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Neill-Galatasaray deal signed, sealed and delivered
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Officially acquired from English Premier League side Everton last week, the 30-year-old center back Neil, who is also captain of the Australian national soccer team, received a huge welcome from Galatasaray supporters upon his arrival in İstanbul on Monday.
Chants of “The king of all players cometh” and “I love you, Lucas” reverberated throughout the area as Neill stepped foot in Atatürk Airport.
Press photographers also had a field day as they fought their way through the fist-pumping and chanting crowd for a close shot of the Australian legend.
Neill rejected a one-year contract extension with West Ham at the end of last season and moved to Everton as a free agent and made 12 appearances with the Toffees this season.
“The [transfer] move came as a surprise to me,” Neill told uefa.com last week. “I’d like to thank the staff and fans but most of all my teammates for making my time at Everton very enjoyable. I am pleased to have had a positive impact on the team and the club and wish them every success for the future,” he further noted
Defense, or more precisely the lack of it, had been Galatasaray’s greatest headache throughout the first half of the season. Turkey international Servet Çetin is off form, and injury-prone Gökhan Zan spends more time at the club’s infirmary than on the pitch.
And so Galatasaray lost several matches it would easily have won due to a leaky defense.
Neill has been likened to Romanian legend Gheorghe Popescu, who led the Lions to three straight domestic championships (1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00), two Turkish Cup triumphs (1998-99, 1999-00) and the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2000. The diehard Galatasaray fans have high expectations for the man from down under, but can the veteran defender deliver?
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