a good education and grow up as Ataturkist individuals who are beneficial to their country and society."
"THIS PROJECT HAS ABOUT 3 YEARS"
Continuing his speech by commemorating Galatasaray legend Metin Oktay, Özbek said, "We commemorated him at his grave last Sunday. Metin Oktay has been one of the greatest values of this community, not only with the goals he scored and the successes he achieved, but also with his commitment to Galatasaray, his character, sportsmanship and stance. His love for Galatasaray and the values he represents continue to guide us."
Stating that the club has many ongoing projects, Özbek said:
"We have almost reached the end of the Leo Residence project. We have partially started the deliveries. One of our other important projects is Aslantepe Valley. The project, which is on approximately 62 decares of land, is the project of the century for Galatasaray. We have started the construction of the facilities that Galatasaray Club should have within the framework of its pioneering identity. Galatasaray Club has a pioneering identity in all Olympic sports. Galatasaray brought these sports to Türkiye and made Turkish youth love them. The sports complex we will build here will be the project of the century in the future. "It will serve volleyball, swimming and indoor sports. Our construction is continuing successfully. We are currently doing some piling and excavation work. We plan to complete the project as soon as possible. This project will pay for itself in 10 years."
Touching on the latest status of the project in Florya, Dursun Özbek said, "Florya is a facility where our football grew. 22 decares of it were the deeded property of Galatasaray Club. The remaining 42-43 decares were a public land. We completed the zoning works of the land during my presidency in 2017. We put forward a project with my friends starting from 2022. We wanted to bring the 65 decare land to Galatasaray. "We wanted to use the income generated from this to fund the future of the club and support amateur branches. As a result of negotiations, we bought this place for 1 billion 85 million liras. We transferred the title deed to the Galatasaray Club. Galatasaray Club took over the debt of this real estate," he said.
Stating that they have completed the first phase of the project in Kemerburgaz, Özbek said, "We had minor problems in the license phase for the second phase. We passed that. We will move our infrastructure and women's football team here in Florya as soon as possible. Everything is ready."
Özbek stated that the club's cafe project "Cafe il Gala" is very important for them and said, "We are opening the first project in Mecidiyeköy. It will be very close to our building in Mecidiyeköy. We will start the construction of the project. Hopefully, we will open our 'Cafe il Gala' facility as soon as possible. Mecidiyeköy is one of our important centers. Another important place for us is Beyoğlu. We are after a store on Istiklal Street. The second store is there as well." "Our goal is to have 10 'Cafe il Gala' stores. Then we want to earn income by giving 'franchises' throughout Türkiye and abroad," he said.
"NOW THERE ARE NEW GOALS AHEAD"
Stating that Galatasaray Football Team won the Trendyol Super League championship for the 4th time in a row, Özbek said:
"We have reached the 26th championship in total. I would like to thank my technical staff, players and everyone who contributed to this success, especially our coach Okan Buruk. Now we have new goals ahead of us. As Galatasaray, we are not satisfied with the success we have achieved. We have always aimed for something bigger. Our goal is very clear this season. We want to be champions for the 5th time in a row, reach our 27th championship and achieve success worthy of Galatasaray's name in Europe."
"THE FINANCIAL DIMENSION OF TRANSFERS IS ALSO IMPORTANT"
Dursun Özbek said that there were delays in the recruitment of players to the squad during the summer transfer period due to the financial aspect of the job.
Noting that a lot of news was written during the transfer period, Özbek said, "Me and my friends, we sat down at the table to make transfers the day we won the championship. We made our plans by adjusting our budget. We received criticism that we were late in the transfer period. They may be right, but the successful execution of the transfer period depends on two things. One depends on the performance of the transfers we make. The other one depends on the financial aspect of the job. It was important for us to make transfers that would complement Galatasaray's shortcomings in the best way and not to put the club in difficulty in terms of financing. That is why there were delays. The transfers we made." "If we had done it in July, the difference would have been around 50 million Euros. I do not complain about the criticism. It is important to make early transfers and get the players ready for the camp. I think we had a successful transfer period."
