Türkiye's four biggest football clubs have accumulated more than TL 108 billion ($2.5 billion) in total liabilities, with Galatasaray carrying the largest debt and Beşiktaş facing the heaviest burden relative to its annual revenue.
Financial statements submitted to Türkiye's Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA), show that the publicly traded football companies of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor had combined liabilities of 108.1 billion liras as of Aug. 31, 2026.
Galatasaray topped the list with TL 34.82 billion, followed by Fenerbahçe with TL 31.1 billion, Beşiktaş with TL 27.95 billion and Trabzonspor with TL 14.23 billion.
Commercial debts, including transfer fees and agent commissions, accounted for the largest share of the combined liabilities.
The clubs also rely heavily on advance payments for future revenue from sponsorships, advertising, season tickets and VIP boxes.
Commercial debts
The four clubs' combined commercial liabilities stood at TL 43.85 billion, making them the largest category of outstanding obligations.
Galatasaray had the highest commercial debt at TL 16.07 billion, ahead of Fenerbahçe's TL 13.45 billion, Beşiktaş's TL 9.77 billion and Trabzonspor's TL 4.56 billion.
Advance collections for future periods represented another TL 29.49 billion. Galatasaray accounted for TL 8.66 billion of that total, while Fenerbahçe had TL 9.18 billion, Beşiktaş TL 8.05 billion and Trabzonspor TL 3.59 billion.
The clubs also reported TL 12.79 billion in liabilities to employees, public institutions and other parties. Beşiktaş had the largest amount in this category at TL 4.77 billion, followed by Galatasaray with TL 3.61 billion, Trabzonspor with TL 2.77 billion and Fenerbahçe with TL 1.65 billion.
Financial debt, including bank loans, totaled TL 7.68 billion. Galatasaray accounted for TL 5.03 billion and Beşiktaş for TL 2.64 billion, while the reported figures showed no financial debt in this category for Fenerbahçe or Trabzonspor.
Outstanding rental obligations added another TL 7.52 billion, led by Fenerbahçe at TL 6.35 billion. Beşiktaş reported TL 840 million, Trabzonspor TL 210 million and Galatasaray TL 120 million.
Other liabilities, including amounts owed to related parties and third parties, totaled 5.76 billion liras. Provisions accounted for a further 1.02 billion.
Beşiktaş's highest debt-to-revenue ratio
Although Galatasaray had the largest total liabilities, Beşiktaş carried the heaviest debt burden relative to its revenue.
The black-and-whites reported TL 27.95 billion in total liabilities against TL 12.24 billion in revenue for the 2025-26 season, equivalent to 2.28 times their annual income.
Trabzonspor ranked second, with TL 14.23 billion in liabilities against revenue of TL 6.62 billion, a ratio of 2.15.
Fenerbahçe's TL 31.1 billion in liabilities amounted to 1.8 times its annual revenue of TL 17.23 billion.
Galatasaray, despite leading the four clubs in total liabilities, had the lowest debt-to-revenue ratio at 1.6. The Istanbul club generated TL 21.75 billion in revenue during the 2025-26 season.
Combined revenue for the four clubs reached TL 57.84 billion, compared with total liabilities of TL 108.1 billion, leaving their collective liabilities at 1.87 times annual revenue.
The comparison uses the clubs' consolidated balance sheets as of Aug. 31, 2026, and their combined revenue from sales and investment activities for the 2025-26 season. Revenue figures were adjusted for inflation to reflect purchasing power as of the same date.
Future player salaries excluded from total
The TL 108.1 billion figure does not cover all the clubs' future financial commitments.
Guaranteed salaries owed to players and coaching staff for periods after Aug. 31, 2026, under existing contracts are not included in the reported liabilities to the extent that those payments have not yet been recognized as debts.
However, salaries and other payments already due to players and coaching staff by that date, but still unpaid, are included in the clubs' existing liabilities.