Mohamed Salah lands in Istanbul ahead of Trabzonspor switch

Mohamed Salah has arrived in Turkey and is expected to sign for Trabzonspor later on Wednesday

Mohamed Salah lands in Istanbul ahead of Trabzonspor switch

Mohamed Salah has landed in Istanbul and been pictured wearing the shirt of Trabzonspor as he closes in on a move to the Turkish Super Lig club.

Salah, 34, left Liverpool in June after nine hugely successful years on Merseyside. He scored 257 goals for Liverpool, trailing only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285) on the Reds’ all-time list, and won nine trophies, including two Premier League titles and one Champions League crown.

He had been heavily linked with a move to Besiktas but that deal stalled, allowing Trabzonspor to step in.

Salah will undergo a medical in Istanbul this morning and then fly to Trabzon later on Wednesday. He has already started undergoing his social media duties, posting a video from the flight in which he said: “Everywhere is Trabzon for us.”

Trabzonspor confirm negotiations are underway

Trabzonspor finished third in the Turkish Super Lig last season and won the Turkish Cup. They will play in Europa League qualifying later this month.

“Negotiations ​have been ⁠launched ‌to transfer professional footballer Mohamed ‌Salah, who ‌is in a ⁠free status, to our club,” the club said in a statement last night.

Salah signed a two-year deal at Anfield in April 2025 towards the end of a brilliant 2024/25 campaign that saw him score 29 Premier League goals and provide 18 assists, equalling the league record for most goal involvements in a season.

But a difficult season for him and the club in 2025/26 saw him muster just seven league goals and seven assists. He also fell out with then Reds boss Arne Slot with Salah publicly criticising the team’s playing style following a 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa, calling for a return to the “heavy metal attacking” football that made Liverpool so feared under Jurgen Klopp.

The contract was terminated with both parties declaring the desire to move on. Saudi Arabia had seemed the most likely destination for Salah but he will instead spent the next few seasons in Trabzon, a small city on the Black Sea coast.