Mohamed Salah Completes Transfer to Trabzonspor Amid Liverpool Exit
The journey that led Mohamed Salah to Trabzonspor may have started with his recent experiences on the bench in Turkey. Just two months prior to his departure from Liverpool FC, Salah expressed frustration over being sidelined, stating he had been “thrown under the bus.” His initial sign of waning influence came during Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to Galatasaray in September, where he only played for six minutes alongside teammates Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike.
Salah’s benching foreshadowed his decision to join Trabzonspor, culminating in a heartfelt welcome at Istanbul airport on Wednesday. While opinions differ on his recent performances, many view Salah as possibly the most impressive signing in Trabzonspor’s history. Reflecting on the drastic shift in his career over the past year, the prolific goal-scorer, who achieved 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League last season, certainly could have attracted interest from more prestigious clubs.
Despite the change in scenery, Salah’s move to Turkey intrigues fans. He will join a team featuring players like Cape Verdean international Sidny Lopes Cabral and the unpredictable Andre Onana. Yet, few in the club rival the quality of his departed Liverpool teammates.
Turkish clubs are increasingly enticing players with competitive offers, as evidenced by Salah’s reported salary of €17 million per year. This has helped elevate the league’s status, attracting notable talents like Victor Osimhen and Leroy Sane. The trend, however, could indicate that Turkey is becoming a destination for players nearing the end of their careers.
Salah’s exit from Liverpool followed increasing friction with coach Arne Slot, culminating in the club’s reluctance to sign him again. Although there were attempts from his camp to rekindle ties with Roma, the lack of interest from elite teams raises concerns about Salah’s future performance level.
His last significant display came against Galatasaray, where he showed glimpses of his former brilliance. Yet, an underwhelming performance against Paris Saint-Germain might mark a turning point in his career, as Trabzonspor ventures into the Europa League next season.
Salah’s decision to remain in European football—fending off interest from Sporting Kansas City and offers from Saudi Arabia—points to various factors, including Turkey’s geographic and cultural proximity to his homeland. Negotiations with Liverpool are believed to have included a financial cushion for Salah as he transitions to his new club, although Trabzonspor does not enjoy the same allure as Liverpool.
While changes in Liverpool’s management raised questions about Salah’s future, no adjustments were made regarding his role. Salah’s past demands for a return to “heavy-metal football” under former coach Klopp ultimately did not influence his situation at Anfield, leading to his final appearance for the club in May.
As of now, Salah has made his move to Trabzonspor, leaving Liverpool without a direct replacement for their star player, despite attempts to recruit new talent. As the new season unfolds, both clubs face uncertain futures.
The path to the pitch in Turkey may have begun on the bench in Turkey. Two months before Mohamed Salah signalled the end of his Liverpool FC career with the explosive outburst in which he claimed he had been thrown under the bus came the first indication that he had lost his status as an automatic choice.
Salah was benched for the Champions League defeat to Galatasaray in September. His cameo was notable for being the first time – albeit only for six minutes – that Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and the Egyptian were on the field together. Arne Slot’s starting 11, though, formed the prelude to Salah’s dropping in November. And, indirectly, to his return to Turkey, to join Trabzonspor, to the euphoric reception he received at Istanbul airport on Wednesday.
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It is not only recency bias that indicates Salah will be the most spectacular signing in Trabzonspor’s history. Perhaps it is cruel, though, to reflect how far his fortunes have declined in a year. In the summer of 2025, fresh from a season in which he scored 29 Premier League goals and recorded 18 assists, his availability on a free transfer would surely have brought a more prestigious suitor than Turkey’s fourth-biggest club.
Mohamed Salah’s move to Trabzonspor is a stark drop-off from Liverpool (AP)
But he was mobbed by fans during his introduction at the club (Reuters)
Nevertheless, Salah in Turkey offers intrigue. He will be an incongruous sight in a team featuring Sidny Lopes Cabral, the Cape Verdean scorer of the goal of the World Cup, the exiled and erratic Andre Onana, and “tall Paul” Onuachu, briefly of Southampton but prolific in Belgium and Turkey; but few players of the calibre of his former Liverpool teammates.
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His presence could be seen as part of a shift from east to west, of how, as with Salah’s reported salary of €17m a year, Turkish clubs are able to outbid some of their French, Spanish, German and Italian counterparts for players; their league already includes Victor Osimhen, Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Ederson and Leandro Trossard. Yet only Osimhen is under 30, and Turkey is developing a reputation as a lucrative retirement home for the footballing elderly.
While Salah felt himself mistreated by Arne Slot at Anfield last season, Liverpool’s peers did not sign him. It is thought the Egyptian’s camp approached his old employers at Roma; minus a move to the traditional elite, it is hard to escape the conclusion that they feel his best days are, suddenly, far behind him.
The relationship between Salah and Arne Slot had deteriorated as the season went on (PA)
Perhaps his most recent display against a Turkish side indicates he could still be a force in the Super Lig, though. Salah rewound time for a glorious quarter of an hour, eviscerating Galatasaray at Anfield in March. It may bode well for his time at Trabzonspor. Yet the subsequent tie against Paris Saint-Germain, where he was sadly ineffectual, has the potential to prove his last ever in the Champions League; Trabzonspor finished third in the Super Lig last season and should be in the Europa League. Although if they lose a play-off to Ferencvaros or Gornik Zabrze, they will instead end up in the Conference League.
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And yet it is notable that Salah chose to stay in European football (if not actually Europe). Sporting Kansas City were rivals for his signature. As the most high-profile Arab footballer in the world, there was long the theory that he would go to Saudi Arabia. Yet, while Al-Ittihad made a £150m bid in 2023, it was right at the end of a summer of Saudi spending, long after earlier targets were pursued; and there has rarely been the sense it was Salah’s dream destination, even before war in nearby Iran may have made it less appealing. That Turkey is an Islamic country and relatively close to Egypt could have swayed his decision, certainly compared to the long distance to Kansas City.
The probability is that Salah’s exit from Liverpool has been cushioned by a payoff to compensate for the last year of a lucrative contract. But his huge commercial income was facilitated in part by the profile Liverpool provided; beyond the fanaticism of the Turkish fans, Trabzonspor does not have anywhere near the same pull. It was a reason to wonder whether Salah might have sought a club in one of Europe’s top five divisions, or in the Champions League, to maintain a greater prominence.
Andoni Iraola replaced Slot at Liverpool but that didn’t prompt a change of heart over Salah (PA)
It is also notable that regime change at Anfield did not bring a change of heart from Liverpool. Slot’s sacking may have been rendered more likely by some of Salah’s words; his Instagram post, a week before the end of the season, calling for a return of “heavy-metal football”, may have meant he got his wish when Andoni Iraola was appointed. And yet the May draw against Brentford remained his last game for the club. It was a sign that Liverpool do not expect the Salah of old to return.
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Yet the problem is that, if they probably always knew he was irreplaceable, they still have not replaced him. Realistically, they have had since at least autumn to plan for a summer signing; the rapprochement of sorts in December only ever looked a temporary affair.
But it is now August. Liverpool put together a £100m package for Yan Diomande, but he has instead left RB Leipzig for Real Madrid. And so Salah has his new club, but Liverpool do not have their new Salah.
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