Mohamed Salah's Transfer Twist: Trabzonspor Surprises Besiktas

For weeks, it looked like the story was written. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s modern legend, easing out of Anfield and into a new life in Istanbul with Besiktas. The money was on the table, the talks advanced, the mood optimistic.

Then Saturday arrived – and with it, a sharp plot twist from the Black Sea.

From Liverpool icon to luxury problem

Liverpool and Salah had already shaken hands on a summer parting, a mutual decision despite the Egyptian still having a year to run on a contract that paid him around £400,000 a week.

For years, that figure barely raised an eyebrow. Salah’s output – the goals, the assists, the decisive moments – made him the most reliable of luxury items. You paid him like a superstar because he delivered like one.

Last season changed that. The goals slowed, the assists dipped, and the spotlight swung to the other side of his game. His limited defensive work, long tolerated while he carried the attack, suddenly became harder to ignore. Liverpool chose to reset, to move the team in a new direction rather than double down on a fading version of their talisman.

The door opened. And Turkey rushed in.

Besiktas in control – until they weren’t

Saudi Arabia looked. MLS looked. But it was Besiktas who acted.

They put a concrete offer in front of Salah’s camp and quickly emerged as front-runners. A move to Istanbul, a major club, a fanbase ready to worship a global star – the fit made sense on every level. Talks progressed to the point where Besiktas believed they had their man.

Then came the hijack.

On Saturday morning, French reporter Santi Aouna and respected Turkish journalist Yağız Sabuncuoğlu both reported the same thing: Trabzonspor had entered the scene, and not quietly.

Suddenly, Besiktas were no longer alone at the table.

Trabzonspor’s bold play

Sabuncuoğlu revealed on X that Trabzonspor had met Salah’s representative and gone straight in with an official proposal:

“€17 million salary. Two-year contract.”

Break that down and you get roughly £280,000 a week. Less than Salah earned at Liverpool, but still an elite wage and, crucially, significantly higher than what Besiktas had put together.

Sabuncuoğlu then added a second, more telling update. Salah’s representative had already relayed the offer to the player. The reaction? Positive. Salah, he reported, is “positively inclined” towards Trabzonspor’s proposal and will now consult his family before making the final call.

The pressure told. The race changed.

Besiktas forced to hit pause

While Sabuncuoğlu set out the numbers, Aouna painted the wider picture.

He reported that Trabzonspor are close to hijacking the deal entirely, having moved into advanced negotiations with Salah’s agent and edging towards a full agreement with the player.

The impact on Besiktas was immediate. According to Aouna, they have officially suspended negotiations “until further notice,” despite having already reached a verbal agreement with Salah’s camp over a 1+1-year deal worth €10 million net per season, plus €2 million in bonuses.

On paper, Besiktas offered a shorter, incentive-laden package. Trabzonspor have come in with more guaranteed money over two years and the momentum of a club acting decisively at the critical moment.

A new stage for a fading star – or one last roar?

Salah now stands at a crossroads very different from the ones that defined his prime. This is not about Champions League nights or Premier League titles. It is about where he chooses to spend the closing chapters of a glittering career – and who is willing to pay for the name as much as the player.

Besiktas thought they had that answer. Trabzonspor have ripped up the script.

The numbers are clear. The offers are clear. The decision, as ever, rests with Salah. Will the next roar of his career echo from the Black Sea, or can Besiktas somehow drag themselves back into a race that seemed theirs not long ago?