Mohamed Salah: Besiktas make official transfer statement over Liverpool icon

Updated: 29 Jul 2026 08:34 BST | 3 min read

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

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Mohamed Salah’s transfer to Besiktas has stalled, with the club’s sporting director announcing that the proposed transfer has been put “on the shelf”, though he did leave the door open for new discussions.

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Three rounds of contract talks with the former Liverpool star have failed to bring a breakthrough in the negotiations.

As such, Salah, who remains a free agent after leaving Anfield a year before his contract was due to expire, will not yet make the move to the Turkish side.

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Mohamed Salah

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Mohamed Salah

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€31.6M - €38.6M

Besiktas cut off Salah negotiations… for now

Onder Ozen, the sporting director of Besiktas, spoke to the media to announce the decision.

“Mohamed Salah is a global star with a very high international profile. In the early stages of negotiations, Vincenzo Italiano, the team's coach, and I held three meetings with Mohamed Salah,” he said.

“Up until that point, things were going smoothly. But once the financial aspects began to be discussed, negotiations slowed down from July 21st. We started receiving demands that would bring the financial negotiations to a standstill. I assume that a respected player like Mohamed Salah wasn't aware of these details. There were also demands regarding image rights that the club had never granted to any player before.

“The club has a clear policy, and Besiktas is run according to principles. I believe the club president precisely identified the point at which we must stop and stuck to it. Instead of making a populist decision, he made a pragmatic one and left the negotiating table for the time being.

“As far as we are concerned, the file of signing Mohamed Salah has been temporarily closed and put on the shelf.”

What now for Salah?

Salah’s prospects of moving to Besiktas have taken a significant blow in light of these comments. The former Liverpool star, it appears, will have to take a financial hit to join the Super Lig side, and while he still harbours a desire to play in Europe, it remains to be seen if this is too great a sacrifice for him.

Other options are on the table for the 33-year-old Egypt international. In particular, he has long been linked with a switch to the Saudi Pro League, while franchises from MLS are also prepared to offer the Premier League great an offer.

Both of these possibilities are likely to be more remunerative than the move to Besiktas, where Salah would not even have Champions League football in the coming season.