Meet Hull City's Acun Ilıcalı - The Premier League’s most UNUSUAL owner! - The Sports Agents

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0:43I'm not the billionaire I'm billionaire. And why I did it is the passion and the go-to success. Only being successful makes me happy.

1:02Hello and welcome to the Sports Agents. We've got a very special conversation today, haven't we, Mark? Because we have just recorded an interview with Hull City owner Ajun Ilajali, who is a force. He's a TV star, a media mogul who has taken his passion for football and turned it into, well, you'll hear in the interview, I think, a way of running a football club like I've never heard before.

1:24Gabby Logan:I mean, not to sort of preempt everything that you're about to hear, but if you go right to the end of the interview, the feeling that we both have is that we want to work for him. Yeah, I'm actually going on LinkedIn later and sending my CV to him. If you're a media officer at Hull City, we're coming for your job. Oh, I want to go work for his TV company in Istanbul. Look, there are some sad moments in this interview and some difficult moments, But I defy you to not have a smile on your face through an awful lot of his answers, whether it's about hold the place, whether it's about his staff, whether it's about the players.

2:07Gabby Logan:His passion for volleyball. His passion for volleyball. He just has he just has an energy and a vibrancy that it's it's impossible not to be swept along by him. Here he is joining us from Istanbul. Ajahn, great to chat to you. It feels like Hull are the story kind of the early part of the season so far. Results, the feel-good factor, the way you have taken to life in the Premier League has been something of a joy to behold. You're just beaming constantly. Yeah, thank you very much for your kind words. Actually, I'm so happy, of course. I had a dream and actually it was my slogan. I have a dream and my dream came true so in my four years a little more than four years my biggest dream was to go to Premier League and I pushed everything to do it and I think by the help of God we managed it Were you surprised that you went up last season and have you been surprised by the start you've had?

3:17No, I was not surprised because I believed in my players, but I was shocked. Of course. I mean, surprises, you know, you have a surprise, what a good surprise. It's like a big shock for me. And I was expecting four points for us, maybe a little more than five because our opponents Manchester United. Yeah. Aston Villa, cup winners of Europe and Chelsea. So how many points you can expect from a new promoted team? So I was expecting four would be good, five fantastic. Now we are already eight. This is for me a miracle. Let's go back a little bit, shall we, to your story, which is just fascinating.

4:14The transition from somebody who had a passion for football and did a similar job to us in the very beginning. I don't know what we've done wrong in the last 30 years because we don't own a Premier League club. You can tell us reporting on football, having a passion for football. And obviously, let's not overstate it, being the equivalent of a Simon Cowell Anton Deck type character for Turkish television. You know, you're huge in Turkey in terms of your onscreen persona to where you are now. And one of the things that strikes me about you is incredible belief, but also a desire and a passion to prove people wrong.

4:54and to kind of buck the trend of what's expected. Again, thank you so much for your kind words. And actually, yes, I'm from your side in life, started the business. But don't forget, I'm still in your side. I'm still making TV shows. So your side is fantastic. So yeah, this is one part of my life that I enjoy very much. I make reality television still on television. I'm still on screen. I enjoy it. I have good connection with people. But apart from that, of course, I have a business side. For example, in television there are two sides. On screen and off screen. I'm playing both sides, like number eight in football.

5:38Number eight goes to box to box. So I can defend and I can attack. So my style is... I'm crazy football fan. You cannot imagine. I can tell you stories like two hours, just my memories about my past when I was a fan. So being as a fan and a television personality, my first involvement in television was sports, by the way. So because of my sports knowledge, they took me to television. I was a sports reporter. Then I started making my own shows. Then I decided to play big and make big productions. And after that, when I got the money, first thing I did to buy a football club. But going back even before that, you had something very tragic happen to you in your early 20s when you were married very young and lost your parents in an accident.

6:32And I know that period of your life, that year afterwards, was almost, you were immobilised with sadness. You hardly did anything with your life at that point. Yeah, I would give everything today to come back to that years and have nothing in life, just my parents. I can not explain in words, my English will not be enough, how much pain I had in that time. Because my parents was the, until now I haven't seen that kind of giving parents to their son, doing everything. And my father used to say that at that time I was libero in football, like centre-back. I'm libero of Acun. Whenever Acun makes mistakes, I'm just getting behind and correcting them.

7:19But he's making so many mistakes, I'm now almost dying, he was saying to his friends. So the moment I lost them, for me, I felt like life finished, you know, for me. And I would never be happy again because there cannot be a worse thing can happen to somebody when you are in love with your parents and one day you have a news. By the way, it was a tragic day to give a little explanation. I didn't know that they lost their lives. So I drove six hours by my car to the hospital where the accident happened. So at 3 o 'clock in the morning I went to the hospital and nobody was brave enough to tell us that our parents died with my brother.

