Salah Lands in Turkey as Trabzonspor Land the Deal Beşiktaş Couldn’t
The transfer window is heading towards its slightly delirious final stretch, the point in August where deals nobody predicted in June suddenly look inevitable. 34-year-old Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s record goalscorer and the third-highest scorer in Liverpool’s history, completed his medical in Turkey on Wednesday ahead of a two-year contract at Trabzonspor.
The money answers most of the obvious questions. What it doesn’t answer is why, having turned down Saudi Arabia and watched a move to Beşiktaş collapse, this was the project that won him over.
Where Beşiktaş Fell Short
According to Sky Sports, Salah’s Liverpool contract was wound up a year ahead of schedule by mutual consent, closing a nine-year spell during which he scored 257 goals in 442 games and won seven major trophies. It was a more disappointing finish than the numbers alone suggest. He was dropped for Liverpool’s game at Leeds last season and gave what Sky Sports News called a ‘bombshell’ interview about it, and it is less than three years since the club turned down a £150m bid from Saudi side Al Ittihad for him.
Beşiktaş were the early favourites to sign him this summer and pulled out publicly rather than break their own wage structure to get the deal done. Trabzonspor did not have that problem. Reports suggest that the offer on the table is worth about €17m a year, which, by some distance, would be the biggest salary in Turkish football. He landed at Istanbul Atatürk Airport on Wednesday before flying on to Trabzon for his unveiling.
Mohamed Salah is in Istanbul, Turkey 🇹🇷
— Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول (@faredalmahlool.bsky.social) 5 August 2026 at 14:14
He will not be short of company when it comes to fellow exiles from the Premier League. André Onana, the Manchester United goalkeeper, is on loan or a second season running, whilst Stefan Savić, once of Manchester City, marshals the back line. What Trabzonspor are actually short of is a title. They finished third last season, eight points behind Galatasaray, and have not won the Super Lig since 2022.
Whether a 34-year-old who fell out with his own manager at Anfield is the answer to that gap is the question, but now Salah is there as the outright headline act of a side building around him, determined for a swan song to his glittering career.