Mo Salah is getting closer to joining a surprising new team after a last-minute transfer twist.
Besiktas was trying to sign Mohamed Salah, but now another Turkish club has stepped in—and it’s not Galatasaray or Fenerbahçe.
Salah is still a free agent after his contract with Liverpool ended in June, finishing a great nine years at Anfield where he became one of their best-ever players.
Many reports say the 34-year-old is getting interest from the Saudi Pro League, with Al Hilal looking like the top contender to sign him this summer.
On July 31, Turkish site Turkiye Today shared that Al Ittihad has increased their interest in Salah. They had even made a £150 million offer last September, which Liverpool rejected.
Other Saudi clubs with enough money to sign Salah are Al Qadsiah, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and Al Ahli don’t seem interested.
A couple of weeks ago, Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, posted on X (formerly Twitter) hinting that a decision on Salah’s next club is close. He said, “We still don’t know where Mohamed will play next season, but maybe soon.” He added that they don’t talk to clubs just for show—only ones Salah wants to join.
Earlier, on May 24, Abbas warned fans not to pay attention to rumors, saying, “We don’t know where Mohamed will go, and no one else knows either. Beware of attention seekers.”
Besides the Saudi interest, Beşiktaş has also been in talks to sign Salah. ESPN reported that Beşiktaş even made an offer. Their sporting director, Önder Özen, talked about it in a press conference recently.
He said, “Beşiktaş’s offer is on the table. If we get a reply, we’ll consider it, but we won’t make another offer. They are also talking to another club and might reach an agreement there. Our offer respects Beşiktaş’s values and identity.”
Özen mentioned Beşiktaş met Salah’s team several times. He added that things were going well until financial talks started to slow down the process after July 21. Some requests made the negotiations hard, and Salah might not even be aware of that.
He explained that Beşiktaş has strict rules about money and commissions, and their president refused to cross those lines. Because of that, the club has stepped back from the talks for now.
But now, it looks like Beşiktaş’s Super Lig rival, Trabzonspor, is trying to take over the deal. According to journalist Santi Aouna from Foot Mercato, Trabzonspor is close to agreeing with Salah after talks with his agent. Because of this, Beşiktaş paused their negotiations.
Turkish reporter Yağız Sabuncuoğlu says Salah will earn €17 million a year and sign a two-year contract with Trabzonspor.
Last season, Trabzonspor finished third in the Super Lig, right behind Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.