During his nine seasons at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah caused Manchester United supporters plenty of pain on the pitch.
Mohamed Salah has caused Manchester United supporters plenty of pain during his remarkable spell in English football.
The Egyptian repeatedly delivered against the Red Devils, scoring 16 goals in all competitions against United and becoming one of the club’s most feared modern opponents.
Salah spent nine hugely successful seasons with Liverpool, United’s biggest English rival, after joining from Roma in 2017.
He helped the Merseyside club win two Premier League titles, the Champions League and several other major honours while establishing himself as one of the division’s greatest-ever forwards.
Liverpool announced in March that Salah would leave at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
That immediately triggered speculation over his next destination.
Clubs from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Europe and Major League Soccer all showed interest.
There was even previous discussion around whether United could attempt an extraordinary move, although crossing directly between two fierce rivals always appeared extremely unlikely.
However, a player still contracted to Manchester United reportedly played an important role in convincing Salah to complete his shock transfer.
Mohamed Salah in secret talks with United player
Daily Mail report that Andre Onana secretly approached Salah and held talks with him before the forward signed for Trabzonspor.
Onana remains a United player but is spending the 2026/27 season on loan with the Turkish club for the second successive campaign.
The Cameroon international is believed to have delivered a convincing sales pitch about Trabzonspor and life at the Black Sea club.
Sources familiar with the negotiations reportedly viewed Onana’s involvement as significant in helping Salah make his final decision.
The 34-year-old has now officially signed a two-year contract with Trabzonspor after rejecting interest from several other clubs.
He was welcomed by thousands of supporters before training with his new teammates and being unveiled at a packed stadium.
Trabzonspor hope Salah can help them challenge Galatasaray’s domestic dominance while raising the club’s profile across the world.
For Onana, it was certainly an unusual contribution from a Manchester United player to the next chapter of a Liverpool legend’s career.