Mohamed Salah is on his way to Turkish club Trabzonspor, closing one of the most dramatic transfer stories of the summer.

The Egyptian forward, who announced he would leave Liverpool a year before his two-year contract extension ended, reached an agreement with the Black Sea club after a proposed move to fellow Istanbul side Beşiktaş broke down over finances (BBC Sport).

Trabzonspor teased the arrival on social media on Tuesday night, posting a video that placed the Pyramids of Giza next to Papara Park, the club's home ground. On Tuesday, the club officially confirmed that negotiations had begun, describing Salah as being in a free status — meaning he was available to sign without a transfer fee, having already committed to leaving Liverpool (Reuters).

Then Salah himself joined the theatre. He posted a video from onboard a private jet, grinning into the camera: "Trabzon, are you ready? See you very soon."

Trabzonspor tracked his Wednesday flight into Istanbul, and when he landed, large crowds of fans had gathered outside the airport to welcome him. For a club that finished last season well off the pace of Turkey's traditional big three — Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş — landing a player of Salah's profile is a statement signing few saw coming.

Salah leaves Liverpool as one of the greatest players in the club's history. He scored more than 200 goals for the Reds, won the Premier League, the Champions League, and the FA Cup, and became the face of a golden era under Jürgen Klopp. His announcement that he would depart a year early, rather than seeing out his extension, caught supporters off guard.

For casual fans wondering why a star of that calibre is heading to Turkey rather than a more familiar European giant: clubs in Süper Lig, Turkey's top division, have increasingly used financial muscle and ambitious projects to attract marquee names. The failure of the Beşiktaş talks — reportedly over the structure of the deal — opened a door that Trabzonspor rushed through.

What makes this stand out is the sheer speed of it all. From Tuesday night's social media tease to Wednesday's flight tracking and airport crowds, the whole sequence unfolded in a little over 24 hours. Salah chose Trabzonspor, not the other way around — and he did it with a smile on camera.

The deal is not yet formally completed, but with negotiations officially launched, the player airborne, and thousands of fans in the streets, it is hard to imagine it stalling now.