Melissa Vargas signs Fenerbahçe extension through 2030, ending talk of a move to VakıfBank

Foto: Wikimedia Commons / Zafer (CC BY-SA 4.0). File photo of Melissa Vargas with Fenerbahçe, October 2026

November 14, 2026

Opposite hitter Melissa Vargas, born in Cienfuegos and a naturalized Turkish citizen, extended her contract with Fenerbahçe Medicana for three more years, through 2030. The Istanbul club announced it on Thursday, November 12, on social media and at a signing ceremony at the Şükrü Saracoğlu sports complex attended by board member Mustafa Aydın Acun, Hürriyet reported.

The news follows days of reports that named Vargas, 27, as the top transfer target of rival VakıfBank, according to Volleyball.it and Terra. The club paired the announcement with a message saying it hopes for "many more victories together" as it chases titles in all three competitions it plays.

Vargas joined Fenerbahçe in 2018-19. With the team she has won two Sultanlar Ligi titles, two Turkish Cups and three Super Cups, and she added three league titles with China's Tianjin, the club said. With Turkey she won the Nations League and the European Championship in both 2023 and 2026, and was named MVP in each tournament in those two editions; in 2025 she took world championship silver and was named best opposite hitter.

The volleyball player left Cuba as a teenager and previously played for Prostějov in the Czech Republic and Volero Zurich in Switzerland.

Fuente: Fenerbahçe Medicana; Hürriyet; Volleyball.it; Terra

Melissa Teresa Vargas Abreu

Sports, Volleyball

Cuban volleyball player naturalized as Turkish, who plays as an opposite hitter for the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. At the national team level, she has participated in youth and senior competitions with the Cuban national team, and as of 2023, with the Turkish women's national team. Melissa Vargas' career began in amateur Cuban tournaments with the Cienfuegos team, her native province.