Salah signs for Trabzonspor after Liverpool exit

Mohamed Salah signs two-year deal with Trabzonspor, to earn €17 million per season

TRABZON, Turkey — Mohamed Salah has traded Liverpool red for Trabzonspor’s burgundy and blue after completing a blockbuster move to the Turkish club that will make the Egyptian forward one of the highest-paid players in the country.

Trabzonspor confirmed on Thursday that the 34-year-old has signed a two-year contract worth €17 million ($19.6 million) per season, bringing to an end a remarkable nine-year spell at Liverpool.

The agreement goes beyond his basic salary. The club disclosed to the Turkish stock exchange that Salah will also receive 20 per cent of sales from products carrying his name, in addition to conditional bonuses each season. The club did not specify the value of those bonuses or the conditions attached to them.

Salah’s arrival has already generated enormous excitement in Trabzon, with supporters preparing to gather at the club’s stadium for a ceremony welcoming a player whose reputation was built at the highest level of European football.

He arrived in Istanbul smiling and wearing Trabzonspor’s colours, signalling the start of a new chapter after nearly a decade at Anfield.

End of an Anfield era

Salah leaves Liverpool as one of the most accomplished players in the club’s modern history.

Across 442 appearances, he scored 257 goals, helping Liverpool win the Premier League twice and the Champions League once. His goals, consistency and longevity made him one of the defining attacking players of the Premier League era.

His final season, however, was less dominant than the extraordinary campaigns that preceded it.

Salah’s production dipped and he was left out of Liverpool’s starting XI for some Champions League matches, while tensions with then-manager Arne Slot spilled into public view.

The move to Turkey therefore represents more than a lucrative new contract. It offers Salah an opportunity to begin again away from the intense scrutiny that accompanied the closing months of his Liverpool career.

From Basel to Trabzon

Salah’s European journey began at Swiss club Basel in 2012, where his performances quickly attracted attention from bigger leagues.

Chelsea subsequently brought him to England, although his time at Stamford Bridge did not produce the breakthrough expected of him.

He later revived his career in Italy with Fiorentina and AS Roma before Liverpool signed him in 2017.

Mohamed Salah signs two-year deal with Trabzonspor, to earn €17 million per season

What followed was a transformation into a global star.

Now, after nine seasons in England, Salah will attempt to make a similar impact in Turkish football.

Trabzonspor’s statement signing

Trabzonspor is traditionally regarded as the leading Turkish club outside Istanbul’s established “big three” of Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas.

The club finished third in the Turkish Super Lig last season, securing a place in the Europa League playoff round. Its most recent league championship came in the 2021-22 season.

Salah’s arrival raises expectations considerably.

For Trabzonspor, the signing is a statement of ambition and a chance to put one of the biggest names in African and world football at the centre of its push for domestic success and European relevance.

For Salah, it is the beginning of an unfamiliar challenge: proving that the goals that made him a Liverpool legend can travel just as effectively to the shores of the Black Sea.