Fenerbahce have publicly blamed Al-Ittihad for the collapse of a proposed swap deal involving N’Golo Kante and Youssef En-Nesyri, releasing a furious statement after talks broke down.
The Turkish club said an agreement had been reached in principle for En-Nesyri to move to the Saudi Pro League side, with Kante heading the other way, but insisted the transfer fell apart because of Al-Ittihad’s conduct during the final stages of negotiations.
In an official statement, Fenerbahce criticised Al-Ittihad for what they described as an unprofessional approach, claiming the Saudi club repeatedly changed conditions after progress had been made and failed to respect the framework that had been discussed between the parties.
Fenerbahce also stressed that they had acted in good faith throughout the process and argued that the breakdown was not on their side, making clear they would not accept last-minute demands that differed from previous understandings.
The collapse means En-Nesyri remains a Fenerbahce player for now, while Kante stays with Al-Ittihad, as the deal that would have sent the France midfielder to Istanbul and the Morocco striker to Jeddah is now off.
