The 34-year-old attacker traveled to Istanbul on Saturday, a day after his contract with Ajax was terminated, to complete his transfer. Turkish media have mainly reported Besiktas’ rapprochement in recent weeks, but it was late Saturday night rival Fenerbahçe who confirmed Tadic’s imminent arrival. Fenerbahçe finished second in the Süper Lig last season, eight points behind champions Galatasaray and two points above Besiktas. Fenerbahçe has to play in the second preliminary round of the Conference League on July 27 and August 3.
The Serbian attacker signed a two-year contract with that club today after he passed the medical examination and immediately made himself heard on the club site. “It’s a great feeling to be part of such a big club. Fenerbahçe have great fans and I can’t wait to play for them. We really need the support of our fans because I want to win a lot of trophies with this club. I am convinced that we will be very successful with the energy of our supporters.”
Tadic had his contract with Ajax torn up on Friday. In the twilight of his career in Amsterdam, the long-time captain could not and did not want to commit to building a new team, which he felt – also because of the cutbacks – would take several years.
Tadic therefore comes over transfer-free and becomes a teammate of, among others, Sebastian Szymanski, the Pole who played on a rental basis at Feyenoord last season. The team from Rotterdam would have liked to rent the midfielder for another year, but Szymanski opted for a permanent transfer to Fener. Former Eredivisie players Jayden Oosterwolde and Ferdi Kadioglu also play for the club.
The Serbian has received several offers in recent weeks, including from Saudi Arabia, where many (experienced) players from Europe will go this summer. Besiktas, the rival club from Istanbul, is also said to have preyed on Tadic.
With the final departure of Tadic, an era at Ajax comes to an end. He scored 105 times and gave 112 assists in 241 official games for the team from Amsterdam.
Match Center
Check all programs, results and standings from the top competitions in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, England, Belgium and the Netherlands in our match center. Check out all our podcasts and football videos below.