Lawrence Nkede Njie
Mohamed Salah has landed in Istanbul to complete his move to Trabzonspor, the Turkish club confirming the former Liverpool forward arrived on Wednesday morning to put the finishing touches on one of the summer’s most extraordinary deals.
The Egyptian, who left Anfield at the end of his contract after nine seasons and nine trophies, touched down at around 9am GMT and was greeted by hundreds of supporters who had gathered for a glimpse of their new idol. Trabzonspor had announced on Tuesday that negotiations had opened with the 34-year-old, and the club’s social channels marked his arrival with a photograph of Salah aboard a private jet wearing the maroon and blue home shirt, alongside the message “Salah mode: ON”.
The scenes at the airport underlined the scale of the signing for a club based on Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Among those waiting was supporter Abdul Kerim Yervan, who said he had come straight from a night shift and was prepared to surrender another night’s sleep for the chance to see Salah touch down. Hundreds more lined the arrival halls, and their patience was rewarded as the forward passed through.
Medical and contract details
Salah is due to undergo a medical in Istanbul later on Wednesday before flying on to Trabzon itself, where the formalities are expected to be completed. Turkish media report that he has agreed an initial two-year deal with the option of a third campaign, worth €17m a year — a statement of intent from a club that finished second in the Super Lig last term and believes it has pulled off the signing of the decade.
The numbers behind the move are staggering. Salah scored 257 goals in 442 appearances for Liverpool, leaving him third on the club’s all-time scoring list, while his 193 Premier League goals — 191 of them in a red shirt — place him fourth in the division’s history behind only Alan Shearer, Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney.
A difficult farewell season
His final campaign on Merseyside was not vintage by his own extraordinary standards. In a Liverpool side that struggled for much of the season, Salah found the net just seven times in the league, a tally that would have been unthinkable during his prime years. His last major outing came at the World Cup, where he took Egypt into the knockout stage for the first time in more than nine decades — a run that ended in heartbreak as the Pharaohs surrendered a two-goal lead against eventual runners-up Argentina.
Trabzonspor had to fend off competition from Besiktas, who were also linked with the forward before he settled on the Black Sea club. For the Super Lig, his arrival is a coup to rival any in the competition’s recent history; for Liverpool, it closes a chapter that began in 2017 and turned Salah into the most feared wide man of his generation.
He will wear the colours of his new club with the same hunger he showed at Anfield, and Trabzonspor’s fans — who have waited a long time for a hero of this stature — are ready to welcome him with open arms. For Egyptian football, the sight of their captain carrying the hopes of a new continent will be watched closely from Cairo to the Black Sea, where a remarkable career takes its next, unexpected turn.
Based on reporting by AFP. Read the original report in full here: the France 24 story on Salah’s arrival in Turkey
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