Mohamed Salah is in talks with Turkish club Trabzonspor to join as a free agent, with the club announcing he will arrive in Istanbul on Wednesday before travelling on to Trabzon that evening.

The move would cap one of the more startling transfers of the summer. Salah left Liverpool at the end of the 2024-25 season after nine years at Anfield, during which he won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield. He joined Liverpool from Roma in June 2017 and departs as one of the most decorated players in the club's modern history. (BBC Sport)

Trabzonspor confirmed in a statement that negotiations are under way. The club said Salah will land in Istanbul on Wednesday and reach Trabzon later the same day, with details of a welcome programme to be shared through official channels. (BBC Sport)

As recently as 3 August, Trabzonspor president Ertuğrul Doğan told Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that no agreement had been reached. "Every team would want to sign" the Egypt international, Doğan said — but he insisted a deal was not done. (Goal) (ESPN)

The picture has shifted quickly. Doğan's denial came on 3 August; by 4 August, the club was publicly confirming talks and announcing travel plans. That turnaround suggests negotiations accelerated fast over the weekend.

Salah, 34, spent the summer on international duty with Egypt at the 2026 World Cup. He helped his country reach the last 16 before a 3-2 defeat to eventual finalists Argentina. He has been a free agent since leaving Liverpool. (BBC Sport)

For Trabzonspor, the potential signing lands mid-pre-season. The club are holding a training camp in Austria ahead of the 2025-26 Turkish Süper Lig campaign and recently lost 1-0 to Qatari side Al Sadd in their second friendly of the camp. (Trabzonspor)

For fans, this is the kind of transfer that stops you mid-scroll. Salah is not a player winding down in an obscure league. He scored consistently for one of Europe's elite clubs across nearly a decade and walked away with a trophy cabinet most professionals only dream of. To see him pitch up in the Black Sea coastal city of Trabzon, where the club's Şenol Güneş Stadium regularly rocks with some of Turkey's most passionate support, would be a genuine box-office moment for the Süper Lig.

The talks are not yet a signed contract. But a club publicly booking flights and planning a welcome ceremony is rarely a sign that things are falling apart.