8:07So I went to the hospital at 3 o 'clock in the a.m. I came to visit my mom. Can you tell me what is the room number? and the guy said look at the paper because it was an ordinary guy there not a therapist of course and he said she passed away then i said can i ask my father and he said he passed away and i said can i ask my daughter i couldn't ask my daughter actually i was lost and i prayed to god that it was a dream and i started to hit myself i am praying the guy that i can wake up and hopeful because I was in my house five hours ago. So it was the worst day of my life, of course, without doubt.

8:52And the damage it gave to me, more than one year, of course. And I was never happy. I felt pain in my heart. I was not knowing this pain until then, but then I understood that the pain just stays here. Whatever you do, the pain is here. So these times were for me, then I was bankrupt. But these are all details, of course. I mean, fantastic relation with the parents and losing them. There cannot be an explanation. Then worse thing can happen to somebody. Then I had a terrible, terrible motorcycle accident. And I have so many bad things, one to another. But my parents losing is nothing to compare.

9:34Gabby Logan:I don't mean this in a crass way there, Ajaan. But has that, is your outlook on life now that the worst thing has happened to you and therefore that changes your philosophy and everything else that you do? What changed is, of course, I became a survivor in life. After I lost them, I became a survivor because my father was always, in Turkey, our system is different. You know, your parents take care of you a long time. In England or America, in West Europe, they go to life when they are 18, 20, 21, on their own. In Turkey, you can sleep in the house. Your parents will take care of you. So I think, imagine like me, 15 of my friends coming to my house.

10:24We are together. My mother is cooking. She is working and cooking. She was in a serious position in the work. So I was enjoying the life like crazy. So when I lost them, of course, it was completely different future for me. I had to take care of myself and I had nobody behind me. I lost every money left from them in two years. Because in 22 years, how can you make a business, you know, with your 22 years mind? I lost everything easily. Then I stayed in my friend's house for one year. I had no money in life. No money means really no money. I mean, but when you don't have money, the good thing is you don't have problems.

11:10So I was not spending and I was not getting money. But after that, this made me strong in life. This is true. Without parents, I had to fight for myself and I didn't have somebody backing me. and it made me, I think, completely more courage. And my nature is, by the way, I'm a very risk-taking style of person. My future changed, of course, after that.

11:39Gabby Logan:Just one on whole then at the moment on that. You talk about the Turkish family philosophy of even when people are adults, you continue to look after them in a parent way. Me and Gabby have both spoken to your assistant manager, Dean Holden, many times. about the atmosphere around Hull. Do you look on yourself as a father figure to everybody within the whole city organisation? I'm not just talking about players. I'm talking about everybody within the organisation. No, this is the same spirit in my company too. So you are very right about it. I live the life as a family. So personal family and business family and always family.

12:24and I make connections with everybody, like taking care of them. For example, in my company, I'm proud to say this, but every wedding of my workers, I make the wedding. And I don't let them spend any money. I just make the wedding because I feel like responsible. Wow. I mean, I think whenever there is a problem about any of my workers, for example, for me, no doubt, I immediately, if it's a money problem, I solve the money problem. If it needs somebody, an important doctor, I find a doctor. So you are right about it. I am coming from a family that my father showed to me, but his life didn't, unfortunately, last long.

13:15So I'm like representing my father. Which I guess because you're yourself and a massive football fan and from what you said there, your philosophy about family and how that feeds into business is why you value the fans so much. And you've put your money where your mouth is when it comes to the fans, haven't you, in terms of taking 300 of them to Turkey to watch a bit of preseason training and giving them an experience of your country. the fans didn't have a relationship anything like this with the previous regime so tell us if that was a priority for you when you came into the club to repair that relationship and how you set about doing that the connection was bad with some reasons I'm not very inside because I was not there but I didn't do to damage a relation this is how I live the life so for example I have still maybe 20 friends in my phone i talked to them uh once in a week just uh how is going uh they come to turkey i take them to holiday even dean we were in the training ground i said dean would you like to come to the dominic republic he said what do you mean there was a vacation so come one week uh in the christmas time uh international break it was i said come to dominic republic i'll show you the paradise.

14:38And he said, okay, then him and his crazy wife together, they came. I've met her. Danielle. I think they have a reality show, don't they? At home with the Holdings. They're fantastic. Danielle is something like that. But I swear to you, I'm not exaggerating one millimeter. We were playing volleyball on the pool. We have We have volleyball inside the pool. We have a volleyball field. Okay. In Dominique Rappau, in my house. So we play there sometimes two hours, three hours. Okay. Three hours under the sun, noon. We are playing. We are Dean and me in the same team. We are fighting like crazy. Okay.

