Make Us Your Homepage! | Subscribe for FREE | Submissions

Home Video News Sports Obits AP News Shop Local Classifieds Autos Real Estate Radio Directory Events

Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah arrives in Istanbul ahead of Trabzonspor move

AP Aug 5, 2026 4 hours ago |

Egypt's Mohamed Salah wearing his new Trabzonspor team jersey gestures to supporters as he arrives at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Samet Yalcin/DIA Photo via AP)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Mohamed Salah was greeted by cheering Trabzonspor fans in Istanbul on Wednesday as he closed in on a move to the Turkish club.

The

Get The Latest News!

Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.

:text=The%20Egypt%20winger%20announced%20last,of%20the%20world's%20best%20players.">Liverpool icon wore the team’s blue and burgundy striped shirt after flying in on a private jet to complete the deal.

Earlier he was filmed aboard the jet pulling on his new jersey.

“Trabzon are you ready? I can hear you. See you very soon,” Salah said in a video message posted on the club's official X channel.

Turkish TV showed still images of Salah wearing a shirt with No. 61 on it as he arrived in Istanbul, where hundreds of chanting fans waited to greet him. NTV also broadcast the Egyptian signing a Trabzon shirt and said his official signing ceremony would be held Thursday in the Black Sea city.

Salah is a free agent after leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.

There was speculation the 34-year-old Egypt international would end his career in Saudi Arabia, but it emerged this week that Trabzonspor was leading the race to sign him.

“We’ve started transfer talks with Mohamed Salah, he’s coming to Istanbul!” the club said.

The official announcement of negotiations to the Istanbul stock market saw Trabzonspor shares rise 6.5%.

Salah established himself as a Premier League great with Liverpool where he won two league titles and the Champions League among eight major honors.

Article continues after sponsor message

He scored 257 goals in 442 appearances for the Merseyside club and is regarded as one of its greatest players of all time.

But he endured a disappointing end to his time at Anfield with a dramatic drop off in form last season and a public falling out with then-coach Arne Slot.

He only scored 12 goals in all competitions, having scored 34 in the previous campaign.

He announced in March that he would leave the club at the end of the season, despite having a year to run on the contract he signed in 2025.

Trabzonspor is a seven-time Turkish champion and finished third last season.

___

Andrew Wilks in Istanbul, contributed to this report

___

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer