Dutch midfield maestro Wesley Sneijder joins Galatasaray after finally agreeing personal terms with the Turkish side.
The most dramatic transfer saga of this season is finally over; or so it seems. Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder has agreed to join Galatasaray, almost two weeks after Turkish side’s £8.3 million bid for the Dutchman was accepted by Inter.
An official statement published on Galatasaray’s official website read:
“The transfer of Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan has been agreed.
“The conditions of the deal will be made public and the player will sign the contract after health checks.”
Wesley Sneijder’s last appearance for Inter came in the 2-0 victory over Chievo almost two months ago. Although Inter manager, Andrea Stramaccioni, has explained his exclusion as a footballing decision, the stand-off between the player and the club over his wages was publicly revealed.
Sneijder was unwilling to take a pay-cut at Inter and he was out casted from the squad. It was evident that the Dutchman’s career at San Siro was nearing its end. But the midfield maestro, who was an integral part of the Inter team which won the famous treble under Jose Mourinho, is still a big name in the football world and a scramble, among the big European clubs, for his signature was expected.
But Sneijder’s high wages was the biggest hurdle every club, interested in him, faced. Surprisingly, it was Galatasaray who came knocking at Sneijder’s door. Although Liverpool were later linked with the Dutchman, but the Merseyside club’s wage structure would have never permitted this transfer.
Although Inter accepted Sneijder’s bid by the Turkish club, the Dutchman was still undecided on his future and reports suggested that the midfielder was waiting for Premier League clubs to make their move; which never materialized.
Inter President, Massimo Moratti, had earlier urged Sneijder to make a “professional decision” and after a meeting between the two took place, the Dutchman has now finally made up his mind. Moratti was quoted in Inter.it:
“I met Sneijder. I wanted to have a chat with him, I thought we needed to.
“Have we made peace? I don’t think there was ever a war in the first place, and certainly not with me personally.
“Did we chat to see if we were all moving in the same direction? Which one? It’s a surprise…
“Is he close to a move to Galatasaray? Yes, I think so.”
Wesley Sneijder has also revealed his decision to move to Galatasaray, although he insisted that there is still a “slim chance” of him staying back at Inter. Sneijder explained:
“I spoke a lot with president Moratti because we have a good relationship, we had a good talk, nothing more than that,” he told inter.it.
“He said that it’s looking like I’ll be off to Galatasaray but there’s still a slim chance I could stay? What the president said is exactly right.
“The Inter fans expect me to stay? Inter fans are the best around, I’ve won everything here and I’m happy here.
“Now I don’t know whether I’ll be saying, ‘I am happy here’ or ‘I was happy here’. One of two things could happen, we’ll see.”
The 28-year-old’s decision to play in the Turkish league instead of taking a pay-cut – although DailyMail has reported that he has signed a £120,000-per-week contract, which is way below what he was initially demanding – is surprising.
It is certainly a big loss for Premier League, but it will certainly improve Galatasaray’s chances of progressing in the Champions League against Schalke 04.
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