15:20It's okay. We are enjoying it. Dania is watching us from 20 meters. Every time we score, she says, yeah. We score a yeah. But how many times you can do it? She did it for three hours. And she was watching all the game. And I said to her, you are really crazy, woman, but I love your energy. So, I mean, we have the same guys in Hull. I like crazy people. You know, I'm not normal. So I have more connection with crazy people. Why? So Sean.

15:49Gabby Logan:Pardon? No, what I was going to say, you said you have connection with crazy people. And I think I can say this because I did live there for four years. Why did you choose Hull? Why did I choose Hull? Well, the reason is, of course, I think destiny, first of all. Why? Because there was five, six teams on the table at that time. So six teams on the table for us to buy. And it was a critical decision at that time. As you remember, Derby was the big crisis at that time. Some more teams, I don't want to mention, you know. And they were on sale. But the difference between Hull and the other ones, first of all, was Hull didn't spend any money.

16:36So they had a gap of spending. Gap means limit. They had a limit. But one of the teams had already full the limit. So you have to buy the club and go with the players that is inside the team. And it will take you maybe two years to change the players. But in Hull City, the new promoted from League One, the team budget was very low. so it was a limit that we can spend first put it in the left side second of course this is the one of the reason I first went to see the city so if I didn't like it we will go to number two number three number four okay I just landed Humberside my first I was putting chronometer how many minutes from airport to the facilities and stadium it was fantastic 20 minutes so because if I go two hours.

17:31I will come every week from Turkey. How can I go two hours plus four hours flight? So it was 20 minutes very reasonable. Then I just wanted to go around the city, inside the city. I saw people, smiling faces, nice people, innocent people around. And I loved the energy. Everything was good. So I turned to my friend and I said, I want to buy this club. And after that, I bought to go. And I've read that you also found the Humber Bridge and the river, very similar, you said, to the Bosphorus. You felt that kind of energy, which I don't know if Hull's had that comparison before, but I'm sure it appreciated it.

18:09It's often in this country, Aja, and don't take this the wrong way because Chappas and I have had conversations about Hull. I'm from Leeds, so there's kind of an east-west Yorkshire thing going on here. But it sometimes felt like a forgotten city because it's out on a limb and it's kind of on its own. You know, it hasn't got any other big metropolis kind of nearby. And in that respect, that's quite a shrewd business move, isn't it? Because your catchment area is quite big and you have a very dedicated, loyal, you're a one city, you know, you're a one football club city, which is always attractive as well.

18:42No, it is 10 times better for me according to a club in London.

18:47Gabby Logan:Yeah. Because in a little more isolated place, I can have my dream better. But apart from that, of course, hall has so much elements I don't know how many times you came but we have a Beverly Beverly? Beverly very well it's like you know if you describe me paradise I would say that green fantastic houses quiet calm smiling faces Beverly is such a good place so the feeling you know in the word English there's a word I mean idiom or I don't know what you call it feeling good factor yeah yeah yeah we don't have it in turkey so i like this uh thing who has the feeling good factor so i'm always when i go there i'm so happy uh and i always say this is very important only the people makes a place good or bad for me in life not the view not the buildings or not the technology.

19:49People make somewhere beautiful. And I've experienced fantastic people in Hul. When we were almost going to down in relegation, the fans, their approach to me, we had so many crises and their approach to me, their thinking to me on the streets is so valuable. Who says Halloween only lasts one day? With Wayfair, one night of Halloween becomes a whole season at home. From larger than life yard decor and moody lighting to festive accents for every room in the house, Wayfair has what you need to make Halloween feel like magic all in one place. Because the best Halloween memories aren't made in just one night.

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20:43Gabby Logan:coming back to the club i wonder whether the hardest period for you and i think you've got a lot of criticism here and you you've probably got a lot of criticism i mean i can remember talking about it on the radio so you've probably got some criticism from me at the time and the pundit when you when you chose to move on from liam rosenia um which felt like quite a pivotal moment for for the football club and things felt difficult at that point did you wonder what you'd let yourself into around that period yeah i actually i had a big criticization i think the word is criticization right uh from so many people also fans can criticize me too because at the end of the day are the owner of the club for me so i i'm very open to everything but i never changed my way because of some people say something of course i respect but i have to do something and somebody has to give the decisions so i said before but i will again repeat it the reason i changed some coaches at that time people were thinking like i have the ego so i don't like the coach i change it no it was not like that i was changing the coaches at that time, including Liam too, because I didn't have the ego and I was accepting that I made a mistake.

