Coach Refused to Sign Lewandowski: I'll Lose Weight and Play Instead of Him

Turkish coach Sergen Yalcin revealed a controversial stance when he refused the idea of signing Polish striker Robert Lewandowski during his tenure with Besiktas, asserting that the decision was due to his technical vision for building the team and not just for financial reasons.

Yalcin explained that the administration was presented with the idea of signing the former Barcelona star, but he rejected it on the grounds that the player's style did not align with the system he wanted to implement within the team, preferring other names more suitable like Belgian Romelu Lukaku or Norwegian Alexander Sorloth.

Yalcin stated in his comments: "I did not accept Lewandowski, and I told the club president: If we are going to bring him, let's also bring Quaresma, and I can lose 3 to 5 kilos and play instead of him! We laughed a lot. Honestly, I don't care if he's a player at Barcelona, I don't sign a 40-year-old player, this contradicts the system we are building."

He added that at that time Lewandowski was asking for 15 million euros as a signing bonus and 12 million euros as an annual salary, noting that the decision was part of a long-term technical vision despite the controversy it later stirred within the sports community.