Why Mohamed Salah is joining Europe's 161st-ranked club

Updated: 5 Aug 2026 08:35 BST | 4 min read

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, 2025/26 — © IMAGO

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

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Mohamed Salah is in advanced talks to sign with Turkish side Trabzonspor, but why is the Liverpool legend moving to Turkey, and how can a club without Champions League group stage participation in more than a decade sign him?

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Salah’s future has been the subject of much speculation since he announced he would leave Liverpool one year before the end of his contract at Anfield.

It was initially assumed that he would join a club in the Saudi Pro League or MLS, yet it quickly emerged that the 33-year-old still harboured ambitions of playing in the top level in Europe.

Current ETV

Mohamed Salah

F, M (R)

Mohamed Salah

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ETV Range

€31.6M - €38.6M

Turkey soon became the epicentre of Salah rumours. Besiktas failed in talks with the Egypt star, but Trabzonspor picked up the pieces and are ready to complete a spectacular move.

While the club has announced “negotiations” for the Liverpool icon, it has also promised a “welcome program” for the veteran star, which points to the deal being a mere formality.

Trabzonspor are by no means an elite European side. In the UEFA Ranking, they sit 161st, below the likes of FC Noah and Hamrun Spartans, and are the seventh best side in Turkey, some way behind the traditional giants of Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.

This season, they cannot offer Salah Champions League football. Instead, they will face either Ferencvaros or Gornik Zabrze to reach the group stage of the Europa League.

Andre Onana, on loan from Manchester United, is their most notable figure, along with former Manchester City player Stefan Savic and Sheffield United and Rangers veteran John Lundstram.

Salah in line for a bumper deal

Salah reportedly has significant investments in Turkey and is said to own a luxury house in Bodrum. Trabzon itself is seen as an attractive city to stay in, well positioned as a gateway to the Black Sea.

But there is little doubt that money is a factor, too. Salah’s two-year contract with Trabzonspor is worth an estimated €34 million, breaking down into €17m per year.

While this is little compared to the offers he was supposedly set to receive from the Saudi Pro League, after tax this is similar to his earnings at Liverpool.

How can Trabzonspor afford him?

Salah’s signing represents the biggest coup in Trabzonspor’s history.

This is a club that has typically ran around break even in the transfer market in each of the last five seasons. So how have they managed to secure such a big coup?

It’s unclear exactly where the investment from Salah will come from. His €17m-per-year salary is comfortably bigger than any transfer fee Trabzonspor have paid for a player.

Certainly, the Turkish government has helped create favourable conditions to allow stars like Salah and Victor Osimhen to move to the country by way of forgiving clubs their debts, allowing them to take more chances.

There is also a theory that clubs are being supported by state sponsors to make such deals. In Trabzonspor’s case, they list Turkish Airlines among their sponsors. Some fans believe that the only way the club could pay a player like Salah is if they were being directly supported in this manner, although there is no evidence to suggest that this is happening.

Regardless, this is an exciting new chapter for Salah and Trabzonspor, and marks the further development of Turkish football, which has undoubtedly moved up a notch thanks to his arrival.