Aurélio leaves Fenerbahçe for Betis
Friday, July 11, 2008
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Mehmet Aurélio, one of the stars of Turkey's run to the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2008™, has been unveiled as Real Betis Balompié's first signing of the summer.
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Real Betis Balompié have unveiled Fenerbahçe SK midfielder Mehmet Aurélio as their first signing of the summer. The Brazilian-born Turkish international has penned a three-year contract with the option of an extra season should he play 25 games in his final campaign.
Free transfer
The 30-year-old, who was out of contract after five seasons in Istanbul, was delighted to join the team which finished 13th last term in Spain, saying: "I'm extremely happy to be here in Seville. I'm going to give my all for Betis." The player arrived at Trabzonspor in Turkey as Marco Aurélio in 2001 and two years later joined Fenerbahçe where he won three Süper Lig titles. Aurélio became the first non-Turkish born player to represent the national side in 2006 and has since won 20 caps, including four at UEFA EURO 2008™ where he was a key figure in Turkey's best-ever run in the tournament.
