Istanbul club Galatasaray announced on Wednesday that coach Hamza Hamzaoglu was leaving the Turkish Super Lig side by mutual agreement, after a lacklustre start to the season.

"Mr Hamzaoglu's contract was terminated by mutual agreement. We thank him for his services and wish him success in the future," the club said in a statement.

Galatasaray are lagging in third place in the Turkish top flight behind perennial capital rivals Besiktas and Fenerbahce while the club have also made a slow start to its Champions League campaign in Group C.

The results have come despite having a star-studded side including German international Lukas Podolski, who was signed over the summer, as well as Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder.

Hamzaoglu took over the side in November 2014, reversing its fortunes, after the disastrous short reign of former Italian national coach Cesare Prandelli, and guiding the team to the 2015 Turkish title.

But he never truly convinced the club faithful and pressure has mounted with every poor result this year. The identity of a successor is unclear.