Former Liverpool star Ryan Babel admits he became the “ugly man” after a controversial transfer

Former Liverpool player Ryan Babel has spoken about the intense backlash he faced following his move from Besiktas to Galatasaray.

Babel, who joined the Reds in an £11.5m move from Ajax in 2007, spent four years at Anfield, playing under Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson and Sir Kenny Dalglish. He contributed 22 goals and 18 assists in 146 appearances in all competitions at Anfield.

After a journeyman career with spells in Germany, the UAE, Spain and Turkey, Babel found his footing at Kasimpasa between 2013 and 2015. He returned to Turkish football in January 2017 when he joined Besiktas, scoring 22 of goals in 62 matches. However, his decision to move to Istanbul rivals Galatasaray in 2019 soured his relationship with the Besiktas faithful.

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Speaking to Ladbrokes Fanzone, Babel reflected on the experience: “Obviously the move to Galatasaray didn’t go well. In fact, it was heartbreaking to play against Besiktas for the first time after that move,” reports the Daily Star.

He added: “I went from having all their hearts and coming back to a stadium where I had made so many great memories to now being booed and booed every time I had the ball. I didn’t go directly to Galatasaray. from Besiktas, though, I went to Fulham first, but they still didn’t like it!”

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Babel had a short spell at Fulham in the second half of the 2018/19 Premier League season, where he scored five goals, but could not prevent the club’s relegation. At that moment Galatasaray convinced him to return for the third time to Turkey. However, Babel claims that if things had been different at Besiktas, he would not have left.

“I never wanted to leave Besiktas, but the people on the board at the time, I felt, didn’t really deal with the whole situation in a respectful way and so I had to look elsewhere,” said Babel .

“Now, if you could turn things back and they could have been respectful, then I would have stayed at Besiktas. Unfortunately, fans don’t always know why players make certain decisions.

“But it’s very common in football that the boards don’t make the right decisions and eventually the players leave. That’s the nature of the business, unfortunately.”