Trabzonspor are close to hijacking the Mohamed Salah deal.
For most of July, the biggest free agent story in European football had only one destination attached to it.
Besiktas had spent weeks courting the player, had made their offer public through sporting director Önder Özen, and believed they had done the hard part.
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A verbal agreement was reportedly in place with the player’s camp on terms covering one season with the option of a second, worth around 10 million euros net per year plus a further 2 million in bonuses.
Then it unravelled.
Besiktas walked away from the table, with Özen explaining at a press conference that talks had stalled once the financial detail arrived, and that demands around commission had gone beyond what the club were willing to entertain.
Negotiations were officially suspended until further notice, with the message from the Turkish giants being that their offer stood but would not be improved.
That pause has opened a door for Trabzonspor, and the player they are now circling is Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian has been without a club since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, closing a spell at Anfield that reshaped the club’s modern history.
According to Santi Aouna, Trabzonspor have entered advanced negotiations with Salah’s representative Ramy Abbas and are close to reaching a full agreement, with the remaining obstacles said to be minor rather than structural.
If it is completed, it would rank among the most audacious hijackings the Süper Lig has ever seen.
There is a significant caveat.
Trabzonspor president Ertuğrul Doğan has publicly rejected the reports more than once, telling Turkish media that the claims linking his club to Salah do not reflect reality and questioning how many times he needs to deny them.
No official statement confirming talks has come from the club.
That leaves the familiar summer situation of a story advancing rapidly in the media while the boardroom insists nothing is happening.
For Liverpool supporters, the whole episode carries a strange weight.
Salah’s departure was processed as the end of an era, but watching him weigh offers from Istanbul, Trabzon, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere makes the separation feel considerably more real.
A player who scored his way into the pantheon at Anfield is now the subject of commission disputes and rival bids in a league he was never previously linked with.
The financial picture also tells its own story.
Besiktas were prepared to build a package worth roughly 12 million euros a year including bonuses, and Trabzonspor would need to match or exceed that, most likely with heavy sponsorship backing, to get the deal over the line.
Nothing is signed.
Besiktas have not formally withdrawn their offer, merely frozen it, and Salah is yet to make a final decision.
But the momentum, for now, has shifted along the Black Sea coast.
🚨🔵🟣🇪🇬 #SüperLig
🔐 Trabzonspor are close to hijacking the Mohamed Salah deal.
✍️ The club are close to reaching a full agreement with the player after entering advanced negotiations with his agent.
❌ As a result, Beşiktaş have officially suspended negotiations until… pic.twitter.com/8VAelTbKMP
— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) August 1, 2026