Fenerbahçe contacted Sergio Conception in the last few hours to occupy the vacancy that was left open by the exit of Ismail Kartal. However, the Istanbul club is already negotiating another option.
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03/11/2026
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Sergio Conceição will continue without returning to active duty. O Sports to Minute he managed to find out from a source close to the process that, as already advanced by the sports press of Turkey during the afternoon of Tuesday, Fenerbahçe gave up hiring the former coach of FC Porto.
In the last few hours, the giant of Istanbul came into contact with the 51-year-old Portuguese coach so that he could succeed in the position of the 65-year-old Turkish coach Ismail Kartal, who, in recent weeks, has played a soap opera-worthy imbroglio.
Kartal presented the resignation of Fenerbahçe's lead coaching position on September 10, at the press conference that followed the tie to a ball with AS Roma, counting on the first round of the Champions League's single league phase, but it was rejected.
The coach remained in office and now, two months later, he presented the resignation letter, following the defeat suffered in the derby of the ninth tour of the Turkish championship, before Galatasaray. Fenerbahçe lost by 2-1 and was nine points away from the leader. The president, Aziz Yildrim, accepted his resignation and this is where the name Sergio Conceição entered.
Turks speak of financial differences
The Portuguese coach, who left Al Ittihad, Saudi Arabia last June, was considered an attractive option due to his successful period at FC Porto, where he won several national titles, both from the championship and from the Portuguese Cup.
The agreement was close to being closed, but a change in the last few hours led to Sergio Conceição's option to resume his coaching career in Turkey falling by water. This indicates, and according to the Turkish press, differences in the duration and financial terms of the proposed contract have caused the operation to fall.
The Sabah newspaper writes that Fenerbahçe preferred a one-and-a-half-year contract, with a termination clause linked to the club's presidential elections at the end of the season. Conceição already wanted a significantly longer compromise. Salary demands also shook the operation.
With Sergio Conceição discarded, Fenerbahçe left for the market in search of a new coach and will have even reached agreement with the new helmsman. This is Emre Belezoglu, currently coaching Kasımpasa.
Belezoglu, 46 years old, is a face known in the Istanbul emblem, since he not only wore Fenerbahçe's colors as a player – he did so on 227 occasions – but he also trained this same team at the 2020/21 season, achieving three wins in the four games he played.