The rumor mill is flying around the football world. Rodri, Vinicius Junior, and many other stars are caught up in the late summer rumor mill. But one appears close to going from rumor to reality. Former Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is close to picking his new destination, and there is significant movement towards Turkish club Trabzonspor. Let’s break down the rumors to separate fact from fiction.
First things first, we have to start with the “here we go!”. Fabrizio Romano, the most popular and very divisive soccer insider, claims the deal has been agreed to. Since Salah is a free agent after departing Liverpool, there’s no need for a complicated transfer process; it’s simply a matter of player and agent agreeing with a club. Romano claims that process is done, and that Salah is confirmed to be joining Trabzonspor.
This news was also seemingly confirmed by Yağiz Sabuncuoğlu, a Turkish soccer journalist, who reported a two-year deal and a salary of €17 million per season.
However, the official team announcement casts some cold water on the deal’s finality. According to Trabzonspor’s official X account, Salah is indeed flying to Turkey on Wednesday, August 5th, to visit with the club. But they do not comment on the deal’s finality, saying only that they have “begun transfer negotiations.” It’s possible that this is a signing announcement, but it’s equally likely that Salah is visiting the club as he weighs his options. It’s suspicious at least that Romano cites the club confirming the deal when they have done no such thing through their own channels.
This comes on the heels of rumors about Salah and another Turkish club, BeÅŸitkaÅŸ. According to the rumors, Salah agreed to a €10 million salary plus €2 million in bonuses, but negotiations were ongoing over the jersey revenue split. Salah and his camp wanted 50% of his jersey sale revenue, while the club was offering 25%. It seems that split, plus the extra money that Trabzonspor is offering, may have pushed Salah to one of BeÅŸitkaÅŸ’ rivals.
Salah, 34, recorded 12 goals and 10 assists for Liverpool across 41 competitions, recording a 7.2 average match rating. It was his lowest G+A total since joining the team from Roma in the 2017/18 season. He’d immediately become one of the biggest stars in the Turkish Süper Lig alongside Victor Osimhen, Marco Asensio, and Leroy Sané.
Trabzonspor finished third in the Süper Lig last season and won the Turkish Cup. Their last league title came during the 2021/22 season. They will also play in the Europa League this season after finishing third in their domestic league. The addition of Salah, if confirmed, would give them a major boost in the race for a domestic title and a deep run in the Europa League.
