The scene outside Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on Wednesday afternoon was one of frenzied disbelief. As members of the world’s media flanked the doors to the terminal, thousands of Trabzonspor supporters gathered behind metal barriers to catch a glimpse of their new hero.
Amid all the chaos, Mohamed Salah simply smiled. Having spent nearly a decade as Liverpool’s “Egyptian King,” Salah is no stranger to receiving a royal reception.
However, as he readied himself to formalize his shock move to Turkish side Trabzonspor, even Salah could have been forgiven for being taken aback by the magnitude of the occasion. Dressed in the club’s famous claret and blue shirt and a white baseball cap, the forward tantalized his adoring public, silencing them before raising his arms in the air to the sound of cheers.
It was, perhaps, the first time this summer’s strangest transfer appeared to make sense. Trabzonspor shocked the football world Tuesday when they announced they were in talks to sign Salah, who has been a free agent since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.
It was less than 18 months ago that the Egypt international sat on a throne in the middle of the Anfield turf to announce his lucrative two-year contract extension at Liverpool. At that point, he looked to be at the peak of his powers, poised to continue cementing his remarkable legacy on Merseyside.
So why has Salah, 34, decided to trade the heights of the Premier League for Türkiye’s fourth-most popular club? And, with time running out in the transfer window, where does his departure leave Liverpool?
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Maradona parallels and smart business sense
When Salah confirmed back in March that he would be leaving on a free transfer before the final year of his Liverpool contract was up, speculation over his next move immediately began to stir.
Saudi Arabia appeared the most obvious destination, with interest from the gulf state dating back to Al Ittihad’s unsuccessful £150 million bid to land him in the summer of 2023. Lionel Messi‘s high-profile stint at Inter Miami in Major League Soccer offered an alternative blueprint for the best way for an aging superstar to spend their twilight years, while Salah’s indefatigable appetite for success might have compelled him to continue testing himself in one of Europe’s top leagues.
Even when a potential switch to the Turkish Süper Lig came into the picture, it looked certain that the forward would opt to move to one of the country’s “Big Three.” Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe — all based in Istanbul — are Türkiye’s most successful clubs, between them commanding the support of a reported 90% share of the country’s football fans.
With last season’s league champions Galatasaray already saddled with a huge wage bill, Beşiktaş quickly emerged as the strongest contender to land Salah’s signature. Discussions between the two parties started earlier this month before Beşiktaş sporting director Önder Özent confirmed the club had stepped away from the negotiating table after hitting a financial stumbling block.
In a news conference last week, Özent suggested that demands from Salah’s longtime agent and adviser, Ramy Abas Issa, had halted the progress of the deal. And so, with Beşiktaş out of the equation, Trabzonspor made their move, offering Salah a two-year contract that sources told ESPN will see him earn a fee in the region of €17 million per season.
At first glance, it seems a perplexing move by Salah, whose decision to leave Liverpool was partly fueled by the belief he could still compete every week at the highest level. Trabzonspor finished third in the Süper Lig last term and as such will have to contest a qualifier to feature in this season’s Europa League — something of a fall from grace for a player of Salah’s stature.
However, on closer inspection, it is easier to understand the appeal of the transfer. Ultimately, Trabzonspor offers Salah and his young family the chance to remain in Europe and live in one of the most vibrant cities on Türkiye’s Black Sea Coast. He avoids having to take the significant pay cut a move to Spain or Italy would have demanded and will benefit from the country’s more favorable income tax rates, while also living and working just a two-hour flight away from his native Egypt.
Parallels have already been drawn with Diego Maradona’s sensational 1984 move from Barcelona to Napoli, where the Argentina legend became an icon after taking the club from relative obscurity to one of European football’s most formidable forces. Trabzonspor have won seven league titles but only one in the past 42 years, with their most recent triumph in 2021-22 sparking euphoric scenes across the region.
Should Salah help the club to emulate that success in the coming years, he would become a hero in the eyes of the club’s legion of dedicated supporters. From Trabzonspor’s perspective, meanwhile, the deal is a smart one.
𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞: ON 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mqi1DLa9DH
— Trabzonspor (@Trabzonspor) August 5, 2026
While signing Salah is a significant financial commitment, his arrival automatically elevates their standing on the world stage and will no doubt attract an array of high-profile potential sponsors. The influx of posts on the club’s social media channels over the past 24 hours — including photographs of Salah wearing a No. 61 Trabzonspor shirt on a private jet, a number that is an iconic symbol in Trabzon and not the number he will actually wear as he was later shown in the No. 10 — are proof enough of what a huge marketing opportunity this is.
Furthermore, in a country where a reported 99% of the population practices Islam, signing arguably the most famous Muslim athlete on the planet will prove hugely popular.
For both parties, this is a sensible business decision laced with a heady dose of romanticism.
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Liverpool’s Salah succession plan remains unclear
For Liverpool, too, this is the start of a new era. The club rewarded Salah with a new deal after a stunning 2024-25 season, during which he scored 29 goals en route to the Premier League title.
However, as the Reds’ form unraveled last term, so too did Salah’s relationship with the Anfield hierarchy. In December, after being dropped to the bench for three successive games, Salah accused the club of throwing him “under the bus” and revealed his relationship with head coach Arne Slot had broken down.
A tentative truce was reached and Salah was restored to the starting XI but a parting of ways began to feel inevitable before the forward officially confirmed his impending departure in March. The only real surprise came with the news that Liverpool were prepared to waive the final year of Salah’s contract, allowing him to leave as a free agent.
While the agreement has prevented Liverpool from being able to recoup a significant transfer fee this summer, the forward’s early exit has unburdened them from paying his astronomical weekly wages next season, freeing up vital capital to help continue their much-needed rebuild. It also relieves new head coach Andoni Iraola — who replaced Slot in June — of a potential headache as he seeks to forge his own path at Anfield.
Last season, Salah struggled to reconcile with the fact he was no longer a guaranteed starter for Liverpool, and keeping an unhappy superstar in the squad could have destabilized the environment for Iraola and his staff. Still, Liverpool are now faced with the unenviable task of replacing the man who marked himself out as irreplaceable during his nine storied years on Merseyside.
While his form undeniably dipped last season, Salah has been an almost guarantee of goals for Liverpool for the best part of a decade, scoring 257 times in 442 appearances across all competitions.
Nearly five months on from the confirmation of his exit, it remains unclear who will line up on the right flank for the Reds when they travel to Newcastle United for their Premier League opener in just a few weeks’ time. Sources told ESPN that Liverpool remain in negotiations over a deal for Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola, 23, although the club are not prepared to meet the French side’s £145m valuation of the transfer.
Even if Barcola joins, he prefers to operate from the left wing, as does Víctor Muñoz, who signed for the club in a £34.5 million deal from Osasuna in June. Sources told ESPN Liverpool also hold an interest in PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye but, at just 18 years old, the winger is far from the finished article.
The same is true of Rio Ngumoha, 17, who was the breakout star of Liverpool’s 2025-26 campaign and has been tested on the right flank during preseason. With less than a month to go until the transfer window slams shut, time is running out for the Reds’ to finalize their Salah succession plan.
One thing is for certain: Whoever replaces him has big shoes to fill.