22:07And Liam, for me, is a top coach, a top person. We talked to him three days ago. We talked to him. One week ago, we talked to him again. In transfer times, I asked him some players. We have very good connection and we were fantastic with him. But don't forget, at the end of the day, for my life, business is like religion. And in business side of me, I can let everybody have in-person relations, but in the business side, we have to be in the same page, me and my coach. And with Liam, what we experienced is the way he's playing football. In football, I'm sure that you know, there are so many different tactics and systems and everything.

22:49So every coach has his own mindset. And why did I buy Hull City? Because I want to enjoy. So if I don't enjoy it, it's going to be torture for me. And Liam, of course, nothing to do with torture. This is not an example like torture for Liam. Liam played us good. We were number seven in the league. We played fantastic games. I never forget Sunderland LA, a fantastic game. And what was at the end of the story? Our belief, the way we looked at football was different. So when you have this agreeing, I would say, it will not work. It will go more and more like a problem beginning, like I know the same word, snowball getting bigger and bigger.

23:40So I had to give this decision at that time. And Liam went to Chelsea. Then now he's in Paris. His future, he was not actually a coach when I got him. so I think I said to him the same thing you will find a job in one week at most and you will be going to the very good clubs I don't think that I'm giving harm to you and we both of us will be happy I said to Liam he was very upset maybe at that time but then he called me and he said that I know what you mean and he's a fantastic guy so in terms of football philosophy it's really important for you to have that synergy with your head coach or manager but in terms of personality because you have such energy and I don't know do you have 48 hours in a day?

24:21Because everything you're doing, I mean, I just can't believe what you managed to do. If I tell you about my schedule, one basic schedule, you would take me to hospital. I'm not sure. I want to know what you, I mean, is it Turkish delight? Is it the coffee? I'm not sure what it is that's fueling you because you've got this amazing energy. Does your manager, who appears to have this kind of energy, certainly on the touchline we see this, do you have to have a similar kind of personality? Is that important to you to have? and you've talked about crazy people working around you, I guess, high energy, lots of ideas.

24:54No, in the character-wise, I'm not expecting the coach to be like me. Then it will be explosive energy. He has to be a little calmer, you know? And our coach is calm, by the way. Cool guy, he is. So I would say that about the coach side, of course, I'm experienced too. I was a knee-owner first year. Second year, more experienced. Third year, I was experienced. What I'm good in life is I immediately understand my mistakes and try to correct it as soon as possible to get to success. That's how it worked in the television business. And we are now in top three in the world, maybe in reality television.

25:32And the football was the same. So now, before I got Sergi, we had a fantastic conversation. And I talked everything open. He was very open, I was very open. When we both of us are open, I saw that we're on the same page. but of course time was needed after that. I wouldn't say that, how can you just swear that it's gonna last fantasy, no. But as a first look, I had two hours, three hours with him, next day two hours more conversation. I saw a guy, first of all intelligent, the people who can make jokes are intelligent in life. This is for me, this is true. I mean, this shows some intelligent level.

26:14He made some jokes to me. he was cool and he was open and I said to him some things like for example in transfer windows we don't let the coach to bring players but we make them approve the players I said to the system to him he was in the same page he doesn't care about it about football philosophy I love this philosophy by the way I watched him in Turkey so I would say that now my way of looking is from the friendship side I can tell you, maybe you will be a little surprised, but he spent 15 days in Turkey with his family, with me. We played volleyball together. We played games together. Apart from that, he was in my house in the whole four days ago, five days ago.

27:03We had dinner together, watched football together. On the pitch, after the trainings, we played Croatia against Turkey football matches. so his and his Croatian of course assistants, he's not playing he's always the cool guy of course but his assistants are fighting with us and we play every week a game then we have the highlights of the game and we just put the highlights after the dinner in my house everybody's checking who made the mistakes so we are living a different kind of life. Does anybody dare take you out in those matches? Does anybody give you you know a little bit hard tackle too much physicality i post i post my one of my goals after we finish you in my instagram yeah you see the goal then ask this question again okay

27:56Gabby Logan:you talked about your relationship with with uh your coach with sergey and and the um uh and the sort of we'll get the players and you coach them are you how hands-on stroke hands-off are you when it comes to involvement of squad building? Do you let your... I mean, you've obviously got your expert team doing it. Do you have an input? How does that work? The system how I work is like this. I have brain team. I call it brain team. In Turkish there's a brain team word. But in English you don't have that word. Okay, find me the word of brain team in English. So brain team is an expression, is it?

28:36Yes, expression in Turkish that we can use. but this time English is failing because you don't have the word. Think like five guys thinking and deciding about something. We call it brain team.