Fenerbahçe S.K. have revealed that a dispute over a bank guarantee request — described by club officials as humiliating — led them to walk away from a proposed deal for striker Ademola Lookman, who has since moved to Atlético Madrid.
The Nigerian international had been the subject of sustained interest from the Istanbul side during the summer window.
Talks with Atalanta BC progressed to an advanced stage, but ultimately collapsed — not because of transfer fee or salary disagreements, but due to a procedural demand that Fenerbahçe executives felt undermined the club’s standing.
Vice-president Murat Salar outlined the breakdown in an interview with Complete Sports, explaining that Atalanta requested a bank guarantee letter as a condition to finalise the transfer.
While such guarantees are sometimes used in international transactions, the Turkish club viewed the request as an affront to its institutional credibility.
For Fenerbahçe’s leadership, the issue extended beyond paperwork and into matters of reputation. “I was involved in the Lookman transfer process.
Atalanta asked for a letter of guarantee. Fenerbahçe has never, in its history, given or received such a letter. It’s not our practice.
We considered it an insult,” Salar said on the club’s television channel.
He added: “We asked: what bank has a better reputation than Fenerbahçe, which is 120 years old? The club’s reputation is worth more than this piece of paper.”
Club officials argued that agreeing to the condition would signal doubt about their financial standing and could set an unwanted precedent.
Fenerbahçe pointed to recent dealings with leading European sides, including Manchester United F.C. and Paris Saint-Germain F.C., where no such guarantees were required. “We didn’t give any of them a letter of guarantee,” Salar said.
The executive also highlighted what he saw as inconsistency in the Italian market, noting that S.S. Lazio does not impose similar conditions.
Despite pushing what Salar described as their financial limits to sign the forward, Fenerbahçe chose to abandon negotiations rather than accept terms they believed compromised the club’s principles.
Lookman’s subsequent move to Atlético Madrid closed the chapter, leaving the Turkish side disappointed but resolute in its stance.
