Fenerbahce have won more championships than any club in Turkey. Their current woes – 15th in an 18-team league – are equivalent to Manchester United fighting a relegation battle. And involved in the dramatic decline of one of Europe's best-supported clubs are a clutch of names familiar to Premier League fans.

First, the history. Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu has been one of Turkey's most important institutions since 1907. They compete in nine different sports but football is the jewel in their crown with 28 league titles (19 since the current Super Lig was established in 1959; rivals Galatasaray have 21 since then and in total), an estimated 25million supporters worldwide and great players from Jay Jay Okocha and Roberto Carlos to Robin van Persie and legendary Turkish goalkeeper Rustu Recber.

They count Turkish president Recep Erdogan among their celebrity fans and knocked Manchester City out of the European Cup as far back as 1968, joyous fans invading the pitch after a famous 2-1 win by the Bosphorus.

Martin Skrtel shows the strain during Fenerbahce's slide down the Turkish Super Lig

So, what's gone wrong for the Yellow Canaries? A 1-1 draw away to Bursaspor on Monday night took them out of the relegation zone but they are still only two points off bottom spot. They also suffered an embarrassing defeat by second-division side Umraniye in the Turkish Cup on Thursday night.

Their line-up in Bursa, where they conceded a last-minute equaliser, included Martin Skrtel (ex-Liverpool), Roberto Soldado (ex-Spurs) and Andre Ayew (on loan from Swansea City).

Islam Slimani is also at the club on loan from Leicester, while Victor Moses has now joined on loan from Chelsea too.

Their sporting director is Damien Comolli, a Frenchman who has previously served Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool with mixed results.

As often is the case in football, money has had a major part to play.

Fenerbahce are a lowly 15th in the Turkish league table, just two points off the bottom

Ambitious spending – or 'living the dream' as Leeds United's former chairman Peter Ridsdale once put it – coincided with rules on financial fair play.

Fenerbahce used increased broadcast revenues to gamble on expensive but ageing stars like Carlos and Van Persie, signed from Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively. They also launched a campaign to get a million members, hoping it would close the gap on Europe's super-clubs like Barcelona and Juventus.

Roberto Soldado is another of the Premier League outcasts playing for Fenerbahce

Andre Ayew (right) is on loan from Swansea but has made little impact at the club

Islam Slimani's goalscoring record has been dreadful since joining on loan from Leicester

Instead, the strategy proved a catastrophic strain on resources. Last July, club president Ali Koc revealed debts had reached £548million. The well had run dry at the same time that Turkey's smaller but better-run clubs like Basaksehir, Yeni Malatyaspor and Kasimpasa are threatening Istanbul's traditional Big Three: Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce.

In 2013, Fenerbahce were also banned from European competition for two years for their role in a domestic match-fixing scandal.

The result has been a weaker team on the pitch than Fener fans have been used to. Skrtel and Soldado would have been important players during their peak years but Skrtel is now 34, Soldado 33.

The best Turkish players are also abroad or at other Super Lig clubs. Only one of Turkey's starters in their last competitive game, a 1-0 home defeat by Sweden in the Nations League, was from Fener - left-back Hasan Kaldirim.

The club are in huge debt after buying the likes of Robin van Persie (left) and Roberto Carlos

At the 2002 World Cup when Turkey reached the semi-finals, four Fenerbahce players were in their squad.

Koc, an extremely wealthy businessman educated at Harrow boarding school in England, bemoans: 'Nobody could have predicted this crisis. I apologise for the suffering that has been caused.' The last time Fenerbahce finished outside the top three places was in 2009.

The club haven't won in their last nine games, a run dating back to November because of the winter break. While the Europa League has provided some solace - Fenerbahce qualified for the knockout stages and will face Zenit St Petersburg in the last 32 - their league form has been dreadful.

The low point was a 3-0 defeat at Caykur Rizespor in October, a result that got Dutch coach Phillip Cocu sacked. Former Turkey international manager Ersun Yanal is in charge now but things haven't got any better yet. He wants new recruits in January and landed Moses this week. Comolli also tried to buy Divock Origi from Liverpool last summer.

Ersun Yanal has been unable to stop the rot FENERBAHCE'S HISTORY Founded: 1907 Sports played at the club: Football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, swimming, rowing, sailing, athletics, boxing, esports Stadium: Sukru Saracoglu Stadium (capacity 47,834) Honours: Turkish league titles x28, Turkish Cup x6, Balkans Cup x1 Notable records: Most Turkish league titles; never been relegated Advertisement

When Comolli signed Ayew on loan, he hailed the 'talented and energetic' forward. Yet Ayew has scored only four goals in 17 games and Slimani's record is even worse, three in 19. Only two teams in the Turkish league have managed fewer goals overall than the 17 in 18 matches netted by Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce's next game this weekend is at home to third-place Yeni Malatyaspor. Nobody expects them to be relegated – it's almost unthinkable. But it did happen to Manchester United back in 1974.