Galatasaray did not merely win in 2025 they made a statement.
From historic domestic dominance to headline-grabbing transfers and a symbolic changing of the guard, the Istanbul powerhouse turned the year into a declaration of ambition, scale and permanence at the top of Turkish football.
Under coach Okan Buruk, the Lions stacked silverware, shattered records and rebuilt their squad with global star power, even as Europe delivered mixed returns.
Double crown at home, history on the shirt
Galatasaray closed the 2024-25 season with a domestic double, lifting both the Süper Lig title and the Ziraat Turkish Cup to add two more trophies to an already crowded museum.
The league triumph carried historic weight.
Finishing with 95 points, Galatasaray secured a third straight Süper Lig crown and their 25th overall, becoming the first and only Turkish club entitled to wear a fifth star on their jersey. No other team in the country has reached that milestone.
The cup success ended a long wait.
A 3-0 victory over Trabzonspor in the final in Gaziantep delivered Galatasaray their 19th Turkish Cup title and snapped a five-season drought in the competition, their first since beating Akhisarspor in the 2019 final.
Europe: promise, frustration and lessons learned
While domestic dominance was emphatic, Europe offered a more uneven picture.
Galatasaray exited the UEFA Europa League at the round-of-16 playoff stage, undone by a heavy 4-1 defeat away to AZ Alkmaar before a 2-2 home draw sealed elimination.
Earlier in the competition, draws against Dynamo Kyiv and defeats to Ajax highlighted recurring defensive issues away from home.
The Champions League campaign showed flashes of resilience.
Galatasaray finished the first six matchdays with nine points, sitting 18th overall.
After a bruising 5-1 opening loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, they rebounded with notable wins over Liverpool, Bodo/Glimt and Ajax.
Injuries and suspensions eventually took their toll, with narrow losses to Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco halting momentum.
Across six matches, Galatasaray scored eight goals and conceded eight, a snapshot of a team still finding balance at elite European level.
Carrying momentum into a new season
Domestically, the champions wasted no time asserting control again. Galatasaray topped the Süper Lig table at the halfway point of the 2025-26 season with 42 points, three clear of rivals Fenerbahçe.
Their first-half numbers told a familiar story: 13 wins from 17 matches, just one defeat, 39 goals scored and only 12 conceded, a blend of attacking fluency and control that has become Buruk’s signature.
Farewell to a legend
The year also marked the end of an era.
Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, one of the most influential foreign players in Turkish football history, departed after 14 seasons at the club.
Signed from Lazio in 2011, the Uruguayan icon made 551 appearances and collected 19 trophies, including eight league titles.
His exit closed a chapter few players in Galatasaray history can rival.
Squad overhaul
Change was widespread. Alongside Muslera, Galatasaray parted ways with Derrick Köhn, Kerem Demirbay, Dries Mertens, Hakim Ziyech and Michy Batshuayi.
Several players were sent out on loan, including Nicolo Zaniolo, Victor Nelsson and Wilfried Zaha, while Alvaro Morata’s short-term deal was terminated by mutual consent.
Player sales and departures generated approximately 26 million euros ($30.5 million) in income across transfer windows.
If departures closed one chapter, arrivals opened another, loudly.
Galatasaray spent aggressively and deliberately, investing roughly 175 million euros in transfer fees during 2025.
The headline move was the 75 million euros signing of Victor Osimhen from Napoli, a Turkish transfer record and a signal of continental ambition.
They were not done there.
Leroy Sane arrived on a free transfer from Bayern Munich.
Wilfried Singo joined from Monaco for 30.77 million euros, while national team goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır was signed from Trabzonspor for 27.5 million euros to replace Muslera.
Ilkay Gündoğan also joined without a transfer fee, adding experience and leadership to midfield.
Mandatory purchase clauses for Przemyslaw Frankowski and Ismail Jakobs further pushed spending into historic territory.
Galatasaray played 54 official matches in 2025 across all competitions, recording 37 wins, 10 draws and 7 losses.
They scored 115 goals and conceded 48, numbers that underline a season built on both volume and authority.