Turkish sports heavyweight Fenerbahçe said Sunday the club's debt has exceeded $650 million.
The club held a financial plenary session at the football team's home ground, Ülker Stadium, to announce that Fenerbahçe had incurred a debt of $661.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2018.
It is said the debt in 2017 was TL 2.8 billion. Club vice president Burhan Karaçam said during the meeting that the change rising exchange rates has taken a toll on the club.
The club generally pays its players in foreign currencies. Karaçam said even a slight loss of the value for the Turkish lira causes damages worth tens of millions of dollars in an annual term.
He added that the club's revenue for 2018 was TL 1.5 billion. As of Monday, June 17, the Turkish lira's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar was 5.89.
An official from an independent auditor, Kaan Birdal, who joined Sunday's session, warned Fenerbahçe about its extravagant debt as this raises questions on the club's financial sustainability.
Established in 1907 in Istanbul, Fenerbahçe is one of the biggest clubs in Turkey and has competed in many branches such as football, basketball and volleyball.
Fenerbahçe is among the most popular football clubs in Turkey as 4.3 million users follow the club on Instagram and 6.6 million people follow it on Twitter.
