Former Wolves manager Bruno Lage narrowly missed out on a league title at the weekend – but one man who did not was Mario Lemina.
Mario Lemina left Wolves at the end of the January transfer window, with his exit having been on the cards for weeks.
Lemina had struggled at Wolves in the first half of the season, and had not adapted to the role of captain as everyone had hoped he would.
Cracks started to show with him at the end of the defeat to West Ham United, when an angry Lemina had a bust-up with Jarrod Bowen. He also pushed his own teammates.
Lemina then refused to play against Newcastle United, which he later apologised for.
Vitor Pereira stopped selecting Lemina in his matchday squad while the transfer window was open, to allow for the player to be moved on.
That’s what happened in the end and Lemina joined Galatasaray – and the midfielder has enjoyed the perfect end to the season.
Wolves stars past and present send messages to Mario Lemina after winning league title with Galatasaray
Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images
Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images
In the end, there was just no way Lemina could stay at Molineux.
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We’ve seen just how much importance Pereira puts on togetherness, and Lemina had unfortunately been a disruptive influence and his desire to leave was clear.
He completed a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray for around £2 million, and has so far made 16 appearances for the club.
This weekend, there was joy for Lemina as Gala secured the title with a 3-0 win over Kayserispor. There is now no chance for Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce to catch Gala with two games remaining.
Lemina took to Instagram to mark the occasion, writing: “Champions! 🏆 What a week! The cup, the league… pure joy. Proud of how far we have come with this team. Thank you all for the incredible support, this title is yours too! 🦁”
A few Wolves players responded to his post:
Jorgen Strand Larsen – ‘Yesss my bro👏🔥🔥❤’
Joao Gomes – ‘Congratulations my broo ❤️🔥👏🏼’
The clinching of the title came just days after Gala also won the Turkish Cup, after which Toti Gomes congratulated Lemina.
Lemina could have been a Wolves cult hero
So Lemina is enjoying happier times in Turkey, and the moment he’s in right now is a far cry from the one he was in with Wolves in January.
Lemina had the potential to be a real cult hero at Molineux.
Last year Lemina was named Supporters’ Player of the Season at Wolves, and he had been instrumental in helping Wolves to stay up in the 2022/23 campaign.
Mario Lemina for Galatasaray (Feb 2025-present)
Appearances – 16
Minutes played – 1001
Goals – 1
Assists – 2
And the whole time, he’d carried himself superbly away from the pitch.
Seemingly, the weight of the captaincy was just too much for him and he then made some very questionable decisions.
It was right for him to leave when he did, and his antics at the end sadly overshadow a lot of the good things he did at Wolves.